Hook (1991)

There are times where I forget that the generation now have not been exposed to the movies that I've seen when I was younger. However you may feel about it, a generation can easily be defined by the celebritties permeating our screens. For my adolescent years, I remember seeing alot of Robin Williams.

He was everywhere! "Mrs. Doubtfire", the Genie in "Aladdin", "The Birdcage", and oh so much more. The man hammed is way into every media possible! Personally, I'm not a huge fan of  Williams. His flamboyant arms  and humor always freaked me out. After seeing a bit of "Death to Smoochy", he made me nervous. And I refuse to watch "One Hour Photo" (the cover alone scares the crap out of me for some reason). Despite all that, there have been two movies that Williams sheds his annoyance factor for the most part and executes a great movie: "The Birdcage" (hilarity!) and "Hook" (adventure!)


Peter Pan, a story written in 1904, has been a solid and strong story for a very, very long time. a story of a boy from Neverland who can fly and never grow up. Takes a group of siblings to Neverland and an adventure awaits! There have been numberous versions and retellings of the story. I first saw the Disney version and that has been my visual core.

Now. How about a twist? Yes please!

What if Peter Pan never went back to Neverland? And actually grew up?
This is where "Hook", hooked me in (hee hee, couldn't help myself there).

Williams plays Peter, an old, pauncy, overworked businessman who leaves barely any time for his family. He talks on his cell phone during his daughters play and misses his sons baseball game. During a family visit to England, we find that Peter was taken in by Granny Wendy along with Tuttles. It turns out that the Wendy that we have known to fly away with Peter had grown up. Laura, is her daughter and the one that Peter marries. While the adults are off to a celebration honoring Wendy, Hook comes to kidnap the children away! With the arrival of Tinkerbell, Peter is carried to Neverland. Where he re-discovers his identity and rescue his children.

Whats so cool is that Williams is prefect as an adult Peter Pan.  This is where the goofiness and energy really work. And when the scene is touching, it works. The fun scenes are when he's trying to re-train his body as Pan. And it's during the food fight scene is where it call clicks together. Although the food that materializes never seemed very appetitizing to me even when I was younger. It just hurt my tummy

What can I say about Hook? Dustin Hoffman must have had alot of fun playing his character. It was fun and over the top. And on that note, Bob Hoskins did a great Smee! Instead of the wimpy Smee from the Disney version. Smee was likeable with a tinge of scary. Awesome.



I loved Rufio. I absolutely loved Rufio. I had a major crush on him.  Oh yeah. His red and black mohawk hair was awesome. He was badass awesome. I was so shocked when Hook stabbed him.

Even though you could tell that the movie was made on different sets, I really liked that. Peter Pan is usually performed on stage (by a female). Having the sets just made it feel like a much bigger stage. All exaggerated and theatrical. The scenery always captured my attention.It felt like a wonderful interpretation of what Neverland was.

Oh and the scene with the clocks?! Wow!!! After I watched that I wanted to smash clocks and let out all my aggressions...well whatever aggressions seemed important to my young mind then.
One of my annoyances with the movie is Julia Roberts as Tinkerbell. She looks great but that is not tinkerbell. Sheesh, that awkard scene where she materilizes with a poufy white gown? What was that all about? No, really what the hell???? That always confused me. So was Tinkerbell always lusting after Pan??In fact how did she even come so quickly to nab Pan? Was she hovering nearby? If she was, why didn't she use her super-abnormal demon strength to knock Hook's ass as he took the children? Did Tinkerbell always have a crush on Pan???Even when he was younger:?? Ew...... cougar fairy....

The movie really was viewable by everyone. The fight scenes were definitely exciting and silly. You have the brash pirates with swords whereas the lost boys have nerf guns of fluid spoking out. They were fighting but no one was seriously injured. Except for Rufio. That was messed up.

For all its flaws, I absolutely love this movie. This easily tops one of my favorite adventure movies. Its fun, silly and yet can be really deep and touching. The message is pretty simple but the movie is just so much fun. For someone who loves to run around ignoring reality in general, this movie is great favorite of mine. I will admit...I did have fantasies of very handsome flying boys coming through my window.....they were pretty innocent....for the most part.


I wonder which celebrities would define this time in life?

Just for added fun, I added Nostalgia Critics review of the movie. Enjoy!