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Peter Pan is the fourteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. It was produced by Walt Disney Productions and was originally released to theaters on February 5, 1953 by RKO Radio Pictures. This would be the final Disney animated feature released through RKO, as Walt Disney established his own distribution company, Buena Vista Distribution, by the end of 1953.

History

Production

The film's story is based on the play and novel Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Disney had been trying to buy the rights to the play since 1935. He finally received them four years later, after he arranged with the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London (to whom Barrie had bequeathed the rights to the play). His studio started the story development and character designs in the early-1940s, and intended Peter Pan as a follow-up to Bambi, but World War II forced the project to be put on hold. Just like Pinocchio before it, the original pre-war character designs for Peter Pan were very different from the final product. The original version actually had Nana go to Neverland with Pan and the Darling children. Also, the original version was a little darker. It was not until after the war that actual production of the film commenced.

Until this movie, the role of Peter Pan had always been played by a young woman. Instead, Walt Disney chose to portray him as a 12-year-old boy. Disney explained the age by saying, "He is 12 years old forever simply because he refuses to grow up beyond that comfortable age." There are numerous other differences, including the revision of Tinker Bell's "death" (whereas in the original play she gets knocked out by a poison, in the animated film she gets knocked out by a bomb), which can be attributed to Disney's history of artistic license and reshaping of content to be more suitable for younger audiences. The animated film not only marked the first time in which Pan was played by a male, it was also the first time in which Tinker Bell, Nana and the Crocodile (named Tick-Tock the Croc in comics published later on) were all shown as believably as Barrie had originally intended (on stage, Tinker Bell was shown as not much more than a mere spot of light, Nana was played by an actual actor, and the Crocodile was represented by offstage ticking; here, Tinker Bell was represented as an actual sprite, Nana was a real dog, and the Crocodile was a real crocodile who had ingested an alarm clock).

Tinker Bell (who wears a slim, green dress, slippers, and yellow panties) owes her shapely form to the Pin-up girls of the war. Margaret Kerry was Tinker Bell's live-action reference model, contrary to rumors that it was Marilyn Monroe. Margaret Kerry posed on a soundstage, while animator Marc Davis drew Tinker Bell. Kerry was also the voice of the red-haired mermaid in the film.

Like Margaret, Bobby Driscoll was the live-action reference for Peter Pan's character, primarily in close-up scenes. Peter's graceful flying and action reference shots were provided by dancer Roland Dupree.

Kathryn Beaumont, the voice for Wendy, also performed the live action references. In an interview, she said she had to hold out her arms and pretend to fly for all the scenes requiring it.

One of the few stage traditions that Disney did retain for the animated film was to have Captain Hook and Mr. Darling be played by the same actor. In this case, Hans Conried not only voiced both characters, he was the live-action reference for them as well. Also, in the original play, Hook lost his right hand, but the Disney artists felt that would limit his actions too much, and so relocated the hook to his left hand.

Re-release schedule and home video

The film was re-issued to theaters in 1958, 1969, 1976, 1982, and 1989, and on VHS in 1990 (as a Walt Disney Classics release) and 1998 (as a Masterpiece Collection release). A Limited Issue DVD was released in 1999, and a special edition DVD came out in 2002. A Platinum Edition DVD/BD is scheduled to be released no earlier than 2008.

Peter Pan theatrical release history

Characters

  • Peter Pan: Protagonist, the boy who won't grow up.
  • Tinker Bell: Pan's hot-headed pixie pal.
  • Wendy Darling: The eldest of the Darling children; adores Peter Pan.
  • John and Michael Darling: Wendy's younger siblings.
  • George and Mary Darling: The Darling children's parents; their mother likes Peter Pan and their father doesn't; in fact, he wishes the kids grow up to be practical.
  • Nana: The Darlings' maid, a dog (Saint Bernard).
  • Captain Hook: The villain of the film; a pirate captain who wants revenge on Pan for getting his hand lopped off and fed to the Crocodile.
  • Mr. Smee: Hook's right-hand man or the comic relief of the story
  • The Pirates: The rest of Hook's crew. Their names include Mullins, Turk, Skylights, Black Murphy, Bill Jukes and Starkey.
  • The Crocodile: A crocodile who swallowed an alarm clock and is after the remains of Hook; Pan had cut off Hook's hand and threw it to the Crocodile who enjoyed the little appetizer so much, he's been following him ever since. In comics published later on, the character was known as Tick-Tock the Croc.
  • The Lost Boys: Pan's right-hand men, dressed as various animals. Their names are Slightly (fox costume), Cubby (bear costume), Nibs (rabbit costume), Tootles (skunk costume) and the Twins (raccoon costumes).
  • The Indian Chief: Father of Princess Tiger Lily.
  • Princess Tiger Lily: Indian princess, daughter of the Chief.
  • The Mermaids: Friends of Peter Pan, to whom he tells his stories of his battles against the pirates. But they seem to be rather malicious towards Peter's female friends. One of them, coincidentally, bears an uncanny resemblance to Ariel from The Little Mermaid.

Voice cast

Crew

The movie was adapted by Milt Banta, William Cottrell Winston Hibler, Bill Peet, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ted Sears, and Ralph Wright from the play and novel Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. The film was directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske.

Songs

Songs in film

The songs in Peter Pan were composed by Sammy Fain, Sammy Cahn, Frank Churchill, Winston Hibler and Ted Sears. Oliver Wallace composed the incidental music score.
  • "The Second Star To the Right" - The Jud Conlon Chorus
  • "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!" - The Jud Conlon Chorus
  • "A Pirate's Life" - Mr. Smee; The Pirates
  • "Following the Leader" - John and Michael Darling; The Lost Boys
  • "What Made the Red Man Red" - The Indian Tribe
  • "Your Mother and Mine" - Wendy Darling
  • "The Elegant Captain Hook" - Captain Hook; Mr. Smee; The Pirates
  • "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly! (Reprise)" - The Jud Conlon Chorus
  • "Never Smile At a Crocodile" - The lyrics were not heard, but the music was.

Songs written for film but not used

  • "The Boatswain's Song" - Captain Hook; The Pirates

Titles in different languages

Trivia

  • This was the final Disney film in which all nine members of the Nine Old Men worked together as directing animators.

  • The phrase "second to the right and straight on till morning" was changed into "second star to the right..." for the Disney version. Also, since the film came out, non-Disney versions have used the term "Never Never Land" as opposed to "Neverland".

  • Although original author Barrie is credited, this is the only major film version of "Peter Pan" which does not use any of his original dialogue, although one of Barrie's original lines is paraphrased when Hook first tells Smee why the Crocodile is always following him. Even the live-action musical versions, as well as the 1924 silent film version, use Barrie's original dialogue.

  • The melody for "The Second Star To the Right" was originally written for Alice In Wonderland as part of a song to be entitled "Beyond the Laughing Sky".

  • Though the film was extremely successful, Walt himself was dissatisfied with the finished product. He felt that the character of Peter Pan was cold and unlikable.

Sequels

External links

References

1953 films | Disney animated features canon | Films based on children's books | Peter Pan | Films shot in Technicolor

Peter Pan (film) | Peter Pan (1953) | Peter Pan (Disney) | Питер Пэн (мультфильм) | Peter Pan (film)

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Peter Pan (1953 film)".

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