Peter Pan is a story about a boy who refused to grow up. The book depicts awful feeling experienced by those who are going through a transitional stage of development, from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adulthood.
Escaping responsibility and various changes that accompany maturity are the central themes of an original story. Hook, the movie version, reminds the continuation of a story about Peter Pan. Point of view plays an essential role in the story and in the movie, therefore, the difference becomes more visible. There is also a major difference in the atmosphere evoked during the story retelling and in the attitude or the way the storyteller presents the participants of the action.
The moral impact on the audience is also varied. As a result, one who watches the movie has to alter his or her interpretation of the story. Therefore, the movie does not stay true with regards to the context of the original text. Thus, considering the point of view and the atmosphere in the book and in the original text, the major differences may be captured.
The first major difference can be found in the perspective used to tell the story. In the original text the story is told from the perspective of Wendy and her family. Peter Pan is the most compelling character in the original text, but he shares main roles with Wendy and her family.
Peter Pan’s story makes sense because of the interaction of the main character with Mrs. Darling’s family (Barrie 12). Escapism is the main idea of the original story. In the movie the story is told from the point of view of a middle-aged man who searches for the means of recapturing his glory days.
The protagonist in the movie is performed by a brilliant comedian, who is able to portray the role of a middle-aged man who comes through a mid-life crisis. The mere fact that the producer of the film framed the story through the lens of a middle-aged man makes it difficult to stay true to the spirit of the original story. As a result, the movie is connected overwhelmingly to middle-aged audience who watches it, and the impact on children can be interpreted as minimal.
The middle-aged men who watch the movie are referred emotionally to the story because this is the group who wants to recapture old glory. Robin Williams demonstrates this emotional need in the movie. These men want to be strong and fast again. In other words, they want to fly again; not in a literal sense but in the way they perceive themselves, as having the capability to do almost anything.
They are not happy with their current life and, therefore, they want to escape to an idealized setting where they will be allowed to do whatever they want. Neverland is a fantasy world they can use to make this dream come true (Hook). Although the plot of the story makes it interesting for adults to watch, the power of the original text to enthrall both young and old aged is lost.
The second major difference is the atmosphere evoked during retelling of the story. In the original text Peter Pan’s playfulness is very much evident. In the beginning of the story, Peter Pan’s shadow is trapped in Wendy’s house. This episode is important in understanding the atmosphere.
Shadow is presented as “a flimsy thing, which is not more material than a puff of smoke, and if let go would probably float into the ceiling without discolouring it. Yet it has human shape” (Barrie 13). The very description turns a reader to the playful mood. Although the movie shows the child-like character of some of those who reside at Neverland, the focus is not on their childlikeness but on the struggle of the old Peter Pan to regain his youthfulness.
The third major difference between the movie and the book is the way the storyteller presents the characters. For example, in the movie Peter is grown up and mature. He appears as a family man. He is not supposed to grow up. In the story he possesses no characteristics that can enable him to grow up. In the context of the original story, Peter Pan is the leader of the “lost boys” (Barrie 24) as well as in the plot of the movie.
The term “lost” in the book is used in the euphemistic way to describe children who fell out of their prams when they were babies. In the movie, lost boys are presented as children of different age and from various periods of time The cloths they wear depicts the time they lived into and, as a result, the time they became one of the lost boys. There are only several scenes and a couple of statements in the movie that inform the audience about this group of children (Hook).
Since the movie does not stay true to the original intention of the writer when referred to the “lost boys” (Barrie 24), the movie could not elaborate on the problems experienced by them. Thus, when one tries to interpret the movie, the idea that comes to mind is that these boys are lost not as babies, but being at different ages. The producer found it difficult to insert the idea that these children were being babies.
As a result, the longing of children for knowledge is not clearly depicted in the movie 9they might be older to be lost). In the original story Peter Pan is able to express this longing so well when he explains to Wendy why swallows build their nests on the eaves of houses (Barrie 30). Peter Pan says that the swallows longed to hear the stories told to children. Peter is so amazed when he finally hears an ending to the Cinderella story. He is double amazed when Wendy tells him that she knows similar tales.
Peter Pan is excited not only for himself but also for his friends, the “lost boys.” He says that he has an access to information and he can use what he knows and bring it back to Neverland. The amazement of Peter doubles with his burning desire to tell stories. This particular aspect of the book is not highlighted in the movie. On the contrary, there is a scene when the boys express how they miss their mother.
Finally, there is a major difference in the moral impact of the story. The movie is centered on the struggles of a middle-aged man who seeks to rediscover the joy of childhood and the powers that make him strong and powerful. But the original text centers on the need to remain childlike.
The moral impact of the movie is to compel the audience to focus on the problems of middle-aged men. The movie appeals to this particular age group. At the same time, the moral impact of the movie is rooted in the need to be a good father and a good husband. At the end of the movie Peter rediscovers his past and the power he possesses to accomplish great things.
He discovers that he is greatly admired because of his skills. But he gives it all up for his children. At the end of the movie Peter Pan does not enjoy the idea of flying compared to the realization that he can never see his children again. It is the love of the parents to children that is the main force that drives the movie.
The original text does not focus on love of the father to his children. The main plot of the original story does not highlight the problems that plague middle-aged men. The message of the original text is simple, the need to rediscover the joy of childhood.
The joy of childhood is rooted in happiness, the lack of anxiety and a certain recklessness that enables children to do impossible things. The morality of the story is that a person can grow old and yet never lose that mindset of a child. The original text is very much different in comparison with the movie version of the Peter Pan story.
Conclusion
The movie is not a retelling of the original story. There are many differences in terms of point of view, the atmosphere evoked by the movie and the book, the way the characters are depicted and the morality of the story. It is discovered that the movie is related to middle-aged men and their struggles. But the original text is able to enthrall both young and old people with a powerful and simple message never lose the childlikeness inside.
Works Cited
Barrie, James. Peter Pan: The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. New York: Mobi Classics Series, 2009. Print.
Hook. Dir. Steven Spielberg. New York: TriStar Pictures, 1991. DVD.