The real story behind Peter Pan: Read the origin story of this classic

The story of Peter Pan, a boy who can fly and who never grows up, is a classic story that every child has come across. The riveting story of Peter Pan was created by the Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. The free-spirited and mischievous boy Peter spent his never-ending childhood on the unspoiled and picturesque island of Neverland and was the leader of Lost Boys. Like the recent films The Lion King (2019) and Mulan (2020), Disney is all set to create a live-action version of this classic story as well. Read on to find out the real story Behind Peter Pan.

Read | South Park pandemic special takes a jab at Disney & Trump; leaves netizens in splits

The Real Story Behind Peter Pan

A report on Cosmopolitan reveals that the character of young Peter was first featured in Barrie’s 1902 novel The Little White Bird. But it was far from Disney’s version of Peter Pan. Basically, Peter was an infant baby who strangely might also be a bird. He is taught flying by fairies in London’s Kensington Gardens. The Peter-centric chapters in The Little White Bird were highly appraised not only by the publishers but also the fans. Hence, Barrie created a whole new book on the young boy and named it Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.

The book was published in 1906. As the book was ascending the ladder of popularity in the pre-World War 1 world, Barrie had become a busy man. He began writing a play called Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. The play never made it to the stage of any theatre but was turned into a novel called Peter and Wendy.

Read | Disney to lay off over 28,000 employees as COVID-19 hits its theme park business

Read | Disney movie quiz: Can you guess these fierce princesses based on movie plot?

Who is Peter Pan based on?

The report suggests that there were primarily two influences in Barrie’s life that impacted the creation of Peter Pan. The first one being Barrie’s elder brother David, who tragically passed away at the wee age of 13. The second and more powerful influence was Peter Llewelyn Davies. The real Peter was one of the “Llewelyn Davies boys.” Barrie had reportedly grown very close to both Peter and his mother Sylvia. 

Soon, all the Llewelyn boys became an inspiration for Barrie for crafting Lost Boys in Peter Pan. A creatively charged Barrie even made a photo story about them called The Boy Castaways of Black Lake Island. Shockingly, the real Peter didn’t like having his name associated with the book and the character. His son Ruthven revealed that he hated being linked to the character. The real Peter was reportedly also upset when Barrie didn’t give him his estate upon his death.

Read | Chadwick Boseman's memory has been immortalized through THIS tribute artwork at Disneyland

When is Disney’s live-action thriller of Peter Pan coming out?

A report on Insider reveals that the production on Disney’s live-action version of Peter Pan will begin in March 2021. Peter Pan is expected to start filming under the working title Bonfire in Vancouver and is expected to be shot in Canada. The shooting schedule has been designed for three months between March to June 2021.

Image Source: @wendysvocal (Twitter)