What do you think Peter looks like?

[Carrie]

Hi all:

I'm sure that when you think of Peter Pan, some image pops into your mind. I'm just wondering what that image might be. Peter and Wendy tells us that "He was a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of the trees, but the most entrancing thing about him was that he had all his first teeth." Are there any other details that you automatically imagine?

Is there a particular illustrated or filmed version that comes to mind? Rackham? Bedford? Woodward? White? Disney? Hogan? Brom? others?

What about the other characters? Where do your imaginings of Tinkerbell, Hook, the Lost Boys, Smee, Tiger Lily, etc. come from? What do they look like?

[AlexanderDavid]

Hi all:

I'm sure that when you think of Peter Pan, some image pops into your mind. I'm just wondering what that image might be. Peter and Wendy tells us that "He was a lovely boy, clad in skeleton leaves and the juices that ooze out of the trees, but the most entrancing thing about him was that he had all his first teeth." Are there any other details that you automatically imagine?

Is there a particular illustrated or filmed version that comes to mind? Rackham? Bedford? Woodward? White? Disney? Hogan? Brom? others?

What about the other characters? Where do your imaginings of Tinkerbell, Hook, the Lost Boys, Smee, Tiger Lily, etc. come from? What do they look like?

Ever since I saw the Cathy Rigby musical I've always thought of her when I've thought of Peter Pan--at least in terms of her performance, if not her actual looks.  In terms of looks, I suppose George Llewelyn Davies is as good a model as any, as he looked in 1904.

The closest to a "look" for Tinker Bell I can conceive is the Disney version--they actually got her RIGHT, personality-wise.

My favorite Hook is Ernest Torrence, the actor who played him in the silent film.  No other screen version I've seen comes close.

I don't really have any exact image for the Lost Boys, or Tiger Lily.  As for Smee, well, I imagine him looking like he does in the silent version too (played by Edward Kipling), but he has almost no role in that.

[SingsWithRavens]

My mental images of each character varies from time to time. As my interpretations and perceptions ebb and flow, so does my understanding of their physique, personality, posture, etc.
    Peter has always stumped me. He states he ran away the day he was born, and we are told by Barrie that he still has all his first teeth, but I don't imagine a very young boy as Peter. For me, Pan invokes an image of wildness - my Peter is savage, arrogant, deceptive, and eccentric. His hair is wild, his eyes are bright, and he constantly holds the air about him. He is savage, wild, free, and dangerous. He regards the world with a crooked smile, knowing nothing of the souls of others.
     I'm quite sensitive about James, and so my understanding of him shifts even more rapidly than Pan or the others. There exists a difference between James and Hook for me. James Hook, as a person, is conflicted within. He is melancholy and proud, sinister and gentile, sensitive and enigmatic - he is a pirate and a gentleman, and it shows. Proud and aggressive, Hook appears as a strong man, tall, fit, and rough. James, on the other hand, is the gentleman, appearing sensitive, groomed, and thoughtful. Dark and brooding, James Hook is marked for death and the knowledge of his coming Fate has affected his mood and so outward appearance. He appears sickly, pale. And yet, his proud nature keeps him moving, and he readies himself for each day as if it is to be his last.
   

[violet18smith]

Peter is mainly an exaggerated stereotype of a boastful and careless boy. He is quick to point out how great he is, even when such claims are questionable .

I have seen the movie of peter Pan "Peter Pan" (2003), and the authorized sequel novel "Peter Pan in Scarlet" (2006).

[Hannah High]

I never saw a screen/stage version look like what I thought was Peter. As for Barrie's image of him, I wondered what his older brother, David looked liked. My mental version sometimes leaned for a young Barnaby Holm (who played George in The Lost Boys) and for a young Ned Birkin (Andrew's son, who played Tom in The Cement Garden). Both boys have a glint of the devil.

[paula mastroberti]

Hello! I'm writer, artist and researcher (doctorade) from Brazil, and my object is Peter Pan's story and its presence in my country: movies, books, etc. My focus is the literary version and its illustrators, but in relation to the other medias. In my studies, I didn't get a information which strikes my curiosity: it's about the origin of Peter's hat. I know there is some pictures that he doesn't have it at all, but in most of the figures, he wears a kind of hunter hat, and - most interesting! - there are some old illustrations where he's wearing a kind of elm (Robert Ingpen, Mabie Lucie Attwell)! Why? Could anyone answer me? Thanks a lot and sorry for my bad english. I can read well but I can't write properly.
I'd like to invite you to know my blog: Peter Pan and Wendy's Project ( http://peterpanwendyprojeto.blogspot.com/ ). As illustrator, I'm making some drawings to an hipothetic publishing of Peter Pan in Brazil. This project makes part of my thesis. My blog is only in portuguese, but you can look at the pictures. Thanks.

[paula mastroberti]

Please, I repeat my question: can anybody answer me about the origin of Peter's hat in Robert Ingpen and Lucie Attwell figures? This information is quite necessary for my iconographic researches.

[GOSH]

Hi Paula
My guess is that Mabel Lucie Attwell drew Peter's hat (or helmet) in a similar style to that of her illustrations of fairies and pixies which were hugely popular at the time. It is a bit in the shape of an acorn, which would make sense for a tiny fairy, but probably not for Peter Pan. Robert Ingpen obviously drew his inspiration from Attwell's images for his own interpretation of Peter's hat.

Good luck with your project and research and keep us updated!

www.gosh.org/peterpan