A formative movie from my childhood was a unique take on Peter Pan entitled Hook. To get the “I’m old” jokes out of the way: for the generation younger than me, Hook takes place years after the original story, where Peter Pan leaves Neverland to be with Wendy in the real world. This leads him into becoming an adult and father, and Neverland becoming a repressed memory. Peter is then forced to face his past when Captain Hook takes his revenge by kidnapping his children.
It sounds like a drama — which it does have — but it’s a force of comedy with Robin Williams as Peter Pan. The drama part of the film deals with losing touch with imagination and childhood, and abandonment. The Lost Boys feel abandoned by Peter and deal with it in different ways — namely Rufio, who took over as leader, who rejects Peter for leaving and becoming an adult. Peter, in his pursuit in rescuing his children, rekindles his friendship with the Lost Boys, and rediscovers his imagination and childlike wonder.
Robin Williams was one of the greats who can play a character that navigates complex emotions that you can feel, all while still making you laugh without skipping a beat. Hook displays that perfectly. Williams played the straight man to the Lost Boys, and then shifted to comedy while Captain Hook was the straight man. And it was a strong, emotional performance when it was Peter with his kids. The film hits the emotional beats perfectly.
If you haven’t already seen Hook, I implore you to watch it. If you have seen the movie, then I again implore you to watch it again. It hits different as an adult. It is a fantastic reminder to hold and cherish your imagination and childhood, and let it balance with responsibility and maturity.
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