Review of Peter Pan and the Pirates

Peter Pan And The Pirates (1990-1992?) Starring Jason Marsden, Tim Curry, Debi Derryberry, Cristina Lang, Ed Gilbert, Jack Lynch, Whit Hertfold, Chris M. Alport, Michael Wise, Aaron Lohr, Cree Summer, Scott Menville, David Shaughnessy, Jack Angel, Eugene Williams..Director Jon D. Williams, Writer Peter Lawrence This short-lived cartoon series, which only lasted about two seasons, was a superb, creative and colorful introduction to J.M. Barrie's classic children's novel "Peter Pan", which has been adapted into silent film, several sound/dramatic versions, a 1950's Disney animated film and a Broadway musical. The unforgettable story of a flying boy who refuses to grow up, of the enchanted world of Neverland and of the villainous Captain Hook never fades from memory. I remember this was a well-written, highly entertaining series, loosely based on the original novel. It had the same characters, including all the Pirates (Smee, Starkey, Billy Jukes, Cookson, Mullins) and the Indians (Tiger-Lily, Hard-To-Hit and Big Chief Little Panther). While many elements were fictionalized and tailor-made for the series, which has no formal plot or time continuity, meaning Peter Pan, Wendy and the Lost Boys remain in Neverland eternally battling Captain Hook and his crew. Each episode revealed creative subplots (One year before Steven Spieldberg's "Hook" starring Robin Williams, there was an episode in which Peter Pan grows up, becomes a roaming old man and causes Neverland to self-destruct, Wendy, Peter and the Lost Boys put on a play, Shakespeare's Romeo And Juliet, later Hook, in a scheme to capture Wendy and kill Peter, takes part of the production, we journey to Tintagel, the fairy world where Tinker Bell comes from, a little magical world encased in glass) The adventures are just as exciting as in the films and novels, and we get more character development. Tinker bell (Debie Drewberry) is allowed to develop as a talking character, revealing her playfulness, her stubbornness, her mischief and her jealousy of Wendy for being loved by Peter. Whenever she was impatient or angry, she would curse but someone would "shhhh" her or she would be quited by the furious flapping of her own wings, which, like in the book, sound like tinkling bells. Literary elements like Hook's origins - he left the Spanish Main and got lost and got stuck in Neverland - the Crocodile that ate his hand and swallowed a clock, which, with every tick, reminds him he is coming to devour the rest of him. Wendy seems to grow from a naive girl, raised in a civil British Victorian home and initially believing that even Captain Hook is a true gentleman, to a girl who fends for herself and learns that she can not trust so easily. Tinker Bell, Peter Pan's savior (she rescued him when he was abandoned by his mother and whisks him off to Neverland where they become childhood playmates) is a lot like Peter Pan, just as defiant, playful and stubborn. More importantly, we get more of a sense of conflict between Captain Hook (voiced by Tim Curry in a great performance!), who is a gentleman, a villain, a manipulator and drunk on his own dictatorial power as Captain of the Jolly Roger, which even fuels Mutiny in one episode. Peter Pan (Jason Marsden) portrays Pan as an arrogant, cocky, stubborn, defiant, spoiled brat-hero, which, however unlike the Peter Pans you've seen before, makes him more flawed and therefore more real. Furthermore, thanks to the fine voice-acting of Tim Curry and Jason Marsden, we finally see what may be at the heart of the antagonism between Hook and Pan- the jealousy and resentment that comes with age difference. Hook, a powerful older alpha male, is humiliated and constantly defeated by a much younger, equally powerful Peter Pan. Perhaps I'm over-analyzing all of this, but if you watch these episodes with careful attention and appreciation, you'll discover the strength of the story. Other than the fine acting, we get a lot of comedy, especially in the nuances of the Lost Boys and the awkward pirates like Smee and the British gentleman Starkley. And, Hook, big and bad as he is, has a weakness: He loves his Mother and is submissive to her.