New ‘Peter Pan’ movie embraces J.M. Barrie’s ‘sense of strangeness’
SERVING as a prequel to J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan,” director Joe Wright’s “Pan” tells an origin story depicting the titular character and Captain Hook.
Wright, with the help of screenwriter Jason Fuchs, reimagines a character created over a century ago.
“This is Peter Pan for 2015, a complete reframing of the story as we all know and love it,” Wright said. “It’s Peter’s origin story and a classic hero’s journey set in a big, beautiful, bold world.”
With author Barrie’s classic tale as the primary inspiration, Wright said he embraced the author’s “sense of strangeness.”
“It’s a very odd book. It doesn’t underestimate children’s intelligence; there are no ‘goodies’ or ‘baddies,’ everyone is flawed, even Peter,” he said. “I loved the duplicity of all the characters.”
The film stars Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard; Garrett Hedlund as James Hook; Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily; Levi Miller as Peter; and Amanda Seyfried as Mary.
Origins
The story Fuchs came up with is the untold tale of how a young orphan named Peter would become the hero known forevermore as Peter Pan.
A young woman, Mary, deposits her infant son on the steps of an orphanage called the Lambeth Home for Boys, leaving him with a note, a kiss and a pan flute charm on a string about his neck. The story picks up with Peter, now aged 12, still dreaming of his mother’s return.
Then one night, Peter is whisked away from the orphanage and spirited off to a fantastical world of pirates, warriors and fairies called Neverland. There, he finds amazing adventures and fights life-ordeath battles while trying to uncover the secret of his mother and his rightful place in this magical land.
Teamed with the warrior Tiger Lily and a new friend named James Hook, Peter must defeat the ruthless pirate Blackbeard to save Neverland and discover his true destiny—to become the hero who will forever be known as Peter Pan.
However, it’s not the Neverland we’ve all come to know. Under Blackbeard’s rule, Peter and his fellow orphans—along with thousands more—are thrown into a massive dirt pit and forced to dig ceaselessly for the rarest of gems: pixum, from which pixie dust is extracted.
But when Peter comes face to face with Blackbeard, he proves himself to have an extraordinary gift, and it becomes clear the malevolent ruler may have even more to fear from Peter, and that his fate, and the very fate of Neverland, may rest in this young boy’s hands.
“Pan” opens in theaters on Oct. 8.