My first encounter with J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan was through Walt Disney but it wasn't the animated PETER PAN film from 1953. It was the fairly benign Peter Pan ride based on the animated film at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. The ride consists of sitting in a small pirate ship and flying over sequences from the film. It's the beginning of the ride where you feel like you're soaring over London that captured my imagination immediately. The Peter Pan Ride is one of my favorite rides at Disneyland in large part to that feeling of flying like Peter Pan.
It was inevitable that Peter Pan and Steven Spielberg were going to cross paths at some point in their careers. Both were boys who didn't want to grow up. Peter Pan wanted to hang out and have fun with Tinkerbell and the Lost Boys on the island of Neverland forever. Spielberg had turned his childhood passion of making Super 8mm films into a wunderkind career with hit films like RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) and E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTIAL (1982) that showed a filmmaker in tune with young audiences. Finally, in 1991, Spielberg and Peter Pan would team up for a new take on the J.M. Barrie's beloved characters from screenwriters James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo called HOOK based on J.M. Barrie's 1911 novel called Peter and Wendy.
When HOOK was first released, I was outraged. Spielberg had been so great at filming his movies on real locations, capturing incredible images. HOOK was filmed entirely inside studio soundstages. The nerve! How could Spielberg and company deprive us of real locations. But if you think about it, that's the only way that HOOK was ever going to get made. A giant pirate ship, the most famous director in the world at the time, and an all-star cast (with big salaries) including Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Julia Roberts, the budget of HOOK might have exceeded ten times what it was if they had tried to film in Hawaii or the Caribbean or Tahiti. Spielberg had learned his lesson from JAWS (1975). Filming on water is hell.
In Steven Spielberg's modern update of the Peter Pan story, co-written by James V. Hart and Malia Scotch Marmo based on a story idea by Hart and Nick Castle, the never grow old Peter Pan is now paunchy, adult Peter Banning (Robin Williams), a successful corporate Merger & Acquisitions lawyer with a wife Moira (Caroline Goodall) and two children, 11 year old Jack (Charlie Korsmo) and 7 year old Maggie (Amber Scott). Whether it's taking business calls at Maggie's school play (she's playing Wendy in her school version of Peter Pan) or missing Jack's baseball game, Peter has become too consumed with work to notice he's missing out on his children's lives. The Banning family fly back to London for a dedication of a hospital wing to be named after Moira's Granny Wendy (Maggie Smith) for her work with orphans. Its been ten years since Peter last saw Wendy and her her maid Liza (Laurel Cronin) and friend Tootles (Arthur Malet). Peter doesn't remember the adventures he had with them when he was a young Peter Pan. When Peter, Moira, and Wendy return from the dedication, they find the flat covered with scratch marks and Jack and Maggie gone, kidnapped by Peter's nemesis Captain James Hook (Dustin Hoffman) who leaves a note requesting Peter Pan's presence in Neverland.
Granny Wendy tries to help Peter remember his past, that he's the real Peter Pan. Peter has no memory of his childhood. Peter's glowing fairy friend Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) arrives to nudge Peter. Peter still has no recollection. Tinkerbell ends up kidnapping Peter and flies him to Neverland and a Pirate Town where Hook has taken Jack and Maggie. Disguising himself as a pirate, Peter watches as Hook and his loyal boatswain Mr. Smee (Bob Hoskins) show off a trussed up Jack and Maggie to their crew. Seeing his kids in danger, Peter reveals himself to Hook. Hook doesn't believe he's Peter Pan. He's overweight, afraid of heights, and cannot remember how to fly. Hook gives Tinkerbell three days to get Peter back to his old self or he will kill execute him. Peter wakes up back with his old gang the Lost Boys at their hideout. Only they have a new leader named Rufio (Dante Basco). Tinkerbell asks the Lost Boys to help get Peter in shape and remember who he was. The Lost Boys are torn. They're not sure if the adult in their midst is Peter or not.
Back on his pirate ship, Hook wants to die. There's no adventure left in Neverland. His greatest foe Peter Pan is now just a boring lawyer. Smee suggests Hook make Peter's son Jack like him. Hook can become Jack's new father to make Peter become jealous and return to his old self. The Lost Boys eat a pretend dinner until Peter regains his imagination. Suddenly, their plates and bowls are teeming with colorful food. Hook becomes frightened by the sound of Jack's pocket watch. He thinks the crocodile that ate his hand has returned. Smee reminds him the crocodile is dead. Hook takes Jack to a broken clock store. Hook urges Jack to break a clock for every time his father Peter broke promises to him. Jack smashes away, slowly brainwashed by Hook and Smee. Hook stages a baseball game in Jack's honor. Peter and the Lost Boys show up in disguise. Jack hits a home run, the ball blasted into the sky. Hook waits at home plate to congratulate Jack. Peter realizes he must remember how to fly so he can defeat Hook and win his son back. Peter still can't fly until Jack's baseball falls back to earth and hits him on the head.
Peter looks into the water and sees a reflection of his younger self. Peter's shadow leads him to an old tree and the remnants of Wendy's house. Tinkerbell is waiting for him. Peter begins to remember how he became an orphan, how Tinkerbell rescued him, how he first met young Wendy (Gwyneth Paltrow), now Granny Wendy. Peter realizes becoming a father as his happy thought. Peter flies again. The Lost Boys rejoice. Tinkerbell reminds Peter he needs to save his children. Tinkerbell grows to human size and kisses Peter. She tells Peter she loves him. Peter tells Tinkerbell he loves Moira and his kids. Hook prepares to make Jack a real pirate when Jack and the Lost Boys show up for a final fight. Peter rescues Maggie first. Hook stabs Rufio. Peter bests Hook in a duel. He lets Hook live. When Hook tries to kill Peter again, his errant sword pierces the giant stuffed Crocodile that ate his hand. The Crocodile momentarily comes to life and falls on Hook, swallowing the pirate. Peter brings Jack and Maggie back to London where they happily reunite with Moira and Granny Wendy. They are a family again.
After watching HOOK for possibly the third time, my opinions of the film have not changed drastically. I have a little more clarity about some of the plot and production. HOOK has some truly magical moments that you would expect from a Spielberg film but it's an uneven film that takes a while to find its footing. Although the opening, modern scenes in Los Angeles set the tone for the schism in Peter and Jack's relationship, the beginning seems disjointed until the family reaches London (more familiar Peter Pan territory). Peter's first time back at the Lost Boys hideout is too over the top and noisy as if Spielberg was reverting back to his younger anything goes 1941 (1979) days. Only when Captain Hook arrives on the screen does HOOK start to feel like something special.
The meat of the story in HOOK is the tug of war between Hook and Peter Pan for Peter' son Jack's fidelity. Spielberg expertly shows Hook and Smee slowly turning Jack against his father, using all the times Peter promised to catch one of Jack's baseball games only to miss it as the bait. What young Jack doesn't realize is Hook is using him to trigger adult Peter into turning back into young, carefree Peter Pan, the adversary Hook is craving to battle and kill. Hook pretends to care for Jack but it's just a charade. When we see Jack dressed as a mini-Hook, it's terrifying for the audience and Peter. The transformation is almost complete. Jack is about to go over to the dark side. This triangle between Hook, Jack, and Peter is the heart and soul of HOOK and corrects the film from its early bumpy beginning.
I never thought I would hear myself saying this but what saves HOOK and Spielberg's film is the music by composer John Williams. Williams music is synonymous with some of the best known musical scores in cinematic history: JAWS (1975), STAR WARS (1977), and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Williams scores are like another character. You don't forget them. You hum them in the shower. HOOK's score would probably never even come up on a Top Ten list of John Williams best scores. It doesn't have a hook (no pun intended) like JAWS although I heard a few flourishes in HOOK that will find their full sound in Chris Columbus's HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE (2001).
After an awkward beginning in HOOK with some awful modern music to coincide with Peter's corporate job, Williams demonstrates why music can be so important to a film as a whole and to a scene in particular. Williams music in HOOK elicits the right emotions that Spielberg visualizes throughout the film, tugging at our heartstrings again and again. Peter realizing he's losing his son Jack to Hook. The Lost Boys rejoicing when Peter rediscovers his imagination and his ability to fly. And Peter reconnecting with his wife and kids. Williams music for HOOK may not be as unforgettable as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) or E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTIAL. The music is emotional.
HOOK is buoyed by strong performances by its two leads -- Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook and Robin Williams as Peter Banning/Pan. At this point in his career, Spielberg never had two bigger stars in one of his films. The moment Hoffman appears with his black curly locks and red suit, he dominates the screen. Many actors would play Hook flamboyantly. Hoffman plays Hook as charming and funny rogue always with an undercurrent of menace. He doesn't go into histrionics but make no mistake, Hook's still a cutthroat. Winner of two Best Actor Academy Awards in Robert Benton's KRAMER VS KRAMER (1979) and Barry Levinson's RAIN MAN (1988), HOOK should have been another feather (and Oscar) in Hoffman's pirate hat. It was not to be. HOOK is still one of Hoffman's finest and fun performances.
Who else could have played the adult Peter Pan than the human dynamo with more energy than the boyish Peter Pan himself but Robin Williams. Williams was born to play the adult Peter who must find his youthful past self. As you would expect, Spielberg reins in Williams for a good part of HOOK, having him play the adult Peter as boring and rigid corporate pirate. Other Williams films like George Roy Hill's THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP (1982) and Peter Weir's DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989) managed this tall task of clamping down on Williams manic energy with success, achieving fine performances from Williams. Spielberg maybe holds on a little too long with letting the genie out (yes an ALADDIN pun). When Peter does rediscover his youthful, mischievous self, we all exhale with relief. Williams lets loose, staying in character, resisting ad libs and improvisation. Williams continues to show his growth and maturity as a dramatic actor in HOOK.
At the time, casting Julia Roberts to play Tinkerbell in HOOK seemed like divine inspiration. A rising movie star after a string of hits including Herbert Ross's STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989), Garry Marshall's PRETTY WOMAN (1990), and Joel Schumacher's FLATLINERS (1990), Roberts may have caught Spielberg's attention in PRETTY WOMAN where she's outgoing and bubbly. Just the type of personality needed for Tinkerbell. Roberts doesn't deliver. Whether it was a cancelled wedding with FLATLINER co-star Kiefer Sutherland or her inexperience dealing with green screen special effects and not working directly with her co-stars (she does play a miniature fairy that flits around after all), Roberts seems out of her element in HOOK. There's very little whimsy to her fairy. Her best scene is when she grows to human size to tell Peter she loves him. I think an older, more experienced Julia Roberts would play Tinkerbell beautifully now. In 1991, HOOK was too big a moment for her.
Every villain needs a good sidekick. Bob Hoskins as Mr. Smee provides that partnership with Hoffman's Captain Hook in HOOK. Smee is a friendlier, Iago like confidant to the pirate king, part psychiatrist, part administrative assistant. It's Smee that proposes to Hook he step in to replace Peter as Jack's father figure, brainwashing the young, impressionable boy, turning him on his real father Peter. Smee and Hook are like childhood buddies that have stayed friends for years. Hoffman and Hoskins are terrific together. Hoskins began his career playing tough, British blue collar characters in films like John Mackenzie's THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY (1980) and Neil Jordan's MONA LISA (1986). Hoskins would prove he was deft in comedy too, showcasing his ability in Robert Zemeckis's WHO KILLED ROGER RABBIT? (1988) and soon after, in HOOK.
Spielberg once again knocks it out of the theater with his child actors in HOOK. From Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore in E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTIAL to Christian Bale in EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987) to Joseph Mazzello in JURASSIC PARK (1993), Spielberg's direction of child actors has been mind boggling. Add HOOK'S Charlie Korsmo (and to a lesser extant Amber Scott) to that list. Korsmo gives a heartbreaking, emotionally nuanced performance as Peter's son Jack, grappling with longing for his father's love and support versus siding with Peter's sworn enemy Hook who has stepped in to fill the vacuum Peter has left. Other fine films to catch Korsmo in include Paul Brickman's MEN DON'T LEAVE (1990) and Warren Beatty's DICK TRACY (also 1990).
Korsmo and Scott aren't the only child actors in HOOK. The Lost Boys provide Spielberg with his largest young cast of his career (and apparently a handful on the set). Spielberg wisely makes the Lost Boys diverse so that the audience can differentiate between each one. Memorable Lost Boys include Dante Basco as their new leader Rufio, Raushan Hammond as Thud Butt, James Madio as Don't Ask, and Thomas Tulak as Too Small. HOOK is full of fun cameos. Look for singer/drummer Phil Collins (Genesis) as a police inspector, Glenn Close as the unfortunate buccaneer Gutless, Jimmy Buffett (Margaritaville) and David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash) as members of Hook's pirate crew, and a young Gwyneth Paltrow as young Wendy.
Some final HOOK observations. Spielberg channels his inner Michael Curtiz with the Lost Boys swinging from one ship to another to attack Hook's pirates ala Curtiz's CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) and THE SEA HAWK (1940). HOOK was made just at the dawn of CGI (Computer Generated Images). Yet, the Tinkerbell effects are underwhelming and may contribute to my overall unhappiness with Julia Roberts performance. Where Spielberg did succeed is with the use of shadows in HOOK which play an important visual. It's Peter's shadow that leads him to uncover his past self and become the impish Peter Pan again. Earlier in the film, Jack's shadows looms over adult Peter as he takes a business call on his phone, hinting at the splintering of their relationship.
