Return to Never Land

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Return to Never Land
Promotional poster for Return to Neverland.
Directed by	Robin Budd Donovan Cook (co-director)
Produced by	Cheryl Abood Christopher Chase Dan Rounds
Written by	Temple Matthews (screenwriter) Carter Crocker (additional material) (based on J.M. Barrie's characters and Walt Disney's 1953 film
Starring	Harriet Owen Blayne Weaver Corey Burton Jeff Bennett Kath Soucie Spencer Breslin Jim Cummings Frank Welker Dan Castellaneta Rob Paulsen
Music by	Joel McNeely
Editing by	Antonio F. Rocco
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date(s)	February 15, 2002
Running time	72 minutes
Country	United States  Canada  Australia  Brazil
Language	English
Budget	$20 million
Preceded by	Peter Pan (1953)
IMDb profile

Return to Never Land (also known as Peter Pan: Return to Never Land) is a 2002 animated feature produced by the DisneyToons studio in Sydney, Australia and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution. It was originally produced as a direct-to-video sequel to Walt Disney's 1953 film Peter Pan, but was released theatrically first. It included digitally animated sequences and an all-new voice cast.

[edit] Plot

The film begins in difficult times, centered around the year 1940 in London during The Blitz. Former playmate Wendy Darling has grown up, married, and had two children of her own: two daughters, Jane and Danny. When her husband, Edward, leaves to fight in World War II, Wendy is left alone to raise her daughters through such dangerous events as the threat of bombing. She tries to tell them stories of Peter Pan to make them feel lighthearted, but 14-year-old Jane has nevertheless become bitter and serious.

One night, Jane, wearing a military trenchcoat, is on her way home with her dog. They are soon caught in a bombing raid, but she manages to reach the bomb shelter in time. Wendy hugs Jane, and Jane proceeds to give her 4-year-old sister Danny a birthday present, a pair of socks. Wendy tells Danny the story of Peter Pan while Jane listens to her radio. After the story, her notebook slips from her hands as Danny throws something to her, and she and Danny start playing pranks together.

Wendy discovers that her children will be evacuated to the safer countryside on the following morning. When Jane learns of this, she acts out, belittling the Peter Pan stories her mother tells and ridiculing her sister's faith in them. Jane is sent to her room (which is also the Darlings' old nursery) as punishment, and falls asleep on the window seat.

While she sleeps, Captain Hook, who has sailed through the skies on his now enchanted pirate ship, kidnaps the girl he thinks is Wendy. He plans to use her as a trap to capture Peter Pan, and takes her to Neverland.

Hook's plan is to feed Jane to a giant octopus, but to allow Pan enough time to arrive, he first suspends her above the hungry beast, who is lured to the surface with fish heads. Pan, hearing Jane's cries flies at full speed to the scene where a cartoonish battle ensues.

Peter Pan quickly rescues the girl, and upon finding she is Wendy's daughter, assumes she would like to follow in her mother's footsteps. He takes her home to be mother to the Lost Boys, but Jane can't stand Neverland or the rowdy gang of boys. They try to make her have fun and to teach her to fly, but she fails because she does not believe. In another outburst she blurts out she doesn't even believe in fairies. But suddenly, Tinker Bell falls sick. Jane runs away, and at a vulnerable moment strikes a bargain with Hook. She reluctantly agrees to help him find his treasure, but as long as he promises not to harm Peter. Hook signs a contract, swearing not to harm a single hair on Peter Pan's head, and he gives Jane a little whistle, telling her to "give it a wee toot" when she locates the treasure before he disappears into the darkness. After returning home and receiving an apology from Peter, she admits she would like to become the first Lost Girl. So Jane's training begins as a Lost Girl. Although Tinker Bell falls more ill every day, dying from lack of faith, the children are out having fun and searching for buried treasure.

Jane finds the treasure in a cave, and almost calls out that she's found it, but stops herself, and throws Hook's whistle away. Peter then makes Jane a Lost Girl. Unfortunately, one of the Lost Boys finds Hook's whistle and blows it. Hook and crew arrive, and take out Peter Pan, and trap the Lost Boys in a sack. Peter then surrenders, Hook then said that this is the one he won't harm, but he can harm the rest of him. Peter and the Lost Boys are taken away.

Jane runs home to find Tinker Bell on the verge of death. After an emotional healing, she and Tinker Bell hurry to the Jolly Roger.

On Hooks ship we see the Lost boys tied to a pole and Peter Pan with handcuffs. Then Hook forces Peter Pan to walk the plank but Jane, who saves Peter, becomes the hero and finally, with the help of "faith, trust, and pixie dust" learns to fly. Hook and the pirates exit via a rowboat, pursued by the gigantic orange octopus who has replaced the crocodile.

It all ends on a happy note, with Jane returning home just as the war is ending. Peter is briefly reunited with Wendy, and, although he is not happy to find that she has grown-up, he is glad to discover she has not lost faith in him. At the very end, a truck pulls up to Wendy's front door, bringing Jane's father Edward home. After observing the happy family reunion, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell quietly fly away.

[edit] Differences from the novel

Although the final chapter in Barrie's Peter and Wendy deals with Wendy's family and daughter Jane, Return to Never Land, like its prequel, is only slightly based on the novel. It is really more of a modern sequel for Disney's 1953 animated film version. As a result, there are several differences. For example, most of the characters who were killed or died in the book, or grew up in the book, primarily Hook and Tinker Bell, return for this film. This is most likely due to their marketing popularity.

In the novel, the Lost Boys returned to London with Wendy and grew up like normal children, but in Return to Never Land they have stayed as young and immortal as Peter Pan himself. Even Nana, the kind nurse-dog, is reincarnated in the form of Saint Bernard Nana-two.

There are also differences with the character of Jane and the period during which she is growing up. Disney's Jane is modern: tomboyish and independent, and fully capable of taking care of herself; but Barrie's Jane plays the part of a new Wendy - motherly and domestic. In the novel, Jane was very willing to go to Neverland. (As previously mentioned, Captain Hook had been killed, so he could not kidnap Jane under any circumstances.) Finally, Wendy's daughter Danny and husband Edward are new characters created for Return to Never Land - they were not in Peter and Wendy.

[edit] Voice Cast

Jane wearing a military trenchcoat

• Harriet Owen as Jane and Young Wendy Darling
• Blayne Weaver as Peter Pan
• Corey Burton as Captain Hook
• Jeff Bennett as Smee and the Pirates
• Kath Soucie as Adult Wendy Darling
• Andrew McDonough as Danny
• Roger Rees as Edward
• Spencer Breslin as Cubby
• Bradley Pierce as Nibs
• Quinn Beswick as Slightly
• Aaron Spann as Twins
• Dan Castellaneta, Jim Cummings, Rob Paulsen, Clive Revill, Frank Welker, Cameron Jesse King and Wally Wingert as the additional voices

[edit] Trivia

• As the voice of Wendy in Walt Disney's Peter Pan, Kathryn Beaumont likewise recorded all of Wendy's dialogue for Return to Never Land. However, for unknown reasons, the role of Wendy in Never Land was later recast with Kathie Soucie.[1]
• Because most of the original voice cast from the film had died, including Hans Conried (the voice of Captain Hook) and Bobby Driscoll (the voice of Peter Pan), an entirely new cast of actors had to be used to film this sequel.
• Corey Burton and Jeff Bennett, who played Captain Hook and Smee respectively, also provided voices for Star Wars games and animated cartoon series.
• This is the second Disney film set in England during World War II. The first one was Bedknobs and Broomsticks.
• End credits feature a remake of "Do You Believe in Magic?" by BBMak. The film also features a remake of the song "Second Star to the Right", the theme for the original movie.
• Although Jane and Peter fly through the Indian Encampment, Princess Tiger Lily and the Indians are not featured in the sequel. This is most likely due to their perceived stereotypical characteristics in the original film.
• In Return to Never Land the crocodile was replaced by an orange octopus. One of Hook's lines implies that the crocodile is dead but no further explanation is given.
• While the twins in the original movie spoke in unison, the twins in Return to Never Land have different voice actors and speak normally.
• The adult Wendy's clothing strongly resembles that of Belle's peasant dress in Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
• The Lost Boys were not named in the original film. In Return to Never Land, they are called to attention and most of them state the names Barrie gave them in the book: Slightly, in the fox suit; Nibs, in the rabbit suit; the Twins in the raccoon suits; and Tootles, in the skunk suit. Cubby, in the bear suit, had his named changed to complement his suit. He was named Curly in the novel.
• Cubby/Curly seems to be the most talkative Lost Boy in Return to Never Land, but he was not the main Lost Boy in Peter and Wendy. The primary Lost Boy was Tootles who, oddly enough, does not speak at all in either movie.
• When the Jolly Roger is flying through the vortex to Never Land, dialogue from the previous film can be heard, including Wendy's line, "Peter, you saved my life".
• It is the second Disney sequel to get a theatrical release (Toy Story 2 was the first) rather than going direct-to-video since 1990's The Rescuers Down Under.
• The fonts used in the Return to Never Land are unknown, with the stem for a large case R character strengthened.
• In the very beginning of this movie, it is said that the end of Peter Pan had Wendy screaming to the ship, "I'll always believe in you, Peter Pan!" Actually, the end of Peter Pan had Wendy's father remembering that ship from his childhood.

[edit] Soundtrack

Joel McNeely composed the score of Return to Never Land.

[edit] Track listing

1. "Do You Believe in Magic?"
   • BBMak
2. "Main Title"
3. "Second Star to the Right"
4. "Tale of Pan"
5. "I'll Try"
6. "Jane Is Kidnapped"
7. "Childhood Lost"
8. "Here We Go Another Plan"
9. "Summoning the Octopus/Pan Saves Jane"
10. "Flight Through Never Land"
11. "So to Be One of Us"
12. "Meet the Lost Boys"
13. "Now That You're One of Us"
    • Jonatha Brooke
14. "Longing for Home"
15. "Hook and the Lost Boys"
    • Jonatha Brooke
16. "Hook Deceives Jane"
17. "Jane Finds the Treasure"
    • Jonatha Brooke
18. "Pan Is Captured"
19. "I'll Try (Reprise)"
    • Jeff Bennett
20. "Jane Saves Tink and Pan"
21. "Jane Can Fly"
22. "Flying Home"
23. "Reunion"

[edit] Box Office

Return to Neverland grossed $48,423,368 domestically and $26,481,222 worldwide, for a total of $74,904,590. With an estimated budget of $20,000,000, this made Return to Neverland a low, but successful theatrical release.

[edit] References

• Beaumont and Kerry: Peter Pan’s Leading Ladies Animated News & Views interviews

[edit] External links

• Return to Never Land at the Internet Movie Database