Peter Pan’s Backstory Is a Mess of Moviesplaining

Reportedly a $150 million production, it represents a larger strip-mining operation: the pillaging of a durable but not invincible pop culture myth, born in 1902, when J.M. Barrie wrote of an infant version of Peter Pan. The film stars Levi Miller as Peter, and features an impressive supporting cast including Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund and Amanda Seyfried. Here we have James Hook (Garret Hedlund) as a cowboy heartthrob, unsuccessfully channelling both Heath Ledger’s Joker and Jimmy Stewart’s George Bailey to create an over-the-top presence whose motives (and whose presumable descent into evil) remain shrouded in mystery. Should you see “Pan”, save yourself the money and gain a few extra colors by seeing it in 2D. Peter found out he has that skill by accident but hasn’t quite figured out where his flying on and off switch is located. For one thing, it was a change of pace for the 46-year-old leading man, well known for his gentle demeanor and ability to put his costars and fans instantly at ease. And what does that one have to do with the Peter Pan that we already know? With the next Wolverine in the works he’s soon back on home turf with his appropriately titled show, Broadway to Oz. I had a lot of annoying questions that my dad didn’t have answers [to]. No one knew it was Hugh Jackman portraying the character because the makeup completely made him unrecognisable.

The movie is replete with details from Wright’s own childhood and the director says revisiting his younger self was fun. He forms an instant rapport with Peter, played so well by Levi Miller, a precocious newcomer who brings a sense of mystery to the role that’s always welcome.

“In just the blink of an eye, you could be dead dealing with Blackbeard, the pirate that all pirates fear”, he recalls. So it’s kind of like a secret club for kids, and I kind of really like that idea.

But ask him about getting in a harness to fly around like the Peter Pan of legend or working in the colorful jungles of Pan’s magical world, and it’s less talk of autographs and selfies and more Miller just being a little kid in awe of his big break. Pictures Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily in ‘Pan’.

But when talking about “Pan”, she becomes animated. “It’s something Paul Dainty and I have been talking about”, he says. “He’s just so open and curious”. Unfortunately, Wright doesn’t give us even a hint at the eventual, instead apparently setting up a sequel, which may never come. This is how Peter ends up in Neverland, where he becomes a forced child labourer in the midst of a fascist dictatorship that exists to serve Blackbeard’s secret longing for immortality. The story picks up with Peter, now aged 12, still dreaming of his mother’s return.

When we first meet Blackbeard, he is striding out to the worshipful masses, who greet him by singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” in unison.

The Australian-born youngster remembers his early days on the set as among the most hard. But I have to tell you, last night at about four o’clock, it was a day off school for my ten-year-old daughter, and I hadn’t heard anything.

“I think managing a project like this is like being the CEO of a giant pop-up corporation, there’s so much politics and management involved”, he explained.