I was a child who grew up with Disney, and though I loved Disney's -Peter Pan- as a kid, I always knew something was dreadfully amiss even at a young age. Hook's character in particular was /extremely/ flimsy in this version, and I recognized that early on. Though I haven't seen the movie for many, many years, I do remember that the story was "fluffy"; Neverland was too friendly - the pirates dim-witted, the savage nature of the island was dulled.
The 2003 live-action version is the only other version I've seen, sadly
Though I'm a huge fan of Mr. Isaacs, I believe Mr. Hogan didn't let Isaacs reach to his full potential in the role of Hook. We all know Isaacs can be loathsome, vicious, and eloquent (take -The Patriot- for example). I believe that Hogan leaned too far toward his intended audience (children), and didn't allow the true character of Hook to be expressed in the movie. Had he allowed the character to thrive (as brilliant and deep characters do), his movie may have appealed a little more to adults. Rather than trimming and form-fitting the character so the characterizations would appeal to the younger generation, Hogan could very well have let Isaacs be Isaacs, and thus let Hook become Hook.
What's incredibly unfortunate about all the movie versions (from what I've heard and read) is that Hook's character is often "dulled". It is very clear from the book and play that he is an educated man, having attended Eton and Oxford. He is literate, eloquent, witty, and most of all, sensitive. One sees similarities between Hook and Hamlet, even. But what seems to be the misunderstanding to most directors is that -Peter Pan- is just as much a story for children as for adults. Complexity and depth of character appeal to adults. Visual effects and fast-paced plots appeal to children. If directors were to approach the wonderful story of -Peter Pan- with this view, perhaps we'd get a more accurate depiction of Barrie's play and the characters aside.
I'd most certainly like to see a clean, clear-cut take on the story. Yes, please do still give me the fantastical world of Neverland that we all love, but also the savage, dirty, MORTAL side. In all my years of watching Hook's flight from the crocodile, I've never seen the kind of fear I knew the character should feel. Watching Pan, I've never seen the defiant attitude we all know he should show when saying, "To die would be an awfully big adventure!". In movies, if Barrie's characters were treated more like people and less like characters, the story would feel so much more real. That's what all of the versions seem to be missing. That's what directors need to understand: for a movie to come to life - and I mean really come to life - the actors must become the characters. Once this happens, the feelings speak for themselves; the actors are no longer mute - they communicate directly to the audience, and the story comes to life.
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