not-wholly-unheroic

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Question: Would anyone be interested in a “Peter Pan Confessions” side blog if I started one? I’m thinking of something similar to the @waltdisneyconfessions blog where people could send in things and then have them posted anonymously. It would be open for confessions regarding any/all of the characters from any version of the story.

NOTE: One important caveat… I am not comfortable sharing NSFW content on any of my blogs so that sort of confession would be a no-go.

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Early screenplay draft of the 2003 film.

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Awww, thank you for the shoutout! I SO appreciate it anytime anyone seems to enjoy my blog and love knowing it gives others a little bit of dopamine for the day! Lol.

He is, “in a word, the handsomest man I have ever seen, though, at the same time, perhaps slightly disgusting.” — J. M. Barrie’s Hook At Eton

Happy Fanart Friday and here’s my original portrait featuring Disney’s beloved version of J.M. Barrie’s famous sneaky pirate: Captain Hook! 🪝🏴‍☠️⚓️

I’ve been working on this since April but I had certain days to work on this portrait. As always, this piece is all mixed-media. I used matte paint, ink, and colored pencils. I drew Hook semi-realistically, kinda Pixar-like. ☺️👌 You get what I’m saying? Also I drew Captain Hook wearing his modern clothes from the new game “Disney Villains: Cursed Café” and I really love his outfit because he looks like theater teacher! 🧑‍🏫 🎭 Coincidentally, in the game, he is interested in creating an original theatrical play. Which is very fitting because I see it’s a nod to his Etonian days.

Oh, yes, according to J.M. Barrie, Hook went to Eton College which is why this devilishly dashing buccaneer is so academically smart! 👈😘

Not only I added the Etonian crest on his sweater, I also added the golden infinity brooch which is a symbol used to represent the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Warmly, that means that his current English voice actor, Corey Burton, is Autistic. Me, being diagnosed with Mild Autism, I totally respect and support one of my favorite voice artists from childhood greatly! And in my headcanon, James Bartholomew Hook is Autistic because I see it as a sweet tribute to Mr. Burton. 💛💛💛 Also this original artwork of mine is for every Hook fan including @not-wholly-unheroic!

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Ironically, this role reversal Pan looks a lot like Fox’s Peter Pan design.

Roles invertidos??? eso creo.

[not-wholly-unheroic]

Hello, I'd like to ask you this: what do you think of Disney's 1953 Peter Pan? Personally, it's one of my favorites from the company (along with The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and others); however, I won't deny its problematic points, such as its infamous representation of Native Americans, or the fact that being created in an era where gender roles were well established in society, the female characters are not well written, and are portrayed as mothers or jealous girls competing for a boy's love; but other problems aside, for me this film is wonderful, the animation and visuals are dazzling, the music seems underrated and beautiful to me (because people don't seem to recognize its soundtrack), and the characters are likeable, despite some having more flaws than virtues (like Peter himself, Tinker Bell, the mermaids, etc.); Overall, I think it's another of Disney's great masterpieces, and one that I feel deserves to be more recognized today because I find it somewhat hated for its problematic pointsHi, I'd like to ask you this: what do you think of Disney's 1953 Peter Pan? Personally, it's one of my favorites from the company (along with The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and others); however, I won't deny its problematic points, such as its infamous representation of Native Americans, or the fact that being created in an era where gender roles were well established in society, the female characters are not well written, and are portrayed as mothers or jealous girls competing for a boy's love; but other problems aside, for me this film is wonderful, the animation and visuals are dazzling, the music seems underrated and beautiful to me (because people don't seem to recognize its soundtrack), and the characters are likeable, despite some having more flaws than virtues (like Peter himself, Tinker Bell, the mermaids, etc.); Overall, I think it's another of Disney's great masterpieces, and one that I feel deserves to be more recognized today because I find it somewhat hated for its problematic points

I am admittedly pretty biased when it comes to Disney’s Peter Pan. It was the first version of the story I ever encountered and the version that made me fall in love with the characters…most especially Hook. It inspired me to read Barrie’s work in middle school and then the 2003 film came out shortly after that and then I basically just started consuming as much Peter Pan content as I could find.

Obviously, as you said, the entire…everything…with Tiger Lily and her people could have been done in a much more tasteful way (though to be fair, the source material they were drawing from was pretty racist too). But Barrie did have Tiger Lily caught boarding the ship with a knife in her mouth rather than just kidnapped and I have always thought that would have been a really cool thing to include in more versions. I did like how they had her play a much larger role in the fighting and used an actual native actress in the recent Disney remake. That one has its issues, too, but I was happy with that decision.

I will say, though, that while I am probably in the minority here and will likely get pushback for this…when it comes to the female characters in general in the film, I honestly don’t have a problem with them as a whole. I think Wendy (like many of the early female Disney characters) gets a lot of flak for being more traditionally stereotypically feminine. She’s not a fighter. She seems to have the natural maternal instinct even before she decides to grow up. She’s a bit more mature than the boys. But just because she doesn’t wield a weapon or want to remain single and childless her whole life, it doesn’t mean she’s a weak character. In fact, Wendy stands up to both Hook and Peter at times when nobody else seems willing to call them out on their BS. (She also absolutely was not putting up with the mermaids’ attempt to drown her.) Wendy is gentle and kind and loving. But she also stands up for herself and for others. She is strong in the quiet, internally confident sense. I always like to say that if Wendy had a motto, it would be “Do no harm; take no crap.” And some of the more modern takes frankly try too hard to “girl power” their way into things and in doing so lose a huge part of who Wendy is and what makes her such a loving and lovable character.

As for Tink… Well, she’s not even human so I’m not sure we can entirely compare her moral compass or her actions to human standards. Original Tink is very sassy and sexy and independent (or at least she likes to think so, but she really is pretty dependent on/attached to Peter) and in a lot of ways the opposite of Wendy, but it’s that sass that audiences loved…and while I love the Disney Fairies stories as a kind of AU, it took me a long time to come around to watching them initially because Tink in those films…really isn’t the same character as in the film. Losing your temper and blowing up at your friends is a lot different from being angry enough to have a little girl killed because she was stealing your spotlight. Original Tink has an edge to her that we don’t see in the Fairies franchise. Which is fine. We don’t get Hook’s edge in the Jake series either. But I also don’t consider either the Fairies series or the Jake series canon for that reason. The characters are similar but not the same.

All of that is to say…while the racism issue with Tiger Lily and the villagers is a huge problem and should be addressed… I actually like Tink and Wendy as they are. They’re two very different kinds of femininity and sometimes I think when well-meaning folks try to change things too much to suit modern audiences, they lose critical parts of what makes them who they are. When Tink loses her edge and Wendy gains too much of one…they both end up being just bland middle of the road characters. Which unfortunately I think happened in the Disney live-action remake.

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Sharing this again because it’s been awhile and this is a somewhat obscure version of the story that I think deserves more attention.

I watched this ballet several years ago and had trouble finding a shareable version of the video but it seems it is now available again. If you haven’t seen it, even if ballet isn’t really your thing (it isn’t mine), if you’re a Peter Pan fan, I highly recommend checking it out. The actors say so much without even using any words it’s amazing. There are some really creative moves, too, like Peter’s shadow being played by another separate dancer and some subtle nods to the connection between Hook and George Darling. Also this might be my favorite version of Mr. Darling. He’s precious.

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Y’all…I’m gonna be honest…the last few months have been rough. I don’t often share personal updates on here but for context, since around February I have been sick three different times, my mom had open heart surgery, and most recently my aunt (only 62) and my foster dog passed away in the same week. So it’s just been…a lot… And I really needed a virtual hug from the boy… It sounds silly but Hook has gotten me through some rough times in the past. He’s been a sort of inspirational muse/imaginary best friend since I was 12, and anytime I was having a bad day, I could watch or read something with him in it or imagine myself chatting with him and it would help make things just a little easier.

Big thank you to @starsarekind for bringing this to life for me in this sweet little commission.

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Hey, since we're talking, I share your opinion that Mr. Smee is my favorite Peter Pan character; seriously, that man is so adorable, despite his position as a pirate; I like everything about him, but without a doubt, my favorite scene is during the Your Mother and Mine song, when he looks at his mother tattoo and cries when he hears Wendy's song, making Hook shut up in annoyance; that scene is to give him a hug and tell him that everything is okay

Smee is a very close second favorite of mine after Hook. He’s just…such a sweet character. Way too nice to truly be a villain. And I respect the fact that he always looks out for Hook even when Hook doesn’t necessarily deserve it. His kindness is, I think, what keeps the little bit of goodness there is in Hook alive. I especially love seeing their friendship dynamic explored more in the Jake series. Mr. Smee is an absolute cinnamon roll of a man and just deserves all the love.

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Hi, I've seen some of your texts related to Peter Pan, and the truth is, I really like the Disney version, it's one of my favorite movies from that company, but I never understood those theories that make Peter look like the bad guy in the story and Hook as the misunderstood good guy. In fact, I wrote some unpopular opinions about Disney, and I had expressed that it saddens me that nobody appreciates the Disney film today and that it is somewhat hated by the fandom of the mouse company, without falling into those horrible theories. Although I recognize that Peter has his dark side and I like Disney's Hook, I do not support his bad decisions, and I know that Peter has his good qualities. What do you think about it?

Oh, yeah, 100% agree. Hook is my favorite character and I absolutely believe he is capable of getting a redemption arc…but I recognize that in the film, he is the villain. Peter can be selfish and cocky and thoughtless at times but that’s literally just because he’s basically a feral child raised by fairies and doesn’t know any better. He’s not some evil demon boy and people really need to stop pretending he is. Now, obviously, it’s not /normal/ for a kid to go chopping off a guy’s hand and throwing it to a crocodile…but in Peter’s defense, we don’t know the circumstances and given that Hook is willing to shoot his own men, drown a little girl (Tiger Lily), and has apparently done some pretty bad stuff (“boiling in oil…keelhauling…marooning…”), it’s not unreasonable to think that Hook probably started it and Peter was acting in self-defense. We don’t know if the crocodile being there and getting the hand was actually intentional or not. Peter makes it sound like it was but Peter also likes to make himself sound important and brave and may embellish a story about himself if he thinks it makes him look good. Regardless, at the end of the day, while I understand Hook’s hatred of Peter and empathize with his fear of the crocodile, he’s the adult in the situation. It’s not Peter’s job to be the responsible one or the better person. It’s Hook’s. Because he’s the grown-up. But instead, he (rather childishly) chooses revenge.

Hook will always have an incredibly special place in my heart and I will forever write redemption arc stories for him where he learns and grows and finds the love I feel like he probably hasn’t often received in his life. He’s a complicated, tragic villain and we’re meant to like him. (Disney even said this about his version of the character. It’s why he chose not to kill him off, because he knew the audience would like Hook.) But he is the villain of the story.

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I made this ship with Captain Hook

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Look at this lovable dork being his dramatic self! 😂

have no idea what to put for a funny caption so here's this

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Drew this today, what do yall think

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You know…I understand from a logical standpoint why it’s thematically satisfying/necessary for Hook to die in most adaptations. “Inevitability of growing up/time/death” blah blah blah… I get it.

But the plot I would find MORE satisfying is a redemption arc because Hook and Pan (and most of Neverland’s residents, let’s be real) are just such prime real estate for the found family dynamic which I am an absolute sucker for. They’re both characters who are technically surrounded by others but feel emotionally separate from their followers and extremely isolated. Both sort of feel like they’re “on the outside looking in”—Peter quite literally sometimes when looking through the window at the kids he leaves behind back in the real world with their families. Hook, meanwhile, is actually sometimes referred to by Barrie as “The Solitary,” and despite his apparent hatred for kids, mourns the fact that no little children love him in the well-known stage play. They NEED each other. Peter needs a grown-up to teach him “good form” and give him some structure in life as well as the sort of parental love and support that makes growing up less scary and more exciting. Hook needs to know he has a future, a legacy that he will leave behind in the world when he dies. He needs for his life to MEAN something…and what better way to do that than to leave his mark on the world through a son…even if that “son” isn’t biological. Hook and Pan being two sides of the same coin are exactly why I want so badly for them to work past their pain and forgive one another…because honestly, if they could manage that, they’d find better understanding in their former enemy than anywhere else. They’re just too stubborn to see it.

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Who’s open for sketch requests or commissions that aren’t too pricey? I’m always wishing I could draw my favorite Disney pirate boy in various situations but alas, my skills don’t extend into that realm.

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relax

based on this photo :

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Found an outfit I thought Hook would look good in. So I had to draw it.

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im just a huge sucker for charismatic villains becoming sort of pseudo good guys and hanging out with the main characters just because a bigger, more serious threat emerges and i dont think it happens enough tbh. especially when they’re still kind of a dick, i just think its a fun trope