Neverland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Neverland is a fictional world featured in the works of J. M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

and those based on them. It is the dwelling place of Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...

, Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, and others. Although not all people in Neverland cease to age, its best known resident famously refused to grow up, and it is often used as a metaphor for eternal childhood

Childhood

Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...

(and childishness), immortality

Immortality

Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

, and escapism

Escapism

Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...

. It was introduced as "the Never Never Land" in 1904 performances of the theatre play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

writer J. M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie

.

In his 1911 novelization Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy
Peter and Wendy, published in 1911, is the novelisation by J. M. Barrie of his most famous play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up...

, Barrie referred to "the Neverland", and its many variations were 'the Neverlands'. In the earliest drafts of Barrie's play, the island was called "Peter's Never Never Never Land", a name possibly influenced by the contemporary term for outback

Outback

The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. In the 1928 published version of the script, it was shortened to "the Never Land". Neverland has been featured prominently in subsequent works, either adapting Barrie's works or expanding upon them. These Neverlands sometimes vary in nature from the original.

Nature of Neverland

The novel explains that the Neverlands are found in the minds of children, and that although each is "always more or less an island', and they have a family resemblance, they are not the same from one child to the next. For example, John Darling's "had a lagoon with flamingos flying over it" while his little brother Michael's "had a flamingo with lagoons flying over it". The novel further explains that the Neverlands are compact enough that adventures are never far between. It says that a map of a child's mind would resemble a map of Neverland, with no boundaries at all.

In Barrie's original tale, Peter led Wendy and her brothers to Neverland by flying "second to the right, and straight on till morning" for many days, though it is stated in the novel that Peter made up these directions on the spot to impress Wendy, and that they found the island only because it was out looking for them. In the 1953 Disney film, Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1953 film)
Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the fourteenth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and was originally released on February 5, 1953 by RKO Pictures...

, the word "star" is added to the directions Peter speaks: "second star to the right, and straight on till morning." That phrase is widely quoted, and was used again in the 1991 movie Hook
Hook (film)
Hook is a 1991 American fantasy film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film stars Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, and features Maggie Smith, Caroline Goodall, Charlie Korsmo, Amber Scott, and Dante Basco. Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing...

. In Peter Pan in Scarlet, the children get to the Neverland world by flying on a road called the High Way, and the island is located in a sea known as the Sea of One Thousand Islands.

The passage of time in Neverland is ambiguous. The novel Peter Pan mentions that there are many more suns and moons there than in our world, making time difficult to track. Although widely thought of as a place where children don't grow up, Barrie wrote that Lost Boys eventually grew up and have to leave, and fairies there lived typically short lifespans. According to Peter Pan in Scarlet, time froze to the children as soon as they got into Neverland.

Locations

Canon

In J.M. Barrie's play and novel, most of the adventures in the stories take place in the Neverwood. The Lost Boys hunt and fight here, and build the Wendy house

Wendy house

A Wendy house is small play house for children. It is big enough for one or more children to go into and should not be confused with a doll's house. Size and solidity can vary from a toddler-high cheap and cheerful plastic kit to something resembling a small garden shed...

here, and it is also the location of the Home Underground, where Peter and the Boys reside. It is also where the lost boys engage with the redskins and pirates in battle, as the pirates are led by Hook to search for Peter and the lost boy's hidden Home Underground within the forest.

The mermaids live in Mermaids' Lagoon and can often be found brushing their beautiful hair. This is also the location of Marooners' Rock. It is dangerous for mortals to come anywhere near here at night, and it is the most dangerous place in Neverland. Trapped on Marooners' Rock, close offshore the lagoon, Peter faced the impending death of drowning, as he couldn't swim nor fly from it to safety. The mermaids made no attempt to rescue him, but he was saved by the Neverbird.

Non-canon

The "Black Castle", which is referred to in the 2003 film. It is an old abandoned castle, with stone dragons all over it. It is one of the places where Tiger Lily was taken by Captain James Hook.

Neverpeak Mountain is the huge mountain that is right in the middle of Neverland. According to Peter Pan in Scarlet, when a child is on top of Neverpeak Mountain, he or she can see over anyone and anything and can see beyond belief.

The Maze of Regrets is a maze in Peter Pan in Scarlet where all the mothers of the Lost Boys go to find their boys. This was thought to be a maze of witches before the League of Pan ran into Mr. Smee.

Pixie Hollow is where Tinker Bell and her tiny fairy friends live and dwell in Disney's Tinker Bell movies and related books.

In the film Hook, the pirates occupy a small port town, consisting of merchant services, shopfronts, warehouses, hotel/pubs and an improvised baseball field, and many ships and boats of varying sizes and kinds fill the harbor. The Home Underground has also been replaced by an elaborate tree structure on an outcropping of rock separate from the main island.

Fairies

Fairy

A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...

inhabit the Neverland. They are the source of fairy dust, a magic material which enables people to fly, in conjunction with them thinking happy thoughts. The most prominently featured and famous is Tinker Bell, Peter Pan

Peter Pan

's companion in the play and novel. Barrie's describes their origin: "When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces,... and that was the beginning of fairies". Their existence depends on humans' belief in fairies, to the point that when a child expresses a disbelief in them, one of them dies. But when Peter and children all around the world say that they believe in them, this restores Tinker Bell to health after being poisoned. They are short-lived; at the end of Barrie's novel when Peter returns after a few years, Wendy asks him about Tinker Bell, whom he has forgotten. He answers "I expect she is no more", and Wendy acknowledges the short lives of fairies, which to them, as they are so small, "seem like such a long time".

The Disney Fairies

Disney Fairies

Disney Fairies is a Disney franchise built around the character of Tinker Bell, whom Disney adapted in their 1953 animated film Peter Pan and subsequently adopted as a mascot for the company. In addition to the fictional fairy character created by J. M...

Peter Pan franchise has elaborated on aspects of Barrie's fairy mythology. The 'Never Fairies' (and associated sparrow men) live in Pixie Hollow, located in the heart of Neverland. As stated in the Tinker Bell film

Tinker Bell (film)

Tinker Bell is a 2008 computer animated film based on the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It revolves around Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter...

, after each baby's first laugh breaks into numerous (bubble-looking) pieces, any piece that can blow with the wind and survive the trip to Pixie Hollow becomes a fairy, who then learns his/her specific talent.

Birds

Birds occupy a variety of different roles in the Neverland. In the novel and the play, between the flight from the mainland (reality) and the Neverland, they are relatively simple animals which provide entertainment, instruction and some limited guidance to flyers. These birds are described as unable to sight its shores, "even, carrying maps and consulting them at windy corners".

A half-magical bird called the Neverbird, is also very prominently featured in the novel and play.

Lost Boys

The Lost Boys are "Children who fall out of their prams when the nurse is not looking". If they are not claimed in seven days, they are sent to the Neverland. They are six of them: Tootles, Nibs, Slightly, Curly and the Twins. They are not permitted to fly by Peter, as it is a sign of his authority and uniqueness. They live in tree house

Tree house

Tree houses, treehouses, or tree forts, are platforms or buildings constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level...

s and cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s, wear animal skins, bear spears and bow-and-arrows, and live for adventure. They are a formidable fighting force despite their youth and they make war with the pirates, although they seem to enjoy a harmonious existence with the other inhabitants of Neverland. Their leader, who they call 'father', is Peter Pan

Peter Pan

, in whose absence their activity and bloodlust is diminished, and to whom they are completely loyal, fearful and adoring. The lost boys are also fascinated with having a mother, and they show similar affection for Wendy, when she assumes the role. Following Peter's defeat of the pirates and commandeering of the Jolly Roger, they are adopted by Wendy's parents.

Pirates

The crew of the pirate

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

ship Jolly Roger have taken up residence off-shore, and are widely feared throughout Neverland. How they came to be in Neverland is unclear. Their captain

Captain (nautical)

A sea captain is a licensed mariner in ultimate command of the vessel. The captain is responsible for its safe and efficient operation, including cargo operations, navigation, crew management and ensuring that the vessel complies with local and international laws, as well as company and flag...

is the ruthless James Hook

Captain Hook

Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most...

, known as Captain James Hook or more personally Jas Hook, named after (or predestined for) the hook in place of his right hand, and who is obsessed with finding Peter and his Lost Boys' secret lair and exacting revenge for the loss of his hand, which was cut off by Peter and then fed to the crocodile, which has "licked its lips after the rest of him, ever since". After James Hook's death, the Jolly Roger is taken over by Peter Pan, to fly everyone back to London.

Redskins

There is a tribe of wigwam

Wigwam

A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...

-dwelling American Indians

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

who live on the island, who refer to themselves as 'Redskins', although Barrie himself referred to them as the Piccaninny tribe. They have an imposing tribal chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

Great Big Little Panther, whose daughter Tiger Lily is the princess of the tribe. She has a crush on Peter Pan. The Redskins are known to make ferocious and deadly war against Captain Hook and his pirates, but their connection with the Lost Boys is more lighthearted. For 'many moons' the two groups have captured each other, only to promptly release the captives, as though it were a game. It is also unclear how the Redskins came to be in Neverland although they seem to have been in Neverland for some time though, as it is stated they know it better than anyone.

Mermaids

Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...

s live in the lagoon. They enjoy the company of Peter Pan

Peter Pan

but seem malevolent towards everybody else, including the fairies, and show a unique dislike of Wendy, who is the 'special' female interest of Peter. They are hedonistic, frivolous and arrogant; they "sing" and play the "mermaid games" all day, like blowing bubbles, and they "love to bask out on Marooners' Rock, combing their hair in a lazy way". Wendy is enchanted with their beauty, but finds them offensive and irritating, as they would "splash her with their tails, not accidentally, but intentionally" when she attempted to steal a closer look. They occupy rock-pools and the ocean surrounding Marooners' Rock, and their homes are "coral caves underneath the waves" which they retire to at sunset and rising tide, as well as in anticipation of storms. The Peter Pan (2003 film)

Peter Pan (2003 film)

Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy film released as a joint venture of Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios. P. J. Hogan directed a screenplay co-written with Michael Goldenberg which is based on the classic play and novel by J. M. Barrie. Jason Isaacs plays the roles of Captain...

briefly describes mermaids as unlike those in story books, rather as 'dark and dangerous creatures in touch with all things mysterious', and who will drown humans who get to close, but do not harm Peter and report him intelligences upon request, such as Hook's whereabouts on the island at any one time. When one attempts to drown Wendy, Peter hisses - rather than crows - at them to command her protection. This sequence is influenced by Barrie's allusion to the mermaid's "haunting" transformation at the "turn of the moon, where they utter strange wailing cries" when "the lagoon is dangerous for mortals". In the novel, the Mermaids' Lagoon, and the mermaids' precious and transient company is a favourite 'adventure' of Peter and the others, where they take the "midday meal". Peter gave Wendy one the mermaid's combs as a gift.

Animal kingdom

Animals, referred to as "beasts", live throughout Neverland, such as bear

Bear

Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...

s, tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

s, lions, deer and crocodiles. As described in Barrie's original novel, these "beasts" are hunted by the Redskins, who are hunted by the Pirates, who are in turn hunted by the Lost Boys, creating a chain of prey and murder in the Neverland.

Other residents

There are other inhabitants of Neverland which are suggested by Barrie in his original novel, such as witches, a "small old lady with a hooked nose" (which possibly alludes to a specific witch), "knomes who are mostly tailors", and princes "with six elder brothers" - reminiscent of European folk fairy tales. There are also some briefly described locations without inhabitants, but suggestive of their former presence, such as a "hut fast going to decay". One inhabitant is the Neverbird, which is featured prominently in chapter nine, after which it is named. It is described as a nurturing, motherly spirit, compared to Mrs. Darling, who guides her baby's nest to Peter when he is trapped on Marooners' Rock (in the Mermaids' Lagoon), facing his impending death by drowning, and who rescues hims from harm. The Neverbird is contrasted in this chapter to the Mermaids, who "retire one by one to their bedchambers in the coral caves under the sea," ignoring him rather than attempting to help him.

In the many revisions of Peter Pan

Peter Pan

, inhabitants of the Neverland have been omitted, added, or elaborated. In the Japanese anime 'the adventures of Peter Pan' (Peter Pan no Boken

Peter Pan no Boken

is an anime series by Nippon Animation, and directed by Takashi Nakamura and Yoshio Kuroda, which first aired in Japan on the Fuji TV network between January 8, 1989 and December 24, 1989...

), the individual characters of the pirates, redskins and mermaids are elaborated and new characters, such as the split-personality, magic-casting princess Luna and her dark alter-ego and the witch Sinistra. The elaborate rendition of the kingdom which they are occupy is also an non-cannon addition, which suggests variously throughout the series that the Neverland was once, or possibly still is elsewhere, occupied by principalities of human subjects. The presence of kingdoms and principalities within the Neverland, while absent from Barrie's canonical rendition of the Neverland, is probably based on his allusion to "princes with six elder brothers" and other fairy tale motifs.

Nature of Neverland

Locations

Canon

Non-canon

Fairies

Birds

Lost Boys

Pirates

Redskins

Mermaids

Animal kingdom

Other residents

See also