Her Gone Life

Now that Disney’s “Peter Pan” Signature Collection is available on Digital, Movies Anywhere and Blu-ray/DVD, I wanted to share these activities sheets, along with fun facts about the film.

Be sure to download Peter Pan Film activity sheets, which includes a mazes, color page and more for your family to enjoy.



Once you printed out and started the activity sheets, learn some fun facts about the Peter Pan movie. So many behind the scene info I didn't know about the film. Read on and learn some also.




Peter Pan - Origins

• J. M. Barrie – created Peter Pan in stories that he told to the young sons of his friend Sylvia Llewelyn-Davies. The character’s name comes from two sources: ‘Peter’ from the name of the youngest of the Llewelyn-Davies boys, Peter, and ‘Pan’ from the mischievous Greek god of the woodlands.
• The book ‘The Little White Bird,’ (where Peter Pan first appeared in 1902) was used in a very successful play ‘Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.’ This play premiered at the Duke of York Theatre in London on December 27, 1904.

Walt Disney’s History with Peter Pan

• Walt Disney and his brother Roy robbed their own piggy banks to get enough money to go to see a visiting road production of ‘Peter Pan’ starring Maude Adams. As Walt recalled, “I took many memories away from the theater with me, but the most thrilling of all was the vision of Peter flying through the air.”
• Walt later had the privilege of portraying the part of ‘Peter Pan’ in his school play – “No actor ever identified himself with the part he was playing more than I. I actually flew through the air! Roy was using a block and tackle to hoist me. It gave way, and I flew right into the faces of the surprised audience.”

Walt Disney’s Production of PETER PAN

• Walt’s words on his version of PETER PAN: ‘I believe our treatment has enabled us to get more of the playwright’s original intent of robust fun and adventurous excitement in the Never Land exploits. Our version is a little more boisterous; not so timid as some stage presentations tended to become in trying for that definitive charm. I believe we have the adult a little more in mind too, along with the younger members of the family.”

Animation & Production

• This was the last Disney animated feature film in which all nine of Walt’s “Nine Old Men” worked together as directing animators.
• Women constituted nearly half of the studio talent AND were working within virtually every aspect of production on PETER PAN. From animation to art direction, special effects and Ink & Paint.
• At the time of production in 1953, a record number of backgrounds were created and used in the film. Backgrounds totaled 934, compared to 773 for Cinderella (1950) and 736 for Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Characters

Peter Pan

• In the animated feature, Bobby Driscoll, whose portrayal gives Peter Pan a male presence for the first time in this classic tale’s screen history, voiced Peter. Walt was sold on Bobby Driscoll for the voice of Peter because of his great performance in Disney’s production of Treasure Island (1950). This was his 18th role for The Walt Disney Studios – already having been with the studios for nine years.
• In Barrie’s original description of Peter Pan, he specified that Peter’s clothes be ‘fashioned from leaves and cobwebs.’ Throughout the earliest stage versions, Peter appears in everything from laced-up coats, suede boots, leotard stockings and belted tunics. Disney’s artists paid homage to these various experimentations in their development of Peter’s attire, with a short-sleeved tunic, leotards, rolled-top boots and Peter’s signature cap with feather. In their efforts to find a new shade to stand out from the forest green backgrounds of Never Land, the artists also created a unique color that has come to be known as - ‘Peter Pan Green.’

Tinker Bell

• Hundreds of bells were experimented with to achieve the perfect sound of Tinker Bell!
• Rumors persisted that Tinker Bell was modeled after Marilyn Monroe, but this is completely untrue. A young Ink & Paint artist, Ginni Mack was the original model for the final form of Tinker Bell.
• Since the ‘Disneyland’ TV show began in 1954, Tinker Bell has been uniquely identified with the Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle, waving her wand to set off the magical fireworks. She has also served as a regular hostess of the Walt Disney Presents, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, and The Wonderful World of Disney.

Wendy Darling

• Wendy Darling was voiced by Kathryn Beaumont who served as the live-action reference model for the character as well. Her adventures in Never Land were complete with flying harnesses and high-wire rigging so the animators could learn what children would look like flying.
• Also the voice of Alice in Alice In Wonderland (1951), Kathryn uniquely boasts that she has spent much time in two imaginary settings: Wonderland and Never Land.

Captain Hook

• Captain Hook is so-named as a result of losing his hand in a bout with Peter Pan who fed Hook’s appendage to that dreaded Crocodile. In Barrie’s play, Hook loses his right hand, but the animators felt it would limit his actions too much and they switched the hook to his left hand.
• Hook is voiced by the veteran stage and screen actor Hans Conried, who, in true J.M. Barrie tradition, also provides the voice of George Darling. He provided extensive live-action reference in addition to his distinctive vocal characterizations for both characters.

The Pirates

• Hook’s band of pirates is rounded out with Turk, Black Murphy, Mullins, Starkey, Skylights and Bill Jukes.
• Each a scurvy nave in their own right and representative of the true pirate spirit of the day, their evident boredom with Hooks relentless pursuit of Peter Pan gets the better of them, often lamenting their desires to return to real pirating!

The Crocodile

• Walt chose to incorporate an actual crocodile versus the play interpretation in which he is usually represented as a ‘ticking’ sound off-stage. This heightened the imaginative terror of the Crocs ominous presence whenever only the sound cues signaled his presence, but in giving his Crocodile a friendly, perpetual grin, Walt created a memorable character whose comical nature dramatically changes once Hook is in his sights.
• The never-ending pursuit between the Crocodile with a ticking belly and the villainous Captain Hook has gone down in film history as one of the great classic chase events of all time.

Celebrate the 65th Anniversary of Walt Disney Animation's Peter Pan, available on Digital and Movies Anywhere May 29 and on Blu-ray™ June 5. Joining the Walt Disney Signature Collection, relive the animated classic with more than two hours of bonus features and new never-before-seen extras.

The “Peter Pan” Signature Collection edition offers over two hours of classic bonus features plus never-before-seen extras, including the latest installment of “Stories from Walt’s Office,” which explores Walt’s love of flying and the company planes; a nostalgic reunion between Kathryn Beaumont (the voice of Wendy) and Paul Collins (the voice of John); and new “Oke” renditions of the classic song “You Can Fly” and deleted song “Never Smile at a Crocodile” accompanied by on-screen lyrics and the film’s unforgettable animated characters.


In “Peter Pan,” fantastic adventures await the Darling children—Wendy, John and Michael—when Peter Pan, the hero of their stories, whisks them away to the magical world of Never Land. After flying with Peter and the delightfully impish Tinker Bell past the “second star to the right and straight on till morning,” they explore the enchanted island and Peter’s secret hideout with the Lost Boys, and leap into high-flying battles with swashbuckling pirates and the infamous villain Captain Hook.

“Peter Pan” is the seventh title to join the Walt Disney Signature Collection, which includes groundbreaking films created or inspired by the imagination and legacy of Walt Disney, featuring timeless stories and characters that have touched generations.

To learn more, visit - www.movies.disney.com/Peter-Pan