Hook/YMMV

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


  • Acceptable Targets: Jack describing Peter's work as a lawyer causes Wendy to reply "Peter, you've become a pirate!" Later, when Peter tells the Lost Boys he's a lawyer, not a pirate, they still don't have any qualms about killing him and he says, "I'm not that kind of lawyer!" (Note that to them adult = pirate; they don't actually know what lawyers are but figure it must be bad too since he's an adult.) Even Peter himself tells a couple of lawyer-jokes at a dinner party; "There are some things even rats won't do."
  • 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 was a major point of the original story; anyone who died was instantly forgotten.
  • Non Sequitur Scene: 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 wanted to act directly alongside Robin Williams for once.
  • Crowning Music of Awesome: John Williams' music for Peter's "first" flight. Notable in that while the film received mixed-to-negative reviews, the soundtrack was universally praised.
    • Of course, this is John Williams we're talking about here.
    • Maggie's song "When You're Alone" was also nominated for an Oscar.
    • While this is not actually part of the movie, this musical remix of the movie definitely counts.
  • Detractor Nickname: Julia Roberts actually had one amongst the crew because of how she treated everyone: "Tinkerhell". Makes you wonder if Peter calling her a "Firefly from Hell" was meant to be a direct potshot at her...
  • Ear Worm: The pirates chanting "Hook! Hook! Where's the Hook?!"
    • And of course, the famous Rufio chant mentioned below.
  • Ending Fatigue: There are several false starts to the Peter-Hook battle, and after that's wrapped up, 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." And now you know why this movie is 2 hours and 24 minutes long (which, at the time, was seen as excessive for a family-oriented film).
  • Ensemble Darkhorse: Rufio! Rufio! RU! FI! OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
    • Along with Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams as Captain Hook and Peter Pan, Bob Hoskins was quite well-received as Smee thanks to his hilariously on-key performance.
  • Fridge Brilliance: In most performances of Peter Pan, the actor who plays the children's father also plays Captain Hook. In this story, the children's father is Peter Pan.
    • This isn't taking into account that not only did Wendy call Peter a pirate in the first act, but Hook then went and developed a father/son relationship with Peter's son Jack for a good chunk of the second and third acts.
      • A bit of brilliance that is mentioned elsewhere on This Very Wiki is the fact that when Tinkerbell first appears onscreen, she's speaking english, whereas in every other version of Peter Pan she "speaks" with a chiming noise, because only people from Neverland can understand her. However, the only person she speaks to outside of Neverland is Peter. That's the clue; for everything else Peter has forgotten about Neverland, he can still talk to faeries.
  • Funny Aneurysm Moment: 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.
  • Harsher in Hindsight: A great swordsman 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.)
    • The movies emphasis on Peter thinking happy thoughts makes some scenes very hard to watch after Robin Williams' suicide in 2014.
  • Hilarious in Hindsight: Peter's description of Tinkerbell as a "firefly from Hell" when he first encounters her again is funnier after you find out that's basically how the crew thought of Julia Roberts.
  • 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.
    • Well how else was he going to fit into those smashing tights again?
  • Ho Yay: Bob Hoskins said that he portrayed Smee's character as though he was in a homosexual relationship with Hook. It really shows.
  • Magnificent Bastard: There's a reason the movie isn't called "Pan".
  • Moral Event Horizon: Despite the nasty things he does, Hook is a pretty likable and enjoyable villain. Then he murders Rufio. At this point he becomes totally irredeemable. Made even worse that in spite of this line crossing, Peter is willing to show him mercy three times afterwards and each time, Hook responds by trying to kill him.
    • Hook's plan to win Peter's children over to his side as a perfect revenge on Peter? It's Smee's idea, putting him on this line too, oddly enough.
  • Narm: Most of Maggie's performance, but especially her singing. It's not really the actress' fault, she is very little... it's more the casting department's fault for casting such a young kid and then expecting them to turn in a performance with several straight-up dramatic scenes.
  • 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 Scrappy: Both of Peter's kids, but especially Jack for being incredibly irritating and bratty.
    • Julia Roberts' Tinkerbell is also this for a good many viewers.
  • Straw Man Has a Point: Yes, Peter really could have tried a little harder to spend time with his family, and yes, he shouldn't yell at his kids. However, the kids really do act like little hellions and a lot of their behavior does need reining-in, especially Jack doing stuff like throwing a baseball against an airplane window. Also his family of course enjoys the fruits of his high-demand (and thus high-paying) job without complaint.
  • True Art Is Angsty: Jack's drawing, which sets off alarm bells for Moira.
  • Vindicated by Cable: The film has done quite well on cable.
    • 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...
  • Wangst: Jack's bitterness towards Peter.