Retro news: Between Disney magic and the dark origins of Peter Pan
27.12.2023
Translation: machine translated
A boy who doesn't want to grow up and escapes to the fantasy world of Neverland with other children: This is the story of Peter Pan. Today, the literary figure celebrates his 119th birthday without having aged a day - at least visually.
Captain Hook, Wendy, Tinkerbell: you've probably come across these names more than once. They are the most important characters from "Peter Pan". The story was invented by Scottish author James Matthew Barrie. However, the original play, which he staged in London on 27 December 1904, as well as his book, don't have much in common with the Peter Pan story that is popular today.
In fact, the Disney version is much better known than Barrie's original work: the children's animated film of the same name released in 1953. The original dialogue from the stage play is barely used. The plot is also the one the general public knows today: Peter Pan takes young Wendy and her brothers George and Michael from their home to Neverland. There they join the children's gang of "lost boys". Dangers lurk, especially from pirates. The evil Captain Hook wants revenge on Pan, who once chopped off his hand and fed it to the crocodile. Since then, the crocodile has been after Captain Hook. If you're a fan, this story will have enchanted you as a child. And maybe you even tried to lift yourself off the ground with positive thoughts - just like Pan.
All in all, Peter Pan is rather controversial today. Mainly because of the sexist and racist stereotypes that the Disney version of the 1950s endeavours to portray. For example, when it comes to the depiction of the indigenous tribe. However, the original story - and author James Matthew Barrie - are now also considered questionable.
Not a light-hearted children's story
The author was inspired by the five sons of a couple he was friends with, whom he cared for a lot. The brothers take on the role of various characters in the story, including the main character Peter Pan. After the death of their parents, Barrie even took over the godparenthood of the five children. He also bequeathed the rights to the "Peter Pan" books, films and theatre plays to the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity in London. It was repeatedly discussed whether there were paedophile tendencies behind his commitment to children. This could never be proven. However, some experts assume that it was. Among others, the Hamburg sexologist Professor Wolfgang Berner described him in 2003 in an interview with Stern magazine as "obviously paedophile". Whether this is true or just a rumour about a child-friendly author will probably never be clarified. Barrie died in 1937.
What many people also don't know is that his original stage play "Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" was not a light-hearted children's story. Before Disney turned Barrie's stage play into a child-friendly version, it was more of a dark work reserved for adults. This also includes the fact that Peter Pan is a kind of angel of death in the original version: he kills the children he abducts from their real lives. That's why they don't age in Neverland, a kind of afterlife.
Always new film adaptations
Since the London premiere 119 years ago, the story has been set to music and made into a film time and time again. This was also evident when I asked my colleagues: those born in the 80s associated Peter Pan with Steven Spielberg's 1991 sequel, whereas for me as a child of the 90s, the 2003 version starring Jeremy Sumpter, Rachel Hurd-Wood and Jason Isaacs is the defining Peter Pan film. Just this year, Disney released a real-life remake called "Peter & Wendy". However, it received more criticism than enthusiasm - as is so often the case when Disney remakes old classics in modern remakes.
Cover photo: Disney
Cat lady and coffee lover from up north. Always on the lookout for «News and Trends».
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