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Beyond just starring in adaptations of “Peter and Wendy,” Peter Pan has appeared in all sorts of stories in print and on screen. Sequels, prequels, spinoffs and reimaginingsīarrie’s play and books have proven to be a wellspring of inspiration for later generations.

Hogan and a 2014 “revival” of the musical, once again broadcast on NBC, this time starring Allison Williams in the title role opposite Christopher Walken. Since then, there have been a number of other adaptations, including a 2003 movie directed by P.J. An NBC live broadcast of the show in 1955 pulled in a record-setting 65 million viewers. Just a year after Disney’s animated feature hit theaters, Peter Pan also appeared on Broadway in a hugely popular Tony Award-winning musical starring Mary Martin. In fact, he was supposed to still have his baby teeth. Likewise, in the early stage productions, the actors wore auburn-colored leaves and cobwebs - not the now-iconic green tunic-and-tights combo from the 1953 movie.Įven in the 1911 book, Barrie’s Peter was also significantly younger than the Disney version. Barrie’s own description of Peter was pretty scant on details, but he wore an outfit made of “skeleton leaves and the juices that flow from trees,” according to the 1911 book. It was Disney’s animated version, however, that invented a lot of what audiences think of when they imagine Peter Pan today, including his appearance. Before this, the character had been portrayed using just a dot of light that stage hands would flash around with a mirror to focus it. One of the big innovations of this early adaptation, which was produced during Barrie’s lifetime (he even wrote a draft of the script), was casting a flesh-and-blood actress to play Tinker Bell. The character’s first on-screen appearance, though, dates back nearly three decades before, to a 1924 silent film. That was changed after Barrie started getting complaints from parents whose children had injured themselves by jumping from high places.īarrie later turned the play into a book, “Peter and Wendy,” in 1911, and it has become a bona fide children’s classic - and arguably the most successful novelization of a play/movie ever.īy far the most well-known take on Peter Pan to this day is Walt Disney’s 1953 animated version. For instance, in the initial production, Peter and the other children could fly completely unaided, without having to use pixie dust. The play proved so popular with audiences that it was performed every year thereafter for 10 years, albeit with slight tweaks along the way.

It introduced everything from Wendy and the rest of the Darling children to “the Never-Never-Land” and Tiger Lily with her tribe of “Picaninny warriors.” In 1904, the first production of “Peter Pan or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” was performed in London. These chapters were later published in 1906 as a standalone children’s book (with a few alterations) titled “Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.”īut it was through a stage play, primarily, that the character really took shape. Anita Tarr, nurseries of the time had bars on the windows: to prevent infants who briefly forget that they’re human from flying away. Barrie’s Peter Pan in and Out of Time: A Children’s Classic at 100" by Donna R. Although he could also fly, the ability didn’t come from pixie dust, but from the whimsical notion that Peter, like all children, according to Barrie, used to be a bird - which is why, reasoned the author, according to “J.M. And in this very first iteration, he is barely recognizable.įar from the adventure-hungry, pirate-dueling boy audiences are familiar with, this version of the character was a 7-day-old infant who rode a goat and lived in Kensington Gardens among fairies. He was not, as one might imagine, the star of the first story he appeared in, a 1902 book written by Barrie titled “The Little White Bird.” In fact, Peter was just part of a story within a story. Barrie’s literary character began life in a somewhat unexpected way. “Every legend has a beginning,” say the posters for “Pan.” Here’s a brief overview of the history of Barrie’s beloved character in print, onstage and on screen. Over the years, though, Peter Pan, the quintessential childhood rebel, has undergone some pretty drastic changes that might surprise even fans of the original 1911 book. Barrie’s beloved character Peter Pan in an entirely new way. Bolstered by some snazzy visuals and a star-studded cast, this week’s release of Joe Wright’s “Pan” promises to explore the origins of J.M.