***WARNING!!! THIS POST MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FROM ONCE UPON A TIME!!!! ***
So, I'm a fan of ABC's Once Upon A Time and I absolutely admire the twists and turns the creators have come up with for the plot and characters that we've known from the adventures we've read from books and watching Disney's version of those stories. I'm sure most of you who read my posts are fans of the show as well! When I watched last week's episode (November 17th, 2013), my mind had completely exploded due to the twist of......(SPOILER ALERT).......Peter Pan being Rumple's dad! I never saw that coming!! Anyways, ever since the show introduced Pan being the villain, I absolutely love the idea!! I've fallen madly in love with it, in fact! it's absolutely brilliant! Suddenly, it got me thinking of the many other adaptions of Peter Pan from the past and so, I put together a list of my top five favorite (#1 being my MOST favorite), starting with number five:
#5 Robin Williams in Hook
Robin Williams is a great actor and I admire him for his hilarious performances in Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, & Patch Adams. He always did a great job in Good Will Hunting. But, we can't forget about him voicing Batty in Fern Gully & The Genie in Disney's Aladdin (definitely can't forget about that!)
I place Robin Williams as Number Five because...well, I'll be honest...I hated this movie as a kid (hold on, let me explain; hear me out!). As a kid, I hated growing up, I didn't really care for celebrating my birthday and I always admired Peter Pan for being the child who never grew up or grew old. When I watched Hook, and realized Peter Pan in this version was an adult, it crushed me. However, as I got older and watched Hook again, I learned to appreciate the movie and Robin Williams playing Peter Pan as an adult (just a little). A few things that the movie taught me was that just because we all become adults doesn't mean that we have to grow up in our hearts. We can still be a kid; we can still imagine.
#4 Cathy Rigby in Broadway's Peter Pan
Early this summer, I went to the Pantages Theatre in L.A. to see Peter Pan live on stage, starring Cathy Rigby, who played Peter Pan. Before Cathy Rigby, there was Sandy Duncan and Mary Martin, however, I've only seen the live performance by Cathy Rigby, thus, the reason why I'm writing about her as Peter Pan.
Watching Cathy Rigby live on stage as Peter Pan was definitely brilliant and the performance was a job well done! I just loved seeing her fly out into the Audience and do her daring stunts on the harness! The songs were really fun to listen to as well. My two favorites songs were "I Won't Grow Up" and "I Gotta Crow".
I'm sure some of you are thinking why is an adult woman playing a young boy? Well, I've managed to find some reasons why online and they actually make sense:
- A woman with petite figure would be easier to lift off of the ground.
- An adult has more experience in stunt work when it comes to acrobats (just think how Peter Pan flies around so enthusiastically, doing flips and tricks.) When Peter flies, he's supposed to be athletic and graceful and a girl is more likely to have that grace.
- It's safer to do stunts with adults.
- Peter is supposed to look older than the kids in the play yet younger than the adults.
- Also, the music is written in a certain way to fit the singing for Peter (I have no experience in music, so I don't know how that really works and can't go into further detail in this. My apologies.)
#3 Jeremy Sumpter in Peter Pan (2003)
Ah, yes...Jeremy Sumpter (sighs romantically). When this movie came out back in 2003, I was 13 years old and the moment I saw the trailer for this film, I had a huge crush on this actor. Especially, since he was playing Peter Pan in this remake of one of my favorite stories. One of the interesting things about this movie that I noticed was how the weather changed based on Peter's feelings: When Peter left Neverland to see Wendy, it was Winter in Neverland. When he came back, everything melted away and I believe it was from Peter's happiness about bringing Wendy to Neverland. There was also that moment, when Tinkerbell had drank the poison and was dying; Peter was so devastated that the winds blew and the clouds grew dark and a storm began.
What I love most about this adaption is that Peter's emotions, resentment about growing up, and the chemistry with Wendy was remarkably accomplished. When Peter cried or got upset, I felt for him. For example, when he got upset with Wendy when she mentioned the word "love", and he got offended by it and told Wendy that she should just go home and take her feelings with her. However, I started crying along with Peter when Tinkerbell had died, but when chanting "I do believe in fairies, I do! I do", she came back to life again and I started to cry in happiness (I also started chanting "I do believe in faires" when I saw this movie in the theater and I still do every time I watch this movie). Oh, and I can't forget how magically amazing the score for this film was! Great job James Newton Howard! Overall, I felt this version of Peter Pan was greatly successful with its visuals, and the plot kept the original story of Peter Pan from the book by J.M. Barrie.
#2 Robbie Kay in ABC's Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time's version of Peter Pan just recently replaced Jeremy Sumpter on my list ever since Peter Pan was revealed to a foe. Robbie Kay gives an excellent performance playing the role of a more sinister and villainous Peter Pan, and I love to hate his character so much! We all know that Peter's character is adventurous, cocky, a trickster, fun, etc. Robbie Kay definitely shows these characteristics but switches it to a more menacing point view, letting us know that this boy is up to no good.
As I stated at the beginning, I'm in love with this adaption of Peter Pan; it's different and gives a new look and background to the character we once knew. And speaking of background, I love the plot the creators have come up with, making him trade his son, Rumpelstiltskin, just so he can obtain his youth again. Talk about cruel!
#1 Disney's Peter Pan (voice by Bobby Driscoll)
Finally, number one on my list, is Disney's Peter Pan (1953). Disney's adaption on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, is one of the characters that I fell in love with because of Peter's love for always wanting to stay a child. I never wanted to grow up; I didn't care for celebrating my birthdays because it meant that I was getting older, and when I was younger, I feared that Peter Pan wouldn't come through my window because I was too old. I must confess, I always kept my window open, hoping Peter Pan would take me with him to fly away to Neverland.
Bobby Driscoll, the voice of Peter Pan was a perfect fit and did a great job with the character. And, I'm sure from the photo, you can tell that Disney designed Peter to look like Bobby himself. I love it when Disney makes their characters look like the voice actors; it's so amazing!
Disney's Peter Pan wasn't the FIRST adaption of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Before this, Paramount Pictures had made a silent movie adaption back in 1924. However, when Walt Disney made this animated adaption, I feel like this was the most popular. Thanks to this, I wouldn't be the kid at heart that I am today. This movie has made me keep my imagination and taught me that all I need is "faith and trust. Oh! And dust! Just a little pixie dust!"
Which adaption of Peter Pan did you enjoy the most? Why? Or which actor did you enjoy seeing as Peter Pan?
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