Peter Pan

United States

1953

77 Min

Color

English

Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
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DIR Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

SCR J.M. Barrie, Ted Sears, Erdman Penner, Bill Peet, Winston Hibler, Joe Rinaldi, Milt Banta, Ralph Wright, William Cottrell

CAST Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson, Heather Angel, Paul Collins, Tommy Luske, Candy Candido, Tom Conway

MUSIC Oliver Wallace, Sammy Cahn, Frank Churchill, Jud Conlon, Sammy Fain, Winston Hibler, Erdman Penner, Edward H. Plumb, Ted Sears, Al Teeter

ANIM Hal Ambro, Ken Anderson, Dick Anthony, Mary Blair, Bob Carlson, Les Clark, Eric Cleworth, Claude Coats, Tom Codrick, Don DaGradi, Marc Davis, Al Dempster, Eyvind Earle, Norman Ferguson, Hugh Fraser, Don Griffith, Jerry Hathcock, John Hench, Hugh Hennesy, Ray Huffine, Ralph Hulett, Ollie Johnston, Bill Justice, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Hal King, Art Landy, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Don Lusk, Brice Mack, Fred Moore, Lance Nolley, Cliff Nordberg, Ken O'Brien, Kendall O'Connor, Charles Philippi, Thor Putnam, Wolfgang Reitherman, Art Riley, Art Stevens, McLaren Stewart, Frank Thomas, Harvey Toombs, Clair Weeks, Judge Whitaker, Thelma Witmer, Marvin Woodward, Al Zinnen, Blaine Gibson, Ub Iwerks, Dan MacManus, Joshua Meador, George Rowley

SOUND Robert O. Cook, C.O. Slyfield, Harold J. Steck

Synopsis

A pet project of Walt Disney’s since 1939, this animated version of James M. Barrie’s Peter Pan reached full fruition in 1953. Eschewing much of Barrie’s gentle whimsy (not to mention the more sinister aspects of the leading character), Disney and his staff fashioned a cheery, tuneful cartoon extravaganza, which cost $4 million and reaped several times that amount. The straightforward story concerns the Darling family, specifically the children: Wendy, Michael and John. Wendy enjoys telling her younger siblings stories about the mythical Peter Pan, the little boy who never grew up. One night, much to everyone’s surprise, Peter flies into the Darling nursery, in search of his shadow, which Wendy had previously captured. Sprinkling the kids with magic pixie dust, Peter flies off to Never-Never Land, with Wendy, Michael and John following behind. Once in Peter’s domain, the children are terrorized by Captain Hook, who intends to capture Peter and do away with him.

After rescuing Indian princess Tiger Lily from Captain Hook, Peter must save the children, not to mention his own “Lost Boys,” from the diabolical pirate captain. In addition, he must contend with the jealousy of tiny sprite Tinker Bell, who doesn’t like Wendy one little bit. Breaking with several traditions, Peter had been played by a girl in all previous incarnations, Tinker Bell had always been depicted by a shaft of light, etc … this “Disneyized” version of Peter Pan may not be authentic James Barrie, but it has never failed to enthrall audiences of all ages. Adding to the fun are the spirited voiceover performances by Bobby Driscoll (Peter), Hans Conried (Captain Hook and Mr. Darling), Kathryn Beaumont (Wendy) and Bill Thompson (Smee), and the sprightly songs by Sammy Cahn, Sammy Fain, Ollie Wallace, Erdman Penner, Ted Sears, Winston Hibler, Frank Churchill and Jack Lawrence. —allmove guide.

Director

Clyde Geronimi

Animator/director Clyde Geronimi got his start as an animator at the Hearst studios in New York. He was hired by Disney studios in 1931 and directed his short cartoon, Beach Picnic in 1938. Eventually Geronimi began working on Disney animated features and helped direct such classics as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland and went on to win an Oscar for helming the Disney animated short Ugly Duckling. In the ’50s and ’60s, he moved into directing Disney television shows. —AllMovie guide

Wilfred Jackson

Walt Disney first came to rely upon Wilfred Jackson’s genius and sense of perfection, the year Mickey Mouse was born, 1928. At that time, Walt had conceived the notion of marrying music and animation during what was the age of silent movies. Then a new kid in the Studio’s animation department, Wilfred devised a method of synchronizing animation with music, by using a metronome to mark time that could then be converted to a music track. The innovation, which was featured in Mickey Mouse’s debut film “Steamboat Willie,” revolutionized the entertainment medium and competing studios spent more than a year trying to figure out Disney’s production “secret.”

Walt quickly promoted “Jaxon,” as he was called, from animator to director. And as Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their book, “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life,” — "Jaxon was easily the most creative of the directors, but he was also the most “picky” and took a lot of kidding about his thoroughness."

Born… read more

Walt Disney first came to rely upon Wilfred Jackson’s genius and sense of perfection, the year Mickey Mouse was born, 1928. At that time, Walt had conceived the notion of marrying music and animation during what was the age of silent movies. Then a new kid in the Studio’s animation department, Wilfred devised a method of synchronizing animation with music, by using a metronome to mark time that could then be converted to a music track. The innovation, which was featured in Mickey Mouse’s debut film “Steamboat Willie,” revolutionized the entertainment medium and competing studios spent more than a year trying to figure out Disney’s production “secret.”

Walt quickly promoted “Jaxon,” as he was called, from animator to director. And as Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston wrote in their book, “Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life,” — "Jaxon was easily the most creative of the directors, but he was also the most “picky” and took a lot of kidding about his thoroughness."

Born in Chicago, January 24, 1906, Jaxon attended Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, beginning in 1925. Three years later, just before Charlie Mintz had stolen Disney’s Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character, he began hanging around The Walt Disney Studios. It was a poor time to ask for a job, but he volunteered to wash cels and assist animators until one day, he found himself holding a paycheck. He later said, “I’m the only guy [at Disney] who was never hired.”

He quickly moved up the ranks to animator, contributing to the “Silly Symphony” shorts. After “Steamboat Willie,” Jaxon went on to direct 35 shorts, three of which won Academy Awards®: “The Tortoise and The Hare,” “The Country Cousin,” and “The Old Mill.” Probably the greatest example of his skill in developing action to music, however, was “The Band Concert” starring Mickey Mouse.

Jaxon also applied his talent to 11 animated features including, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” “Pinocchio,” “Dumbo,” “Saludos Amigos,” “Melody Time,” “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” and “Lady and the Tramp.” He directed such memorable sequences as “The Night on Bald Mountain” in “Fantasia,” and all cartoon and combination live-action footage in “Song of the South.” During the war years, he also produced and directed government films for the U.S. Navy.

In 1954, as Walt entered the new television medium, he asked Jaxon to produce and direct animated shows on the “Disneyland” series. During the next four years, he directed 13 shows, including “The Story of the Animated Drawing.” After nearly 35 years with The Walt Disney Studios, Jaxon retired in 1961.

Wilfred Jackson died August 7, 1988 in Newport Beach, California. —Disney Legends

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Hamilton Luske

Ham Luske, a business major, with no formal art education, was the first animator cast by Walt Disney on his daring new project, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Studio’s first full-length animated feature film. In a memo dated late 1935, Walt wrote, “From now on Ham Luske is definitely assigned to Snow White.”

As the film’s supervising animator, Ham was responsible for the most difficult character of all – Snow White. The audience had to believe in her for the picture to be a success, which led to the use of such groundbreaking techniques as live-action reference films. Ham adeptly directed live-action model (actress Margie Bell) on film, which artists then referred to as they brought the character to life.

Animator and fellow Disney Legend Ollie Johnston recalled, “Ham’s careful planning and shooting of the live-action footage, always with the idea in mind of how it would be used in animation, resulted in a very convincing character.” So much so that Snow White… read more

Ham Luske, a business major, with no formal art education, was the first animator cast by Walt Disney on his daring new project, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” the Studio’s first full-length animated feature film. In a memo dated late 1935, Walt wrote, “From now on Ham Luske is definitely assigned to Snow White.”

As the film’s supervising animator, Ham was responsible for the most difficult character of all – Snow White. The audience had to believe in her for the picture to be a success, which led to the use of such groundbreaking techniques as live-action reference films. Ham adeptly directed live-action model (actress Margie Bell) on film, which artists then referred to as they brought the character to life.

Animator and fellow Disney Legend Ollie Johnston recalled, “Ham’s careful planning and shooting of the live-action footage, always with the idea in mind of how it would be used in animation, resulted in a very convincing character.” So much so that Snow White was a box-office smash that forever changed the face of animation.

Born Hamilton S. Luske, in Chicago on October 16, 1903, he earned his degree from the University of California at Berkeley. An innately gifted artist, Ham’s first professional job was as a cartoonist for the Oakland Post-Inquirer.

In 1931, he joined The Walt Disney Studios, animating animals for the early Mickey Mouse short “The Barnyard Broadcast.” Three years later, he significantly advanced the art of personality animation with his portrayal of Max Hare in the 1935 Academy Award®-winning “Silly Symphony,” “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and Jenny Wren in “Who Killed Cock Robin?” Film star Mae West, who served as inspiration for Wren, was so impressed with the caricature’s performance that she wrote a letter to Walt complimenting him on the animation.

Ham’s ability to develop an easy-to-follow step-by-step system for planning a scene, made him a natural teacher of younger animators and under his guidance, many new artists were developed.

Then, after the success of “Snow White,” Ham’s career turned toward directing and during World War II, he directed government training films, such as “Weather At War,” and later, educational films, such as “Donald in Mathmagic Land.” He also served as supervising co-director on “Pinocchio” and sequence director on “Fantasia,” “Cinderella,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan,” “Lady and the Tramp,” “101 Dalmatians” and the cartoon sequences featured in “Mary Poppins.”

Ham later moved into television, serving as associate producer and director on such series as “Disneyland,” “Walt Disney Presents” and “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”

On February 18, 1968, Ham Luske died in Los Angeles, California. —Disney Legends

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