This film disavowed by director Steven Spielberg but adored by moviegoers will soon leave Netflix!
Return to childhood guaranteed with this feature film available on Netflix. Among Steven Spielberg’s most emblematic films, which is saying something, it is also one of the works that the director decided to disavow.
For anyone who grew up in the 1990s, this film is a real Proust madeleine. Released in April 1992 in our cinemas, Hook or the Revenge of Captain Hook was conceived by its director Steven Spielberg as a direct sequel to the famous story of Peter Pan, taken from the children’s novel written by JM Barrie.
The story follows several children – Wendy and her brothers John and Michael – taken by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell to Neverland. Joining the fight led by the group of lost children against the pirate Captain Hook, our three young heroes will experience a wonderful adventure.
Before they return to their native England, Peter makes Wendy a promise to come visit them in their world.
Spielberg’s film takes place several decades after these adventures. In keeping with his promise, Peter came to visit Wendy several times – noticing with each of his visits how his friend was aging.
Having fallen in love with his granddaughter Moira, Peter then made the decision to stay in this world to marry her. The years have gradually erased his memories, and the former lost child has become a lawyer obsessed with his work. To the great dismay of his children Jack and Maggie, who feel abandoned by their loving but nevertheless absent father.
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A replacement actor who turned out to be perfect
Specializing in the comic roles of adults who have retained their childhood soul, Robin Williams was entrusted with the role of Peter Banning, the former Peter Pan who will have to rediscover his magic of yesteryear to save his children who are prisoners of the Captain Hook.
The American actor was not Steven Spielberg’s first choice, however, since the director originally wanted to pair Michael Jackson in the role of Peter with David Bowie in the role of Hook.
The latter’s refusal, however, forced the filmmaker to review his plans, and it was ultimately Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman who landed the main roles in the film, while that of Tinker Bell was entrusted to Julia Roberts, in era unknown to the general public.
An ambitious sequel to a childhood classic, Hook does not hesitate to tackle darker themes such as that of abandonment (via flashbacks of Peter’s childhood), or even the killing of the leader of the children lost, Rufio.
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Overall, the film nevertheless opts for a light tone, bordering on parody: notably when Captain Hook’s wig flies off during a sword fight, when the lost children rebel against the lessons paternalistic Peter, or even via the cameo of Glenn Close in the role of a bearded pirate.
For many movie fans who grew up in the 90s, Hook remains a nostalgic gem that many rewatch annually, especially during the holiday season. But ironically, the harshest criticism of the film comes from… Steven Spielberg himself!
Met in 2016 during the presentation of his film Le Bon Gros Géant at the Cannes Film Festival, the American filmmaker told us “do not like” Hook, although the film is loved by his children. Words that echo those already relayed by our British colleagues in the magazine Empire :
I felt like a fish out of water making Hook. I didn’t have confidence in the script, except for the first act and the epilogue. I didn’t have confidence in the body of the film. (…) I didn’t really know what I was doing, and I was trying to paint over my uncertainties by giving value to the production. The more I lacked confidence, the more colorful the settings became.
If you wanted to schedule your annual viewing of the film, you won’t have to delay since Hook or the Revenge of Captain Hook by Steven Spielberg will leave the Netflix catalog on October 31.
Discover the list of films currently available on the platform!