Seeing Peter Pan Elements in Other Films or Media

[Dani1923]

Being a a big fan of Peter Pan, I tend to unintentionally see Peter Pan elements in other movies that aren’t centered around P.P. 
There’s a 90’s Disney Channel movie called Don’t Look Under the Bed, which actually references Peter Pan a few times, but there’s also elements of the movie about not growing up too fast and that it’s okay to be a kid at heart even though you grow old. There’s also an older boy, who’s actually an imaginary friend, who befriends but also sometimes annoys the main female protagonist. So there’s a few Peter Pan-esque elements in that movie.

There’s also this new horror movie that just came out called Come Play, ( I haven’t seen the movie, just the trailer) which is about a young autistic boy who’s basically being followed by this creature named Larry who, as the movie says, just wants a friend. The fact that there’s a creature who wants to kidnap a child so he can have a friend forever sounds like the original intention of Peter Pan back when Barrie wanted Peter to be the villain of the story.

So I want to know if anyone else finds Peter Pan elements in un-Pan related films or other media?

[Hannah Grippo]

Hmm...when I teach Peter Pan at school, I don't show any film directly based on it (all rubbish in my opinion), but I do show "Song of the Sea" (a beautiful animated film from Ireland). The world of fairies and the world of reality blur and break in such amazing ways in that movie. It also has many powerful themes about love and death. The kids and I like to compare/contrast the two works of art. If it's of any interest, when I teach Alice in Wonderland, I don't show Alice films, but Japanese anime by Hayao Miyazaki (usually "Spirited Away"). So I'm sure there's lots of films that have Peter Pan elements out there.

[Dani1923]

Thank you Hannah for your response!
Just watched the trailer for Song of the Sea and it does look really good!
And even though for years I’ve heard of Spirited Away as being one of the best animated movies of all time, I still haven’t seen it yet! Shame on me! Hopefully I will someday!

[Hannah Grippo]

Yes, do one day. I don't know where you're located, but Song of the Sea is on Netflix in America, and Spirited Away is on Netflix in the UK. They are both beautiful films, and really worth the watch, not just for people who love animation, but film in general (especially fantasy). My kids are enthralled to watch them every year. I would love to see Miyazaki (if he wasn't retired) take on Peter Pan, but he usually (thankfully!) focuses on female leads. Of course, Wendy is the heart of the story, and I bet he'd do a great interpretation of her.

[Dani1923]

I live in America, so I’ll definitely watch Song of the Sea and tell you what I think! Thank you for telling me where to watch it!

I would love for Miyazaki to make a Wendy movie! And even though he said he was retiring, he’s actually currently making another movie called “How Do You Live?” Thankfully, I don’t think he’ll ever truly stop making movies until he dies!

[Dani1923]

I just finished watching Song of the Sea! I loved it! It dealt with parental death and the need of the love of family so well!
And the animation was gorgeous!!
Thank you again Hannah for recommending this movie!

[Hannah Grippo]

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it. It moves me anew every time I watch it. Did you notice any Peter Pan Elements?

[Dani1923]

The Peter Pan elements I can think of is, children discovering a fantasy-type world, a child having supernatural powers, Saoirse being a selkie ( I had no idea what a selkie was before seeing this movie, so it was cool to learn about that!), a boy losing a mother, though in different ways, Ben’s mom died, but Peter’s mother forgot about him. 

This is not a Peter Pan element, but a Llewelyn-Davies boy element, Ben seems to have a fear of water, similar to Michael Llewelyn-Davies. But Ben manages to overcome his fear, though Michael of course, never did!

You can probably think of more elements than I can, but those are the only ones I could think of!

[Hannah Grippo]

Those are all awesome. I missed the one that connects Ben and Michael to fear of water. Great spot! I also appreciate that Barrie's own self and real life friends inspired characters in Peter Pan. The characters Ben's sees in the fairy world are certainly mirrors to his own life (His Grandmother as a the Owl, his father as the stone Giant, etc). I can see Ben and his Saoirse rubbing their loved ones and circumstances violently together as Barrie did with the Davies family to produce a flame!

[Dani1923]

Thank you Hannah!

And wow I didn’t realize that some of the characters reflect the people in Ben’s real life! Usually I’m good at spotting stuff like that in movies, but totally missed it here! Seems very obvious now! Thanks for telling that to me!

[Hannah Grippo]

I've actually been finding Peter-inspired scenes in books, and made a post about it. I love to see how writer's work with him. Maybe you have read some good books where Peter's shadow could be spotted?

[Sylvia8]

Hi Dani,

Yes in movies like Big, Miss Peregrine and the Peculiar Children, the series LOST (for the Island and the fact that you can't escape it),...

[Dani1923]

Thanks for your response Sylvia! Your examples are great and spot on! 😀👍🏾