YMMV / Hook

The Film

• Accidental Innuendo: This combat banter between Hook and Peter while they are fighting Makes Sense In Context but seems rather interesting out of context:
  Peter: You know, I remember you being a lot bigger.
  Hook: To a ten year old, I'm huge.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Peter at the beginning is already dedicated to his family, he just gets overwhelmed by his many commitments. Moira's treatment of him is basically emotional abuse. On the other hand, telling your co-workers that you'll simply be unavailable for an hour or two isn't exactly hard, and Peter seems a little too willing to outright sacrifice family time for work.
  • Captain Hook is a Death Seeker. He rants about how sick and tired he is of his normal routine, fakes suicide attempts for fun, and mutters to Smee "death is the only adventure I have left." His desire for a final showdown with Peter Pan is obviously so he can kill his archenemy, but it could also be Hook's way of finding A Good Way to Die, wanting to go out in one last glorious duel with his greatest foe, a tale for the storybooks for years to come. Or it could be that Hook will be satisfied either way, as long as he gets his battle.
    • Alternatively, Hook is a manchild who never grew up. While Peter Banning represents the downsides of becoming too obsessed with work, getting ahead, and closing yourself off from your emotions, Hook shows the danger of staying in an immature mindset. He throws showy fits to get attention and coddling from Smee, hurts others to fulfill his selfish demands, and is still overcome by his childish fear of tickling clocks despite the cause for the fear being long gone. And despite all his attempts to play up his rivalry with Peter Pan as a grand war, treats the entire thing like a game he never got to win (even having to fall back on threatening Peter's family when the latter decides not to play).
  • Listen again to the tiny way Maggie tells Hook he's a bad man during the classroom scene, after his "heart to heart" with her that Peter and Moira were happier and freer before she was ever born, as well as the look on her face. While she still seems determined to not lose her faith in her family, the way she responds to this particular emotional attack is significantly more deflated compared to her earlier, almost boastful responses to how her family loved her. Is it possible that that one line may have actually punched a hole in her faith and for the first moment, she DID waver? It's possible that had Hook not interpreted this as her staying resilient and his childish "flunk the maggot" response hadn't enraged her, he might very well have been able to break the rest of her resolve.
• Angst? What Angst?: Peter and the Lost Boys are more sad about their good-bye than the fact that Rufio was killed a few minutes ago! This is likely a nod to the original book where any Lost Boy that died was instantly forgotten about.
• Anvilicious: The When You Coming Home, Dad? trope is hammered in rather heavily in the opening minutes.
• Awesome Music: Though the film got mixed reviews, nearly everyone agreed that John Williams delivered big time with the music score. Even the music that played during the preview appeared on the soundtrack album, with some critics calling it the best material he had ever produced at that time.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The scene in which Tinkerbell suddenly, temporarily grows to human size to remind Peter why he's in Neverland. It's even been admitted by the filmmakers to be only there because Julia Roberts demanded to have at least one scene with another actor (having to act alongside green screen for the entire film).
  • Also the "Boo Box" scene, with Hook randomly knowing one of his pirates (Glenn Close playing a male) bet against him capturing Pan's kids and sentencing him to get locked in a chest with some nasty-looking scorpions. The Boo Box is never mentioned again, and seems to just be a demonstration of Hook's nasty temper and to give Peter a scare as he's hiding next to said pirate in disguise.
• Critical Dissonance: Critics widely panned it, but audiences were more favorable, becoming a staple for folks who grew up in the 1990s. It currently holds a 29% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is a much higher 76%.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Only Robin Williams could get away with calling a kid a "nearsighted gynecologist".
• Ending Fatigue: There are several false starts and false endings to the duel between Peter and Hook, and once it ends they still have to choose a successor to the Lost Boys, return home, deal with family reconciliations, and address their respective Character Development. As Roger Ebert put it, "Then comes the ending of the movie. Or the endings. One after another. Farewells. Poignancy. Lessons to be learned. Speeches to be made. Lost marbles to be rediscovered. Tears to be shed." The movie is 2 hours and 24 minutes long, and about 15 minutes of that is the duel with Hook onward — adding in the battle scenes between the Lost Boys and the pirates easily makes the climax clock in at over half an hour.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Rufio. Even without Dante Basco's publicity pumping up Rufio's exposure, Rufio's badass credentials and Character Development are only outdone by Peter and Hook.
  • Bob Hoskins' Smee acts as a combination of Beleaguered Assistant, Professional Butt-Kisser, and Servile Snarker in his relationship with Hook, taking care of him and reassuring him of his greatness, while putting up with his verbal abuse without complaint yet snarking at him to his face without fear. It makes Smee one of the most amusing and memorable characters in the film.
• Evil Is Cool: Dustin Hoffman is obviously enjoying portraying one of the most famous pirates in pop culture, making Hook an Evil Is Hammy Card-Carrying Villain with great charisma and style. Put him in a scene with Bob Hoskin's Smee and they both become hilarious. Contrast with the still-comedic but more straight-laced Peter and the Lost Boys, and it's obvious why this movie is an Antagonist Title.
• Foe Yay Shipping: Towards the end, Hook asks "However did you manage to fit into those smashing tights again, Peter?"
• Genius Bonus: Those who've read J.M. Barrie's novel will notice that practically every other line/scene in the whole movie is a direct allusion and/or Mythology Gag to it.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Jack's drawing of a plane nose-dive crashing is quite hard to look at after 9/11.
  • A great swordsman like Rufio played by Dante Basco whispering "I wish I had a dad...like you" as he's killed by Hook becomes even more of a Tear Jerker to modern Prince Zuko fans. (For those who aren't familiar with the series, Zuko is a "Well Done, Son" Guy to one of the worst dads in history).
    • Heartwarming in Hindsight: In another sense, his uncle Iroh can be considered as such as he act as a father figure to Zuko.
  • Several instances (such as Hook's attempted suicide, Peter Pan's "To live ... to live would be an awfully big adventure" line, and Peter's rants where he wishes for someone to blow his brains out; albeit sarcastically) become this after Robin Williams' death by suicide.
  • Hook kidnapping the children is creepier after Dustin Hoffman got accused of sexual misconduct by several women, some of whom were underage.
  • Peter's family flies to London on Pan Am... which went out of business a week before the film premiered. Pan Am would've still been on its last legs when the film was under production, so it counts. (Spielberg declared he didn't want to remove it as the sole reason for the brand inclusion was the Visual Pun regarding "Pan.")
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Glenn Close has a cameo as a male pirate (the one that gets thrown in the "Boo Box" just before Peter first confronts Hook). Cut to 2011, when Close plays a woman masquerading as a male butler in Albert Nobbs, a role that got her sixth Academy Award nomination (third for Best Actress).
  • Early in the movie, Peter is angry while on the phone because a development deal is being delayed due to endangered owls burrowing in the area, causing him to ask "Does anyone miss the Tyrannosaurus rex!?" This is this trope for two reasons:
    • The book (and later, movie) Hoot, which is about a greedy developer wanting to build over an area where endangered owls are burrowing underground.
    • Steven Spielberg's next film would be Jurassic Park, involves people who very much miss the T. rex; from there, the only sequel in that franchise he would helm also has a protagonist who is dinged for being an absentee father (in this case due to divorce) but gets better over the course of the narrative as he protects his rebellious daughter.
  • Dante Basco and Robin Williams both working on this film is nowadays interesting to see to some considering that Dante would later voice Prince Zuko in Avatar: The Last Airbender and General Iroh in The Legend of Korra and Robin's daughter Zelda Williams would later voice Kuvira in the last seasons of The Legend of Korra.
    • Adding on to that, in Avatar: The Last Airbender, Admiral Zhao (who Zuko would go on to defeat in battle more than once) was voiced by Jason Isaacs, who played Captain Hook in Peter Pan (2003). So in a way, Rufio got to defeat Hook after all.
  • After this movie's fair share of evil lawyer jokes, guess what Charlie Korsmo (who played Jack) grew up to be?
  • "To Infinity and back again!"^note In an episode of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, this is one of the things an animatronic Buzz says.
  • That scene when Peter presents a pocket watch to his son as an heirloom. This came out three years before a certain other movie in which Christopher Walken took a similar setup in a very different direction.
  • With Disney increasingly adapting their animated classics to live-action in the new millennium, Hook may be based on the original Barrie story instead of the 1953 Disney animated film, but it still mostly works as a Broad Strokes sequel to the Disney film, and as such could be considered the "first" live-action remake of a Disney animated classic, long before the genuine article came into existence. Not to mention that Alice in Wonderland (2010) and especially Christopher Robin have identical setups of "Protagonist of beloved fantasy story grows up to forget their childhood adventures/companions but is forced back into that world in order to become a 'whole' adult."
  • When they first meet, Peter notes how Rufio wears too much mousse in his hair. This wouldn’t be the last time Dante Basco would play a teenage boy who’s told that he wears too much hair gel.
  • The scene where Jack and Maggie burst into the room where their father is making an important business call and proceed to start mucking about and distracting him arguably becomes this (at least before the Big "SHUT UP!" moment) since a video interview went viral in 2017 in which a man's young children repeatedly disrupted the interview by behaving in much the same way as Jack and Maggie.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Peter keeps getting described as fat by the Neverland denizens (save for Thudbutt, who's the Big Fun of the Lost Boys) when he first arrives. He magically sheds a lot of it for the fight, with only a brief, half-assed Training Montage to account for it.
• Ho Yay: Bob Hoskins said that he portrayed Smee's character as though he was in a gay relationship with Hook. The novelization by Terry Brooks includes a few bonus bits with Hook and Smee that don't come right out and say it, but definitely run with the idea that they're far closer than Captain and crewman.
• Just Here for Godzilla: Many Avatar: The Last Airbender fans watch this movie just for Dante Basco. Some Band of Brothers fans actually watch it just for James Madio, despite him playing a minor character.
• Magnificent Bastard: Captain James Hook has been waiting decades for his Arch-Enemy Peter Pan to give him the Final Battle he craves. Hook abducts Peter's children to lure him back to Neverland, but is dismayed to learn that Peter has become a cowardly middle-aged man with no memories of his youthful adventures. After striking a deal with Tinkerbell to give her three days to get Peter back into shape, Hook uses the time to emotionally manipulate Peter's son Jack, preying on Peter's neglect of him to warp Jack's memories and convince Jack he is Hook's son. On the third day when Peter returns to their duel, Hook achieves the ultimate revenge on him by meeting him with Jack at his side, now wearing an identical outfit to Hook's and having no idea who Peter is. Charming, affable, and articulate, while also being ruthless, murderous, and hateful, Hook outwits Peter again and again and gets exactly what he wants for it — a final duel with his greatest enemy.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "Ru-fi-o! Ru-fi-o! Ru-fi-o! Ru! Fi! OOOOOOOOH!"
  • "BANG-A-RANG!"
  • "My Jack..."
• Moe: Little Maggie is simply adorable, from her hilarious annoyance at being given an F to her rendition of "I'm Not Alone" that moves even the pirates.
• Moral Event Horizon: Hook crosses it when he kills Rufio.
• Never Live It Down: Poor Julia Roberts can never truly live down her on-set behaviour, even after apologising for it years later. She admitted she'd had a nervous breakdown from being thrust into the spotlight at such a young age with Pretty Woman, dealing with the collapse of her engagement (that was also being covered extensively by the press) on top of the already hectic demands of making a film.
• One-Scene Wonder: Gwyneth Paltrow in her film debut makes a good impression as the young Wendy.
• The Problem with Licensed Games:
  • Played straight with the NES and Gameboy versions, but averted with the SNES, Genesis, and Sega CD ones.
  • There's also a pretty good arcade port with several playable characters, though Pan is a real Game-Breaker and really the only one worth using.
  • The Monkey Island-inspired point-and-click adventure game was pretty well received.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Perconte was a Lost Boy before he joined Easy Company? Yep. And evidently, so was Zuko before becoming prince of the Fire Nation.
  • Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays a young Wendy in this film.
• Shocking Moments: Hook casually impaling Rufio on his sword is a brutally shocking moment, especially since there's no cheap get-out and Rufio promptly dies. The film hadn't been going out of its way to avoid death up to this point (the pirate casually getting shot during the baseball game, for example), but until now viewers would have assumed that the Lost Boys at least had Plot Armor just in order to avert the Death of a Child. Nope! Although no other Boys die before it's over, Rufio's brutal death really does make it personal for Peter against Hook.
• So Okay, It's Average: Between a myriad of frustrating script and characterization issues and its often twee, maudlin sentimentality, this is considered one of Steven Spielberg's weaker '90s efforts, one of his worst "genre" films, and an average Peter Pan film in general by critics. But the spectacular production values and the lead performances, especially Dustin Hoffman's, save it from being bad or boring for its fans, many of whom grew up during the 1990s.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • While on the whole the effects still hold up magnificently 30+ years on, there are a few instances where it's obvious that Tinkerbell is a prop or an effect added in post. For instance, in one scene where she zips around the Lost Boys, a sharp eye can clearly make out a wire, revealing Tink to be a prop in that shot. Also, the use of a wind machine when Peter returns to Rufio's fatal duel with Hook is hard to miss.
  • If one looks closely when the third, green-haired mermaid comes in to kiss Peter, the hands of one of the divers helping the actress forward in the shot can be seen in the murky waters behind herself.
  • When the kids get abducted by Hook, Jack's scream is an obvious Stock Scream of a woman which is extremely jarring, to say the least.
• Spiritual Successor: The film makes for a nice Broad Strokes sequel to the 1953 Disney animated film.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Moira is the woman who got Peter Pan to give up Neverland and become an adult, all so he could be with her. She's also Wendy's granddaughter, giving her an interesting connection to the original mythos. Sadly, she's there entirely to be Peter's Satellite Love Interest, and we know very little about her beyond being a devoted mother. We barely get any insight into her reactions to her children being kidnapped, and we never actually know if she knows she's married to the real Peter Pan.
  • Wendy’s brothers, John and Michael, never appear onscreen as either children or adults (though they are mentioned by name a few times), so we have no idea what their lives were like after their adventures with Peter or what they’re doing now in their old age.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: For some, Peter's children don't get enough focus. After just one scene between Hook and Jack, all of a sudden Jack has forgotten his father the next time we see him. The children are Out of Focus for a good portion of the film where Peter focuses on his training and reconnecting with the Lost Boys. This might be why many viewers find Jack Unintentionally Unsympathetic.^note  At the same time, if you pay attention, you can understand why it only took a few scenes for Jack to forget about his father. It's clear that spending too much time in Neverland or the 'real' world makes you start to forget, and Maggie even says as much. Hook just helped the process along.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Jack is pretty extreme about his father's supposed neglect. This is especially clear with the baseball game, where Peter makes every effort to be there and even sends a co-worker ahead to tape it, showing that Peter does care about it. Peter missing Jack's games might be something that happens far too often, and Jack doesn't necessarily understand that his father does unconditionally love him, since he's too young to process that. Even so, a lot of people think that Jack's efforts to become one of Hook's pirates (emotional manipulation aside) has Jack blatantly ignoring a lot of obvious red flags. This includes the fact that the pirates shoot somebody for trying to steal second base during a mock baseball game, or the fact that Jack's sister Maggie is also in danger. In spite of that, Jack soldiers on all the same, leaving his younger sister in obvious peril with the murderer's row of pirates in favor of getting what he wants. Peter may have needed to learn about being a better father, but Jack really wasn't helping things.
  • Moira's act of throwing Peter's phone out the window is shown as a triumphant moment where she implores him to connect with his kids. Considering Peter is on the phone because he's helping his work colleagues, she could have massively inconvenienced a load of people, and damaged an expensive business item that could cost a lot for Peter to replace (especially at the time).
• Vindicated by History: Although it was a critical disappointment at the time of its release, the film is generally reviewed more positively today. As with many other films, it's referenced occasionally in Homestuck — complete with Rufio's death — which has also helped renew interest in it. Then Dante Basco himself started reading it. It definitely has gained a certain nostalgic value for the '90s kids who grew up with it.
• What the Hell, Costuming Department?: Due to Disney's version of Tinker Bell being the version that everyone thinks of, one would think that a live-action one played by Julia Roberts would be just as adorable. Unfortunately, the costume she wears in the movie◊ has a very dull, Real Is Brown vibe to it, along with scruffy hair that looks more in place with a Hobbit movie than with Peter Pan. According to Thomas Tulak, who played one of the Lost Boys, an earlier outfit was a blonde wig and a blue sequined dress - and he recalls her storming out of her dressing room onto the set to complain about it. This is largely a case of Boring, but Practical in the end — since anything gauzy or sparkly or shimmery would have played merry hell with the Chroma Key.

The Wrestler

• Memetic Badass: A case of a wrestler who owes his entire initial popularity to this trope. His first appearances saw him stay in the background of Team Taz segments, which surprisingly led fans to treat him as if he was already an all-time great capable of beating any other wrestler in the world with ease. Even after this semi-ironic following turned genuine after his proper debut, claims that he should be pushed to the World Championship scene as soon as possible are still common.
• Memetic Mutation: "SEND HOOK!" as a sort of Battle Cry for the fans whenever they want him to face anybody, particularly after CM Punk said it in a promo.
• Narm Charm: Rejecting a bag of potato chips should be cheesy, but somehow it's all the more moving that Hook immediately refuses Danhausen's apology gift. Especially because this was also on Hook's birthday.
• Retroactive Recognition: Before being properly introduced, HOOK had made a few television appearances as a background extra. Most notably, he was a member of MJF's campaign team during his Jon Moxley feud, as the guy who handled MJF's gum.◊ (Said guy had a scarf obscuring his face, but his signature fluffy hair is still noticeable.)

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