Film / Hook

What if Peter Pan grew up?

Tootles: Have to fly. Have to fight. Have to crow. Have to save Maggie, have to save Jack! Hook is back.
Peter Banning: Who?

Hook is a 1991 Steven Spielberg film featuring an All-Star Cast, and is an unofficial sequel to Peter Pan.

In the present day, Peter Banning (Robin Williams) is a workaholic mergers and acquisitions lawyer whose job keeps him from his wife Moira and his two kids, preteen Jack and little Maggie. The family travels to London, England to attend the dedication of a new wing of the Great Ormond Street Hospital, to be named after "Granny" Wendy Darling (Maggie Smith) - Moira's grandmother and the woman who raised the orphan Peter before placing him with American parents. While most of the adults are at the dedication ceremony, the children are kidnapped — and the ransom note left behind is a scroll pinned to the door with a dagger, requesting Peter's presence and signed by one James Hook.

Wendy reveals to Peter that she and her brothers were not only the ones who gave James M. Barrie the inspiration to write Peter Pan, but that the story was based on true experiences. Peter is the now-grown-up Pan, and Captain Hook still wants revenge upon him, so he kidnapped the kids. Having no memory of life before he was twelve years old, he does not believe this — but later that night, he is approached by Tinker Bell (Julia Roberts) herself, and she hauls him off to Neverland (as he has no happy thoughts to make the fairy dust work).

Hook himself (Dustin Hoffman) is horrified to discover what's become of his nemesis — Peter hasn't just forgotten how to fly, but has a fear of heights — and Tinker Bell makes a deal with him to straighten Peter out in three days so that the war the villain always wanted can take place. Peter is taken back to the hideout of the Lost Boys, now led by the cunning Rufio (Dante Basco), to relearn his old ways. As his skills slowly return to him, he comes to remember both why he left Neverland and what he lost and gained in doing so. But in the meantime, Hook discovers and plays upon Jack's resentment towards his dad to prepare the ultimate revenge...

The film was released in North America on December 11, 1991 and received mixed reviews from critics. While it was a commercial success, its box office take was lower than expected. It has gained a strong cult following in the years since its release. The film was nominated in five categories at the 64th Academy Awards and also spawned merchandise, including video games, action figures, and comic book adaptations.

In 2017, a fan made a Kickstarted unofficial short prequel titled "Bangarang" which details Rufio's life before he came to Neverland with Dante Basco even having a role as a principal. Watch it here.

Compare and contrast with Return to Oz, Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Christopher Robin, which all have a similar premise.

The film has a character sheet.

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This film contains examples of:

• Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Wendy tells Peter that she was in love with him as a young woman and even wished that he had come and broken up her wedding.
• Abusive Parent: Implied with Rufio, if his dying words are anything to go by.
• Acrofatic: Thudbutt is amazingly flexible, at one point bending his body to form a perfectly spherical boulder against Hook's pirates.
• Action Dad: Peter becomes one to rescue his children. He even has a dirk/sword fight with Hook.
• Actor Allusion:
  • Tootles shouts "Seize the day!" in the final scene, a reference to Dead Poets Society and Robin Williams' character.
  • And also Smee shouting "GOOD MOOOOOOOORNING NEVERLAND!", in reference to Good Morning, Vietnam.
• Adaptational Heroism: The mermaids. In the original book they were rather sinister and amoral. Here they save Peter's life when he falls off Hook's ship and send him up to land in a giant shell.
• Adapted Out: More like glossed over, but the book ends with establishing that Wendy's daughter and then granddaughter go to Neverland with Peter in turn after Wendy gets too old. The film includes Wendy's granddaughter in its story as Peter's wife, but Wendy's daughter (or son) never figures into the story beyond necessarily existing. In a key flashback sequence, the young Peter meets the young Wendy, then he keeps meeting her while she ages, until it's finally older Wendy and her granddaughter (in the 1960s, due to the Beatles posters on the walls). In the equivalent scene in the book, it's just Wendy and her daughter.
• Affably Evil: Smee wants to see Hook beat his nemesis just as much as Hook does, but doesn't seem to have any real hatred of Peter. He's also well-liked among the pirate community and is better at connecting with Peter's kids than Obviously Evil Hook. Assuming that the street cleaner at the end is Smee, he's something of a Punch-Clock Villain.
• All Just a Dream: Hook invokes this to psyche Peter out during their duel.
  Hook: You know you're not really Peter Pan, don't you? This is only a dream! When you wake up, you'll just be Peter Banning—a cold, selfish man who drinks too much, is obsessed with success, and runs and hides from his wife and children!
• All Love Is Unrequited: Played straight, with Tinkerbell finally confessing her love for Peter only for Peter to say that he loves his wife, Moira. Also played straight with Wendy's confession that she loved Peter so much that she wanted him to swoop in and forbid her marriage on her wedding day.
• All Myths Are True: As much as Mr. Pan/Banning would like you to not believe in such silly things, the Wendy Lady's totally telling the truth.
• All There in the Manual:
  • The novelization explains that the nature of Neverland messes with one's memories, and staying in one world or the other will result in memories of the other fading. This is why Peter has forgotten his past as Peter Pan, and why he initially forgets his adult memories once he regains his Neverland memories. It's also why Jack is so easily swayed by Hook; his emotional detachment from Peter made it easy for Hook to manipulate him and get him to immerse himself in the pirate life to speed up the process, and by the third day his memories had begun to fade and he really thought he was Hook's son. Maggie talking about her parents and singing to herself on the ship's bow are her ways of keeping her memories of them fresh. All this is accurate to how Neverland was depicted in Barrie's novel.
  • Despite being the most featured Lost Boy (next to Rufio), Thudbutt's name is rarely mentioned. It is, however, in the credits and novelization. His name is mentioned once or twice, but it's difficult to notice without subtitles on. First time is during the dinner scene; when he sits on the bench and causes other Lost Boys to slide towards him, one of them calls him "Thudbutt", although given the context, one could mistake it for a remark on his girth. The second time is when Thudbutt requests a talk with Peter and gives him Tootle's marbles, in which Peter refers to him as "Thud". His name is also carved into a piece of cheese in front of him during the dinner scene.
• All Work vs. All Play: Peter embodies both. As an adult he is all work (to the point that he neglects his children), as a boy he is all play (to the point that remembering being in Neverland briefly wipes his memory of being an adult with kids). A huge part of his character development is learning to find a happy middle ground.
• Ambiguous Situation:
  • It's unclear how exactly Tick-Tock the Crocodile springs back to life after spending god-knows-how-long supposedly dead and stuffed.
  • Is the groundskeeper who shows up after Peter leaves Neverland Smee? Or just a guy who looks exactly like him?
• And This Is for...: Hook tells Jack to take his anger out on clocks with a hammer, invoking this trope.
  • "This is for... never letting me blow bubbles in my chocolate milk!"
    • "...not letting my jump on my own bed!"
    • "...making promises and breaking them!"
    • "For never doing anything with me."
  • A more heroic one for Pan.
  Peter: You killed Rufio. You kidnapped my children. You deserve to die.
• And You Were There: When Peter wakes up back in London, he looks up and is startled by a street sweeper who is a dead ringer for Smee in every regard (and played by Bob Hoskins). The true nature of this appearance is left ambiguous.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Tinkerbell obviously has feelings for Peter despite him being married to Moira and tearfully declares her love for him before she returns to Neverland.
• Antagonist in Mourning: While Peter Pan isn't dead, the Crocodile is, and in the absence of his two archenemies Hook has become a despondent mess whose greatest remaining pleasure is making empty suicide threats. He wants one last glorious war with Peter Pan, to the death, and is genuinely shaken when he discovers that Peter is now an out-of-shape middle aged coward with no memory of Neverland.
• Antagonist Title: Rather than Peter Pan lending his name to the story, this time it's Captain Hook.
• Anti-Hero: Rufio. He's openly antagonistic to Peter until he starts to show elements of his old self, and also tries leading the boys away from Peter before that happens. Unlike the other Lost Boys, who use non-lethal methods to subdue the pirates, Rufio is seen running pirates through with his sword and killing them.
• Aside Glance: At one point, Peter looks over at the camera when his shadow moves after he does.
• As You Know: Comedically averted when Peter returns home and answers his cell phone. He tells his partner all about the fantastic adventures in Neverland he just had assuming that any of it would make sense.
• Audible Sharpness: The Pan's sword hasn't gone dull in the several decades since Peter left Neverland, and it even makes noise when light hits it.
• Awesome, but Impractical: Hook's ornate jeweled rapier, which looks stunning and probably handles like a tree branch. Hook himself knows this, and when preparing to duel Rufio he immediately trades it for a plain, efficient dueling blade.
• Back from the Dead: In the climax, the crocodile temporarily comes back to life to eat Hook.
• Back-to-Back Badass: Peter and Rufio during the climax.
• Badass Decay: Invoked as a plot point; Lost Boys and pirates alike are horrified and depressed to see that the legendary hero Peter Pan has grown into a pudgy middle-aged Fallen Hero Jerkass Child Hater who can't fly, fight, or crow. The plot of the movie is all about reversing the Decay.
• Bad Boss: Captain Hook insults his men to their faces, has one who displeased him tortured with scorpions, and blows away another simply standing in the wrong place. They seem to love him for it.

  Mr. Smee: See how greatly the men favor you, sir?

  Captain James Hook: The puling spawn, how I despise them.

• Ballroom Blitz: The hospital dedication is interrupted by a big gust of wind, created by Hook. He bypasses the party, and goes after Peter's kids.
• Bamboo Technology: The Lost Boys make some pretty sophisticated devices out of sticks and twine, such as the machines in their hideout and the squirt guns and slingshots they use in the big fight with the pirates.
• Bash Brothers: Peter and Rufio during the final battle.
• Became Their Own Antithesis: Part of the fun of this film's depiction of Peter and Hook's dynamic is that both characters ironically have swapped places. The adult Peter is for all intents a modern pirate (an ambitious, cutthroat lawyer). Hook by contrast has remained stuck in Neverland, refusing to grow up or move on (just like the younger Peter).
• Becoming the Mask: Implied with Hook once he begins corrupting Jack. While it started as a Revenge by Proxy ploy against Peter, Hook does seem to take genuine joy in indulging Jack, encouraging his behavior and accomplishments, and exulting in his triumph at the ball game.
• Between My Legs:
  • Rufio is seen framed by Peter's legs after he regained his memories and ability to fly.
  • Thudbutt between a pirate's legs, right before he hit a plank at his groin.
• Big Fun: Thudbutt. This is probably why, after Rufio's death, Peter chooses him to lead the Lost Boys.
• Big "NO!":
  • Gutless, when Hook sentences him to the "Boo Box".
  • Peter, when Rufio is mortally wounded by Hook.
• Big "SHUT UP!": Combined with Abusive Parents and Kick the Dog. This shows how severe and serious Peter's distant relationship with his children are besides missing his son's ballgame.
  Peter: Moira, get (the kids) out of here, will you? I'm on the phone call of my life!
• Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: Peter and Rufio's competition of Volleying Insults over dinner already has elements of this throughout, but when Peter starts winning the crowd's approval, Rufio loses his cool and comes up with this:
  You... YOU MAN! YOU STUPID, STUPID MAN!
• Bloodless Carnage: For all the swordplay, there isn't much blood, except for two occasions: look closely on the bones of Rufio's armor when he is killed and you can see only a stain of blood. On the second occasion, there's visible blood on Peter's left wrist during the duel with Hook.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Peter, kicked in the balls, exclaims the name of the actress playing Wendy.
• Burp of Finality: What ultimately confirms Hook's demise. When the Lost Boys examine the open jaws of the dead crocodile where Hook used to be, they found nothing. Then they hear a loud, satisfied burp coming out of its mouth.
• The Cameo: Several.
  • Phil Collins as the Scotland Yard inspector.
  • George Lucas and Carrie Fisher as the kissing couple sent into the air by pixie dust.
  • Glenn Close (in drag) as Gutless, the pirate sent to the "Boo Box". Other pirates include David Crosby, Jimmy Buffett, and even Spielberg himself.
• Card-Carrying Villain: Smee refers to the upcoming war as a battle between good and evil, which causes the crew to cheer.
• Cassandra Truth: While being tucked in for bed, Maggie insists she saw a scary man at the window, who took Jack's baseball and claimed he was a "window washer". Guess who turns up with Jack's baseball in Neverland?
• Celebrity Paradox: In this universe, Peter Pan is the same much-loved story it is in ours; it just happens to be based on actual events.
• Character Catchphrase:
  • "Bangarang!", the Lost Boys' rallying cry.
  • "Rufio! Rufio! RU! FI! OHHHHHHHHHHH!" Which earns a Dark Reprise from Hook to goad him into a fight.
  • Hook has "Bad Form!" Also, "Good Form!"
• Character Development: In a meta sense between the original Peter Pan story and this, Tink surprisingly. For one she's accepted the fact that Peter may love someone else other than her whereas if she were like the original, she'd try to kill Moira for sharing her first real kiss with him. Even after she confessed her love for Peter she decided to help him, despite his feelings for his wife.
• Cheerful Child: Maggie. It's probably her optimism that allows her to see through Hook's claim that her parents don't love her, whereas it works on Mouthy Kid Jack.
• Chekhov's Boomerang: Clocks. Hook's terrified of them. Every time he even thinks he hears one ticking, he flips his wig. And what did the dumb old man turn the hand-eating crocodile into? A GIANT CLOCK TOWER. Not that that's gonna be important... ever.
• Chekhov's Gun: Jack can't hit a curve ball. He does in the Pirates' game for him that brings back Peter's memories of his youth.
• Chew-Out Fake-Out: Peter looks like he is about to scold Jack and Maggie for opening the window, a Call-Back to an earlier scolding. Instead he tells them, "Always leave it open!" showing that he has been truly changed by his time in Neverland.
• Chick Magnet: It seems like Peter was and still is appealing to female characters. Wendy in her youth, her granddaughter Moira, Tinkerbell, and the three mermaids in the lagoon all had some kind of attraction to him. However, Wendy married another man and was disappointed that Peter didn’t come back to marry her. Tinkerbell was left yearning for Peter in his adult years, even declaring in the end that she will always love him.
• Child Hater: Unfortunately, Peter becoming so preoccupied with his adult life causes him to initially head to this route towards his own children and the Lost Boys upon returning to Neverland.
• The Chosen Zero: Peter Banning, it seems at first.
• Chromatic Arrangement: The three mermaids have red hair, blue hair, and green hair respectively.
• Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Not exactly played straight — during their initial meeting in Wendy's house, Peter says he doesn't believe in fairies and finds himself having to clap when Tinkerbell fakes her death throes. Also referenced when Hook warns her that if she doesn't hold up her end of the deal, "[No] amount of clapping will bring you back from where I will send you."
• Clock Tower: Hook not only killed "Tick-Tock", the giant crocodile while Peter was away, but had it stuffed and turned into this, albeit one that doesn't actually tell time and certainly doesn't tick.
• Cloudcuckoolander:
  • Elderly Uncle Tootles in London appears to be this to most of the other characters, and he admits he's "lost [his] marbles." But as anyone familiar with Barrie's original work could guess, he's one of the original Lost Boys who went with Wendy and her brothers back to London to grow up. He's been scatterbrained ever since because he left a bag of real marbles, his happy thought, behind in Neverland.
  • To those who don't know her well, Wendy could seem like this; she's a 92 year old woman prattling on about a place that no one would believe exists!
• Combat Pragmatist: When allowed by Peter to get up and fight after being disarmed midway in their duel, Hook slashes him across the arm when Peter offers him his sword back. Jack is quick to call him out on this.
• Costume Porn: This movie makes the cast, especially Hook, look good◊. Even Peter Pan's visually unremarkable clothes become cool when you find out that, according to the novelization, his clothing is made from the leaves of the Nevertree, making his tunic the Neverland equivalent of Wearing a Flag on Your Head.
• Covered in Gunge: Some of the Lost Boys' weapons are designed to result in this. Peter also suffers this when he first tries to fly, and then there's the food fight.
• Crosscast Role: For her cameo, Glenn Close donned a beard to play one of Hook's crew.
• Crowd Chant:
  • "Ru-fi-o! Ru-fi-o!"
  • Banning! Banning! Banning is Bangarang!
  • HOOK! HOOK! Show us the Hook! HOOK! HOOK! Give us the Hook!
  • Run Home Jack! Run Home Jack!
• Cruel and Unusual Death: The "Boo Box", in which the unfortunate victim is locked with live scorpions, all while being taunted by their fellow pirates via a peephole.
• Crush the Keepsake: Hook tries to hurt Peter by turning his son to his side. He starts out by encouraging Jack to smash a watch that his father gave him.
• Cultural Translation: When Tinker Bell is fighting and defeating a bunch of pirates by herself, Peter asks her "Are you related to Mighty Mouse?" In the Canadian French dub, he instead asks her "Did you drink some magic potion?" This is a reference to Asterix, whose title character is known for gaining Super-Strength whenever he drinks the magic potion made by the druid Getafix.
• Cutting the Electronic Leash: Moira throws Peter's cell phone out the window early on; Nana buries it. At the end, Peter retrieves it but subsequently throws it away himself.
• Damsel in Distress: Maggie winds up serving as this; justified in that she's too young and small to help herself.
• Dark Reprise: Hook hauntingly chants "Ru-fi-oooohhh" to taunt Rufio into fighting him. It doesn't end well for Rufio.
• Deadpan Snarker: Hook, on the few occasions he isn't being a Large Ham.
  Smee: I've had an apostrophe!
  Hook: I think you mean an epiphany.
  Smee: Lightning has just struck my brain!
  Hook: That must hurt.
• Death by Looking Up: The defeated Hook looks up only to see the clock tower crocodile falling towards him, jaws first. He has only time to say his last words before it swallows him.
• Defeated and Trophified: Hook kills the crocodile that long hunted him and has him turned into a clock. Turns out the crocodile was Only Mostly Dead.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: Peter becomes fast friends with the Lost Boys after they almost kill him and even stand behind him when he chews out Rufio. Rufio in return becomes his second in command when he finally flies and humiliates Rufio the same way Rufio did him in training.
• Death Seeker: While Hook doesn't exactly want to die — all his suicide threats are just attempts to relieve his boredom in the absence of a nemesis — he is adamant that his Final Battle with Peter Pan end with one of them dead. When Peter, instead of killing Hook while he's completely at his mercy, orders him to leave Neverland and never come back, Hook goes ballistic.
• Demoted Memories: Peter Pan grew up in the real world and refuses to believe that he used to be Peter Pan, even when Captain Hook leaves him a note. Justified in that his adventures were actually recorded in the form of the Peter Pan mythos we know so he could more easily write it off as something he just picked up or read about.
• Demoted to Dragon: A rare heroic example. As stated above, Rufio becomes Peter's right-hand man.
• Destination Defenestration:
  • Moira throws Peter's cell phone out of a window to show her displeasure that he's more focused on his career than his family. At the end of the film he finds it and then throws it away himself.
  • One of the pirates throws himself out of a window after realizing that his opponent is Peter Pan.
• Deus ex Machina: At the end of Peter and Hook's duel, the crocodile begins to act almost lifelike again as it falls atop Hook and "eats" him. It's never explained how or why this happens.
• Did I Mention It's Christmas?: Peter and family go to London over Christmas vacation. However, there's not too many Christmas decorations around town to indicate it.
• Disappeared Dad: Peter Banning is the emotionally absent type who never does anything with his children, won't pay them any attention, and treats them like nuisances rather than beloved.
• Disney Villain Death: Inverted by the Crocodile falling on Captain Hook, rather than Hook falling to his death. But like the standard trope, Hook’s actual death is not shown.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Don't steal a base during a Neverland baseball game. It gets you shot.
  • Want to die a Cruel and Unusual Death in the "Boo Box"? Bet against your captain.
• The Dreaded: The pirates are all pretty afraid of Peter Pan, with the exception of Hook himself. One jumps out a window rather than facing him in combat.
• Driving Question: Why did Peter leave Neverland all those years ago? What happened that would tempt and/or force him to abandon his friends, fantastical life, and ideals and to finally grow up?
• Dub Name Change:
  • As always, Smee is called "Mouche" ("Fly", the insect) in French.
  • In French again, the Boo Box is called "le coffre à bobos" ("bobo" in this context is childspeak for "hurt", so it translates as "the Hurt Chest").
• Dutch Angle: When Mr. Smee has his "apostrophe" (i.e. his epiphany) that they could get Peter's kids to love Captain Hook, the camera suddenly tilts into a Dutch angle. Then as Smee begins walking toward Hook, it cants back and forth with each step, like the rocking of a boat.
• Dynamic Akimbo: Peter momentarily strikes this pose when he returns to Wendy’s house, foreshadowing his true identity. Later, when he remembers he’s Peter Pan and goes to confront Hook, he cuts out a silhouette of himself from Hook's sails in this pose and then appears above Hook in the same pose.
• Easy Amnesia: It seems to have something to do with transitioning between Neverland and the "real world", and indeed the novelisation and the original Peter Pan novel explain it like that. Even in the movie, Maggie says that Neverland makes you forget.
  • Peter has forgotten all about being Peter Pan. After he does remember, he needs to be reminded he also has children and stuff.
  • After a while of being "adopted" by Hook, Jack eventually forgets about his real father until he's reminded again.
• Eaten Alive: How Hook ultimately meets his end, after he accidentally brings the Crocodile to life.
• Even Evil Has Standards: As much as the pirates despise Peter Pan, they can’t bring themselves to enjoy the sight of him pathetically clinging to the beam trying to save his children, once they realize it isn't a game he's playing.
• Everybody Hates Math: One of the insults Peter calls Rufio over dinner is "math tutor."
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Despite Maggie's accusations, Hook isn't lying when he attempts to convince her and Jack that parents hate their children for taking time away from themselves and each other: he really does think that families are built on resentment and deception and Maggie's protests are coming from childish naivety. Love in general, let alone familial love, is in fact so alien to Hook that Smee needs to remind him of what his own dysphemism for it ("the L-word") refers to.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Nana is the first to notice that Hook is about to arrive at Wendy's house. Amusingly, her bark even sounds like, "Hook! Hook! Hook!" which tips Tootles off. This is especially ironic when we see Wendy stumble too. At the moment she stumbles, Hook has just blown open the window to her house. The magic of Neverland must be very strong if Nana 9, the descendant of the ORIGINAL Nana, Tootles, who hasn't been to Neverland in eighty years, and Wendy, who's 92, can feel it.
• Evil Is Hammy: Dustin Hoffman is playing one of the most infamous pirates in fiction, not to mention one of Disney's iconic villains. He doesn't waste the chance with a subdued performance.
• Evil Is Petty: Hook flunks Maggie out of his "class". She doesn't take it well.
  Hook: Smee, flunk the maggot.
  Smee: Abso-floggin'-lutely! *scrawls an F on Maggie's paper*
  Maggie (incredulous): AN F?! AN F?! HE GAVE ME AN F!
• Evil Lawyer Joke
  Rufio: We kill pirates.
  Peter Banning: I'm not a pirate. It so happens I am a lawyer.
  (beat)
  Rufio: Kill the lawyer!
  Lost Boys: KILL THE LAWYER!
  Peter Banning: I'm not that kind of lawyer!
  • Peter even tells one during his speech at the hospital.
• Face Death with Dignity: Zig-zagged by Hook, who when beaten by Peter calmly tells him, “Strike, Peter Pan. Strike true.” But when Peter then tells him to leave Neverland and never come back, Hook attacks Peter. When trying to attack Peter, Hook accidentally brings the Crocodile back to life, and this time Hook’s reaction is far less dignified.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Played for drama when Peter, Moira, and Wendy arrive home in the aftermath of the kidnapping. Peter and Moira are so frantic to reach the Nursery and their kids that they completely miss the dagger-pinned ultimatum Hook left behind on the door (at least until Wendy, right behind them, spots it).
  • Played for black comedy in the climax when an disbelieving, enraged Hook can't believe Peter is just leaving and won't give him the final battle the Captain so desperately craves. He orders Smee (who's just come out of Hook's quarters) to follow him...and is so caught up in his focus on Peter that he completely misses that Smee has stolen all his valuables and is in the midst of running for the hills.
• Fainting: The thought of her great-grandchildren being captured is bad enough... but when Tootles reveals the letter and dagger and Peter reads the name "Jas Hook", Wendy realizes just what in the name of Neverland has happened and gives more than an appropriate reaction. She faints.
• Fairy Sexy: Tinkerbell is played by the sexy Julia Roberts. Her crush on Peter is also maintext, since she outright says that this is why she became his Fairy Companion, and kisses him after assuming human size near the end.
• Fake-Hair Drama: Because Hook is going bald, and probably has been since before arriving in Neverland.
• Family-Unfriendly Violence: Zig-zagged. Most of the combat is slapstick where nobody is killed, as expected in a family film... but a few instances show the pirates being killed in combat. Peter's second arrival on Hook's ship is a good example... Rufio's death as well.
• Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Peter at first becomes absolutely against anything fantasy and childish and loathed anything childish expected from his children, wanting them to mature much quicker than expected at their age. He is also initially in disbelief and denial upon seeing Tinkerbell and returning to Neverland. Also see Flat-Earth Atheist.
• Faux Affably Evil: As much as he is Laughably Evil and a Large Ham, Captain Hook is able to put on a smile and still be the evil and sadistic man that he is. Killing Rufio, for starters had the captain taunting him before stabbing him.
• Final Battle: Between Peter and Hook. In fact, this is the purpose of Hook's plot; tired of his life in Neverland, he wishes to have his final glorious battle against Pan.
  Hook: I want my war!
• Fire-Forged Friends: Rufio, after doubting Peter throughout much of the movie, accepts him after he rediscovers himself. Towards the end, before Rufio dies, he tells Peter, "You know what I wish? I wish I had a dad like you...".
• First Kiss: Tinkerbell has her first kiss ever with Peter, and at first he seems to ask for “more,” but right as she goes in for her second (ever) kiss, he says, “Moira!” Tink takes it surprisingly well.
• Flashback: To Peter's life as Pan, from originally choosing not to grow up to the moment he decided to do so after all, once he regains his memory.
• Flat-Earth Atheist: Peter at first. He tells a fairy that he doesn't believe in fairies, to her face, for crying out loud!
• Flight Is the Final Power: Peter Banning spends the first two-thirds of the movie struggling to remember his past as Peter Pan to help rescue his kids from Captain Hook. When he finally finds his happy thought (the love he felt holding his children for the first time), he regains his ability to fly and becomes the Pan again.
• Flowery Insults: "You lewd, rude, crude bag of pre-chewed food dude!"
• Flying Dutchman: Played with: Peter comes back to Neverland as an adult, and the crux of the film is his search for a niche (cf., Growing Up Sucks or Stranger in a Familiar Land) in a Neverland he doesn't remember.
• Flynning: The swordplay choreography in the film is completely this.
• Food Fight: Which turns out to mark a breakthrough for Peter, because Neverfood is imaginary and doesn't even exist to those who don't pretend it's there.
• Food Porn:
  • The imaginary food becoming real.
  • The feast on Hook's personal table, though he doesn't eat any of it because he's too busy angsting.
• Foreshadowing:
  • After Smee prevents Hook from killing himself (again), the gun accidentally hits a model of the Jolly Roger. The model catches fire and sinks into the model sea, a clear sign that the upcoming battle will not go well for the pirates.
  • Jack's picture on the plane. "How come I didn't have a parachute, Jackie?" "Take a wild guess." The intention was that Jack wanted his father to drown and die, but it takes on a whole new meaning when it turns out the latter is Peter Pan.
  • Several times early in the movie, Peter stands in the signature Peter Pan hands-on-hips stance. This comes to a head when Wendy reveals Peter's origins to him, where Peter peers into the book while standing in the Peter Pan stance and sees the illustration depicting himself, who is standing in the same position.
  • Notice that while Wendy and Tootles both feel the strong surge of Neverland magic during Hook's abduction of the kids, Peter doesn't react at all. It's another early clue that Peter's completley forgotten Neverland and his past.
  • When Jack and Maggie are tucked into bed before the adults leave for the benefit, Jack says his baseball is missing, and Maggie chimes in that the old man at their window had taken it, claiming he was a window washer. It's played off-handedly like a young girl's babbling until they're kidnapped, and near the end of the second act, Hook produces that very baseball back to Jack.
• Formerly Fit: The pudgy, alcoholic businessman Peter Banning is a far cry from the trim, lithe hero he once was.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Wendy is telling the children the story of Peter Pan, she's actually holding one of the original printings of the book - identified by the olive colour and gold gilt design on the front.
  • In the scene where Peter remembers his past, John and Michael can briefly be seen during the shot where Peter flies into the Darling's window looking for his shadow.
• Friend to All Children: Granny Wendy who has made it her life's work to help homeless children and orphans, and is established to still have a close bond with granddaughter Moira. She quickly forms a warm bond with her great-grandchildren, especially Maggie.
• Generation Xerox: "Boy who dislikes home life ends up in Neverland, forgets his semi-neglectful family and decides to stay, only to come to his senses once he realizes that the outside world is more important" certainly describes both Peter and Jack pretty well. There's also a few dropped hints that Maggie would have been the perfect successor of her great-grandmother Wendy.
• Genre Savvy: Maggie. She was just in the play at school, so she knows Neverland makes you forget and fights it when Hook tries to brainwash them.
• The Ghost: The Indians are mentioned but do not appear.
• Go Fetch: Having been safely tucked into her bed after fainting, Wendy tells Moira that in trying circumstances, "we English" rely on the soothing powers of a cup of tea. Moira is English, being Wendy's granddaughter and raised in England. And so was Peter for a while until his adoption by the American Banning family.
• Gone Horribly Right: Hook wanted the Ultimate War? He gets it and then some.
• Groin Attack: Peter gets hit with one of the Lost Boys' fruit-tipped arrows, and cries "I've been shot!" in a falsetto voice. Thudbutt delivers this to one of the pirates in the climactic "war".
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Notably present in all the Darling women. Wendy's younger self is shown to be blonde, as are Moira and Maggie. Notably Maggie keeps her faith in her father throughout the movie, while brunette Jack doubts him.
• Ham-to-Ham Combat: Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman, each gleefully biting off as much of the scenery as they can cram into their gullets. Bob Hoskins also gleefully throws his hat into the ring as well, especially in his scenes opposite Hoffman.
• He's Back!: The whole point of the movie.
• Hook Hand: Naturally. Presenting the captain with a new hook is a big deal in Pirate Town (Hook even has his own grindstone to sharpen it on). He also has items he can swap the hook out for as needed, including a baseball glove, and a wine goblet.
• Hope Spot:
  • "Run Home, Jack!"
  • In the climax after Rufio's death, Jack has come to his senses and Peter's finally got his kids back. He's ready to leave Neverland and deny Hook the final battle he so desperately craves. But as he, his children, and the Lost Boys walk away, Hook starts threatening Peter's family. Hook pledges to come after him, his children, and all his descendants (a threat he can make good on thanks to Neverland making him functionally immortal). A resigned Peter stops, realizing he doesn't have a choice now: he has to fight his nemesis one more time (and kill him), or else this insanity will never end.
• Hypocrite: For someone constantly talking about "good form" and honorable combat, Hook sure does a lot of sneaky and underhanded things when he does fight.
• I Am the Noun: Near the end of the film, when Peter allows Hook to live but tells him he is to take his ship and leave Neverland forever.
  Fools, James Hook is Neverland!
  • Rufio insists "I've got Pan's sword; I'M the Pan now!". Indeed, "The Pan" having become a legendary figure/concept among the Lost Boys is an enduring plot point throughout the film. Much later, when Rufio witnesses the restored Peter Pan actually flying, he falls to his knees, presents the sword to Peter and proclaims "You are the Pan."
• Interspecies Romance: Tinkerbell really wants one with Peter. She takes his rejection with good grace, though.
• I Surrender, Suckers: After Hook is disarmed a second time (with Peter deciding to leave him instead of finishing him off), Hook pulls out a knife and tries to take out Peter.
  • Overlaps with I Am the Noun: Fools! James Hook IS Neverland!
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Right after Tinkerbell kisses Peter and professes her long love for him, she still encourages Peter to fight for his kids and return to his wife after Peter chooses Moira over her.
• I Want My Mommy!: Maggie's initial demand; Hook's last words.
• Identity Amnesia: Peter for a good chunk of the movie. Only Jack's home run ball manages to help him get back on his feet.
• Instant Costume Change: Peter changes into his traditional green-leaf tights costume mid-flight. The novelization implies that, as he begins his first flight shooting through the branches of the Never Tree, the green costume was formed from the leaves of the tree as he flew through them.
• Instant Expert: Once Peter remembers that he is Peter Pan, he automatically remembers how to fly and how to fight.
  Rufio: You can fly, you can fight, and you can—
  Peter: <<Crows!!>>
• Involuntary Smile of Incapacitation: Crossed with a Brick Joke; after seeing Jack hit a home run at the pirates' baseball game (and sending the ball into the stratosphere), Peter goes back to the Lost Boys' island in despair... and the ball falls out of the sky and conks him in the head. Peter laughs and falls on his face.
• It's Personal: The only reason this whole story happened. Hook wanted to continue the feud, and essentially forces Peter to participate.
• Jerkass:
  • Peter in the first act, bordering on being a Child Hater and an emotional-inflicting Abusive Dad.
  • Rufio is initially a pretty big Bratty Half-Pint one too, probably because Peter threatens his seat of power.
• Karmic Death: Hook, remember the crocodile? For good measure, he trips over the giant clock as well.
• Kid Hero All Grown-Up: The premise of the story, naturally.
• Lack of Imagination: This is one of Peter's biggest problems once he returns to Neverland, as he's forgotten how to imagine and make-believe. Luckily, the Lost Boys help him with this with the imaginary banquet.
• Large Ham: Most of the pirates, but especially Hook. Dustin Hoffman is clearly enjoying the chance to play one of the most infamous pirates in fiction in live-action.
  "Oh, I hate being disappointed, Smee. And I hate living in this flawed body. And I hate living in Neverland. And I hate... I hate... I hate Peter Pan!"
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: The very first memory Peter remembers (after all memories of Neverland disappeared) is being cared for by Wendy in a hospital, and Wendy getting him adopted. Wendy stated that he was 12 then, "almost 13".
• Layman's Terms: Done when Hook relays the deal with Tink to the other pirates:
  Cpt. Hook: Hear me, men. For reasons of good form, I have decided that the so-called Pan will return in three days to commit the arbitrament of the sword. Smee, translate.
  Smee: In three days, we're gonna have a war! A battle between good and evil to the death!
• Least Is First: The lost boys have a new leader and are unwilling to recognize the adult Peter Pan as their erstwhile friend until the littlest hesitantly walks over, touching his face and looking into his eyes, until the kid sees Peter in him, and then everybody rushes over to see for themselves.
• Legacy Character: Rufio has claimed the title of "The Pan" in Peter's absence. After the battle, Peter passes it on to Thud.
• Leg Focus: When Peter first meets Tinker Bell (again) one of the things he comments on is her "really lovely legs".
• Licensed Pinball Table: Released by Data East in 1992. Click here.
• Lineage Ladder: Exploited. When Peter tries to return home with his children, Captain Hook threatens that if the score between them is never settled, he will keep chasing after him and his descendants, even so far as his "children's children's children". It's enough to convince Peter to fight him. Hook's death to the crocodile clock tower prevents his threat from coming into fruition.
  Hook: Peter! I swear to you, wherever you go, wherever you are, I vow there will always be daggers bearing notes signed James Hook. They will be flung at the doors of your children's children's children. Do you hear me?!
• Literal Metaphor: Tootles is a doddering old man who appears very lost and confused. When we first see him, he tells everyone he's "lost his marbles", which is a metaphor for people that have gone insane/senile. Later on, one of the Lost Boys gives Peter a bag of marbles, saying that they belong to Tootles. They laugh because, "He really did lose his marbles!"
• Living Shadow: Another sign of Peter regaining his abilities is his shadow separating from him again, leading him to the old Hangman's Tree hideout.
• Lost in Imitation: The movie is significantly more effective if you're familiar with Barrie's original novel/play as opposed to, say, the Disney adaptation, with lines and scenes directly lifted from the original story. That said, the movie itself feels more like a sequel to the Disney version due to many elements introduced by Disney that has become part of the Peter Pan mythos in popular culture:
  • The location of Neverland is literally at the second star to the right rather than some vague, childish direction that only Peter knows.
  • Captain Hook's hook is on his left hand rather than his right.
  • The whole premise of Hook was based James V. Hart's son, Jake, making a drawing of a crocodile attempting to eat Hook but then insisting that Hook got away. In the original story, the crocodile unambiguously ate Captain Hook, but the Disney adaptation simply has Hook being chased away by the crocodile, thus leaving the possibility that Hook managed to survive and can return to enact his revenge on Peter Pan.
• Love at First Sight: This happened to Peter when he first saw Moira.
• Love Floats: As Tinker Bell flies the grown-up Peter Pan to Neverland, she leaves a trail of pixie dust in her wake. We see it fall on a couple embracing on the tower bridge, and they begin to rise.
• Malaproper: Smee says "apostrophe" instead of "epiphany", among other things.
• Marquee Alter Ego: Tinkerbell has one scene where she is human-size, allowing Julia Roberts to physically share a scene with Robin Williams.
• A Match Made in Stockholm: Captain Hook tries to invoke this on Peter (Pan) Banning's children. It works on Jack but not Maggie, and even then Jack realizes that his father does love him whereas Hook is a murdering asshole.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane:
  • Tick-Tock, the taxidermy crocodile seemingly comes back to life for a moment at the climax to eat Hook, but it may have simply fallen over on him. It's never made clear.
  • The pirates' invasion of the Darling home.
• Men of Sherwood: The Lost Boys have much greater numbers and combat skills than in past versions and handily help win the final battle, although their new leader dies fighting Hook.
• Mind Screw: The groundskeeper at the end who may or may not be Smee.
• Missing Child: Peter, Moira and Wendy return home from the hospital gala to find the house has been broken into and Jack and Maggie are missing. To make things even scarier, Liza the housekeeper has a bloody gash on her head and tells them that "the children were screaming!"
• Mood Whiplash:
  • The battle between the pirates and Lost Boys is largely lighthearted and triumphant — then Hook kills Rufio.
  • You can't help but laugh when Jack is making his shadow big while Peter was talking on the phone. You stop when Peter screams at his kids to be quiet.
• More than Mind Control: While it's clear that the magic of Neverland has an effect on people's memories, Hook also invokes genuine psychological techniques on Jack to help him fall under the spell faster. He coaxes all of Jack's resentment and anger toward Peter out and provides him with everything he wants, helping brainwash the child further and make him believe that Hook is his "real" father. It's especially telling because Maggie doesn't receive this treatment and, as such, is able to resist the memory alterations.
• Mortality Phobia: Peter deduces that Captain Hook is still in Neverland trying to hunt him and the Lost Boys after so many years because after having killed the giant crocodile that tried to eat him, Hook's great fear has been replaced by time itself. Indeed, without his wig, he is revealed to be a white-haired old man.
• Motive Decay: Peter originally left Neverland and grew up to become a loving father, however, by the time of the film in the first act, Peter has completely lost sight of his initial goal to a point that not only he became a Disappeared Dad and a Fantasy-Forbidding Father not unlike Wendy's father in the original story, but seems to go down the route of being a Child Hater and an emotional-type Abusive Dad if his heartbreaking Big "SHUT UP!" is any indication. However, when trying to rescue his kids, Peter eventually regains sight of his goal and redeems himself.
  • Briefly happens in reverse when he remembers being Peter Pan; he thinks he's still a little boy and has forgotten he's an adult with kids. He quickly gets better.
• Mythology Gag:
  • At one point, Peter says to the Lost Boys "It's Hook or me this time". This is the name of one of the chapters from the original Peter and Wendy novel.
  • It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but Peter mentions his adoptive parents, Hank and Jane Banning. So, we have Wendy —> Jane —> Moira —> Margaret (Maggie), recalling the books.
  • Peter repeats one of his best-known lines during the climax: "To die would be a great adventure."
  • The housekeeper Liza is one to the Darlings' oft-forgotten housekeeper from the play.
  • Before regaining his youthful spirit, Peter is wearing a black tuxedo, which Mr. Darling is often depicted as wearing before his children leave for Neverland in the story.
  • Hook telling Peter to "strike... strike true" is taken from one of the Lost Boys telling Peter to execute him after he apparently kills Wendy by mistake.
  • Really, there are far too many to count. Hook is basically one giant mythology gag to Peter and Wendy.
• The Native Rival: Rufio, to Peter.
• Neverending Terror: Aside from the obvious Pun, this trope is invoked by Hook to make Peter confront him in the final battle: if Peter leaves, Hook will just keep coming after him, his children, and his children's children, and Peter will never stop worrying of the day he will come home and find another note nailed to his door with a dagger.
• Never Smile at a Crocodile: The pirates managed to kill the dreaded crocodile and turned it into a clock. It still gives nightmares to Hook, and gets briefly revived to collapse on him and swallow him whole after he's defeated.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: What would the world be like without Captain Hook? It would have one more dysfunctional family. Peter would never have gotten the wake-up he needed toward his fatherly duties, and his worth would be slowly diminished in the eyes of his children.
  • A more direct example is the fact that Peter doesn't start trying to actively remember his past until after seeing Hook claim Jack as his son during the baseball game.
  • Hook's corruption of Jack as compensation for believing Peter won't be ready to fight before the deadline. He's so focused upon it and it works so well that Hook doesn't bother having his men prepare for the Ultimate War just in case Tinkerbell does fulfill her pledge. So, when the Lost Boys finally launch their attack in the Third Act, the Pirates not ready to fight at all and are caught off guard. It ends up contributing to their defeat and surrender.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: Dustin Hoffman based his portrayal of Captain Hook on Terry-Thomas.
• Non-Lethal Warfare: A somewhat odd example. Hook mentions early on that he's killed many Lost Boys and Indians over the years and Rufio offhandedly mentions killing pirates, but the actual ending battle mostly follows this trope straight. The exceptions are Rufio slashing a man across the gut on his way to confronting Hook, and Hook's duel with Rufio, where Hook having the bad form to actually kill his opponent is treated as being a shocking and completely unforeseen breach of protocol.
• Not Afraid to Die: In this version of the story, Hook has more or less achieved everything but killing Peter Pan, which leaves him with an existential crisis. When Peter regains his identity, Hook is ecstatic and has his sense of purpose reinvigorated.
• Not Growing Up Sucks: While it's vital that Peter rediscover his inner child to save his own children, it's also vital that he remember why he chose to grow up in the first place: only a grown-up could experience falling in love, getting married, and having kids. The memory of becoming a father turns out to be the happy thought that restores his ability to fly.
• "Not So Different" Remark: Since growing up, Peter has become a workaholic preoccupied with amassing wealth and prestige for himself, working as a lawyer to facilitate corporate hostile takeovers. As pointed out to him by Granny Wendy, he's become a pirate.
• Not-So-Safe Harbor: The pirates' harbor is, of course, a dangerous place to be for Peter, especially when he's not yet recovered his true persona and powers.
• Not Worth Killing: Despite Hook's hopes, this seems to be the now-adult Peter's view of him personally, with going back home with his kids taking a much higher priority. Hook killing Rufio and threatening to come after every generation of Bannings briefly changes his mind, but Maggie and Jack pleading for the life of his now-utterly beaten foe softens his disgust to denying him the lethal culmination to their duel he wanted.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Peter starts to panic when Hook seems to be pointing right at him. But he was actually pointing at the pirate next to him.
  • "Woof! Woof! Hook! Hook..."
  • Wendy, at the party, stumbles and knocks over her glass of wine. While that is an Oh Crap moment of itself - she's feeling powerful Neverland magic that she's not felt for eighty years and it's hit her by surprise; why in god's name would it be back after so long? - the window blowing open at her house, followed by screaming Maggie and Jack is enough to make us realize that lots of shit is about to go down.
  • Hook after the Lost Boys join Peter in the final battle and begin overwhelming his own forces. Hook slowly starts to realize that the Pirates might actually be in trouble this time.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Smee lets one such phrase out verbatim as Hook attempts suicide, meaning this is not the first time he's prevented his boss from killing himself out of lack of purpose since the true empowered Peter Pan has yet to manifest for him to fight.
• One of the Kids: Peter after he regains his memories. Inverted with Rufio.
• Papa Wolf: While Peter is a workaholic and a cynic, not only does he care about his kids and wants to get them out of Neverland as quick as possible, what really sets him off is when Hook vows to threaten future generations of Pans/Bannings, which eventually causes him to relent and fight Hook.
• Parents as People: Peter in the first act starts out like this, focusing more on the obligations of work to the point of neglecting his responsibility as a father.
• Parental Bonus: The three women (who build up to the third wearing makeup as thick as stage paint) who are happy to see Smee are, to an adult, quite obviously prostitutes (in ~20th century parlance, hookers), and likely happy to see one of their best customers. If Bob Hoskins' intended portrayal of Smee as Hook's life partner or Pet Homosexual is taken into account, this adds a deeper layer of Parental Bonus to the characters.
• Parental Neglect: While not intentionally abusive Peter is often absent in his children's lives, and misses many important moments (such as Jack's baseball game at the beginning) by putting his work before his family and angrily telling Jack at one point to grow up. Eventually he lets out an angry Big "SHUT UP!" against his children playing while he is having a phone call.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: Tinkerbell is a tiny fairy, but she's shown to be able to beat the crap out of human-sized opponents. When Peter gets accosted by a group of pirates, she single-handedly wrecks them in a classic bar room brawl.
• Punishment Box: Pirates who disappoint their captain are put into the "Boo Box", a chest which the other pirates quickly start filling with scorpions (harmless Emperor Scorpions).
• Quizzical Tilt: Hook has several of these, notably when he hears Maggie singing and another when he sees the crocodile begin to break free of its bonds.
• Race Against the Clock: Tinkerbell striking her bargain with Hook to temporarily spare Peter and postpone the Ultimate War for 3 days. She now has 72 hours to somehow whip Peter back into a semblance of fighting shape and get him to recover his memory and abilities. Complicating matters is that the Lost Boys don't initially believe this middle-aged adult is their one-time beloved leader (not to mention Hook corrupting Jack and Neverland's magic causing Peter's son to slowly forget him).
• Rapid-Fire Descriptors: When Peter Banning finally learns to both defend himself and unstopper his imagination in a battle of insults with Rufio, he uses several adjectives in a row:
  Peter Banning: You lewd, crude, rude, bag of pre-chewed food dude.
  Thud Butt: [with the rest of the Lost Boys] Bangarang, Peter!
  Rufio: You... you man! Stupid, stupid man!
  Peter Banning: Rufio, if I'm a maggot burger why don't you just eat me! You two-toned, zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farmin' paramecium brain, munchin' on your own mucus, suffering from Peter Pan envy!
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "You know you're not really Peter Pan, don't you? This is only a dream! When you wake up, you'll just be Peter Banning: a cold selfish man who drinks too much, is obsessed with success, and runs and hides from his wife and children!"
  • Peter gives an epic one to Rufio during Volleying Insults and even tops it by using one of Rufio's insults against him.
  Peter: Rufio, if I'm a maggot burger, why don't you just EAT ME!!! You Two-toned, Zebra-headed, slime-coated, pimple-farming Paramecium brain. MUNCHING ON YOUR OWN MUCUS, SUFFERING FROM PETER PAN ENVY!!!
  Don't-Ask: What's a Paramecium brain?
  Peter: I'll tell you what a Paramecium is, THAT'S A PARAMECIUM. IT'S A ONE-CELLED CRITTER WITH NO BRAIN, THAT CAN'T FLY!!! DON'T MESS WITH ME, MAN! I'M A LAWYER!!!
• Recycled Trailer Music: The trailer reused John Williams's music from The Witches of Eastwick.
• Replacement Goldfish: If you look at it from the perspective of the very young Peter, his parents were pretty cold, forgetting all about their lost baby when they have another kid. On the other hand, since Peter doesn't seem to notice decades passing by during his infrequent visits to Wendy, a lot of time could have passed between his parent's devastation at the loss of Peter and the birth of their other child.
  • Their story also takes place in the Victorian (or possibly Edwardian) era, when infant mortality was high and even wealthy families often lost children to illness. Having a second baby soon after losing the first one would have been common practice.
  • Also remember that this is a case of POV. Having been just an infant when he disappeared and returning what is obviously only a few years later, it's not like Peter was going to take the time to logic through the possibility that his parents still mourned his disappearance. He leapt to the first conclusion that came to him, which is natural for that age even if it's not correct.
• Revenge by Proxy: What Hook promises to Pan if he just leaves with his children and ignores Hook's demand for a duel. Hook promises that he will come after Pan's descendents forever if he doesn't stay and fight, and Pan knows he can make good on this threat by virtue of Neverland making him functionally immortal.
• Royal Rapier: Hook wears a rapier at his hip as ornate as his pirate garb, laid with gold to symbolize his rule over the pirate population of Neverland. Turns out he only wears it as an accessory. In the final battle, he trades it away for a more generic and practical sword.
• Scary Black Man: One pirate is this. He says "Boo!" as another pirate drops scorpions on Gutless in the "Boo Box".
• Scatterbrained Senior: Elderly Uncle Tootles has lost his marbles. Figuratively and literally.
• School Play: The film opens at an elementary school production of Peter Pan in which Maggie is playing Wendy.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: One pirate when he realizes exactly who he's about to fight.
• Seeking the Intangible: Played with. At the start of the movie, Tootles is looking for "his lost marbles", but it's implied this is a description of his senility. Once Peter is back amongst the Lost Boys, one of them gives Peter a bag which contains Tootles' actual marbles, which he lost when he left Neverland.
• Shout-Out:
  • One scene has Tinker Bell fighting and defeating a bunch of pirates by herself, causing Peter to ask her if she's related to Mighty Mouse.
  • Peter asks of the Lost Boys, "What is this?! Some sort of Lord of the Flies preschool?!"
• Show Within a Show: Maggie plays Wendy in a school production of Peter Pan, and even sings a song from the play while in Neverland.
• Signature Move: Once Banning transforms back into Peter Pan, he does a triangle flight up to and then down from the sun, and when he arrives to fight Hook, he floats above Hook's ship in the Dynamic Akimbo pose.
• Skewed Priorities: When Tinker Bell suddenly and inexplicably grows to human size, Peter first notices "you broke your house" and then "you're humongous."
• Smooch of Victory: Maggie gives Peter a peck after he rescues her.
• Staircase Tumble: Peter telling Tinker Bell he doesn't believe in fairies in the first half of the film causes the latter to fall down the stairs of his dollhouse.
• Stealth Pun: The plane scene. How? Peter is flying on Pan Am Airlines.
  • The pirates playing baseball. It's the "Pirates" vs... "Pirates."
  • Tinker Bell has a pixie cut.
• Suicide as Comedy: Having no nemesis since Peter's departure and the Crocodile's slaying, Hook (apparently frequently) feigns being suicidal to restore a smidgen of excitement to his and Smee's lives - Hook puts a loaded pistol to his head and threatens to kill himself to force Smee to take the gun from him.
  Hook: My finger's on the trigger. Don't try to stop me, Smee.
  Smee: Oh, not again...
  Hook: This is it. Don't try to stop me this time, Smee! Don't try to stop me this time, Smee! Don't you dare try to stop me this time Smee try to stop me.
• Taxidermy Terror: Hook meets his end when Tick-Tock the Crocodile he had stuffed and turned into a village clock appears to come back to life at the end of the movie, and swallows him alive.
• Technicolor Blade: The Pan's sword. A bronze sword that appears to be an ancient Greek Xiphos.
• Tempting Fate: Rufio's claim that he has the upper hand during his fight with and right before his death at the hands of Hook.
• This Is What the Building Will Look Like: Aside from the future tense, we see the miniature of the children's hospital with the wing dedicated to Wendy attached.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Hook to Peter when he tries to leave with his kids without finishing the fight.
  Hook: Peter! I swear to you, wherever you go, wherever you are, I vow there will always be daggers bearing notes signed "James Hook"! They will be flung at the doors of your children's children's children, do you hear me?
  Peter: [slowly sets Maggie down, turns around] What do you want, old man?
  Hook: Just you.
• Time-Shifted Actor: Gwyneth Paltrow portrayed Wendy Darling as a child/young woman, while Maggie Smith portrays Wendy as an old lady; Peter Pan was portrayed by three different actors as a baby, a younger boy and a twelve-year-old, before his adult self was portrayed by Robin Williams.
• Tomato in the Mirror: Maggie experiences her own version of this when she realises that her father is the real Peter Pan.
  Maggie: Peter Pan's my... dad?
• Totally Radical: These Lost Boys ride skateboards, play basketball in a makeshift court with (Neverland-specific) graffiti on the walls, etc. They also usually refer to Peter Pan as "The Pan" — even "Pan the Man" at one point. This was a major complaint in negative reviews of the film.
• Training Montage: The Lost Boys put Peter through the wringer, trying to get him in shape for the duel. It doesn't seem to help much, except maybe increasing his physical fitness. The attempts to teach him flying and sword-fighting are complete duds.
• Troubled Abuser: Despite starting out as an unintentionally Abusive Dad, it's clear Peter just lost sight of his initial goal of being a father, which was why he left Neverland and at first has a Hidden Heart of Gold that he never really shows towards his kids despite actually caring for them. By the end of the film, Peter redeems himself and becomes the loving father he should be toward his children.
• A True Story in My Universe: In this universe Wendy and her brothers recounted their adventures with Peter to their neighbour J.M. Barrie, and the book and play we know was the result.
• Visible to Believers: At the banquet, everyone starts gorging themselves around Peter, and he can't understand it. When they tell him to simply imagine the food, it finally appears and, actually, judging by everyone's surprise after it happens, his imagination overrides theirs.
• Volleying Insults: Peter versus Rufio during the Lost Boys' dinner scene.
• Waif Prophet: Tootles is of the "elderly old guy" breed.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Hook's fear of ticking clocks, which dates back to his being chased by a giant crocodile that had swallowed one. Subverted when Peter points out that, with the croc long dead, that can't be what Hook is really afraid of; rather, Hook is now afraid of time slipping away from him. Sure enough, when Peter knocks the captain's wig from his head, it's revealed that his hair's white with age underneath it, thus making his stay in Neverland-despite claiming to hate the place-make more sense.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Wendy's brothers, John and Michael, who were both major characters in the original tale, are completely absent here and are not even mentioned until the last third of the film, and only in the context of the past.
  • Smee disappears after leaving Hook and Peter to their final duel, but the novelization confirms that he managed to escape with most if not all of Hook’s personals and a mermaid for a girlfriend.
• When You Coming Home, Dad?: A favorite trope of Steven Spielberg. Jack is so bitter about his dad missing baseball games, not letting him jump on his bed, etc. that he has become convinced that his father feels he's more of an inconvenience than someone he loves. Hook uses this to turn him to the bad guys' side.
• Who Wants to Live Forever?: Peter realizes the downsides of his eternal youth when he sees that Wendy has grown into an old woman while he hasn't aged at all, so he gives up his immortality to live a normal life with his family.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Hook has a phobia of crocodiles, misophonia, and chronomentrophobia due to his experiences with Tick-Tock the Crocodile. Whenever he hears a clock, he assumes the crocodile is still alive and he runs to a safe space to unwind and destroy every clock he finds to assure himself that Tick-Tock is still dead.
• Worthy Opponent: Peter, to Hook. When Peter Pan makes his dramatic return, Hook is so overjoyed you'd swear he was meeting a long-lost friend instead of his arch-nemesis.
  • Hook's obsession with battling Peter is shown in greater depth when Peter flies Jack away from the site of the final battle (while it's still in progress) following the latter's declaration that he wants to go home. Hook looks confused, lost, disappointed, and even slightly hurt as he asks Peter where he's going.
• Would Hurt a Child: Hook has fought Peter and his friends multiple times and he has wanted to kill Peter for decades.
  • It's implied that during Peter's time in Neverland and after Peter left, Hook killed several of the Lost Boys.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Hook, when Peter says he has a problem with heights.
  Hook: You must be joking...
• You Have Failed Me: A variation of this when Hook has Gutless put in the Boo Box for betting against Hook succeeding in kidnapping Jack and Maggie.
• You Will Be Spared: After winning the duel, Peter gives Hook an opportunity to concede defeat and leave Neverland with his life. Hook seems to go for it until...
• You Won't Feel a Thing!: Inverted when Hook is about to pierce Peter's son's ear and tells him "Brace yourself lad, because this is REALLY going to hurt."

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