Neverland (TV film)

Neverland is a 2011 prequel to the well-known Peter Pan and Wendy story, shown in two parts on the Syfy Channel (in the US) and Sky Movies (in the UK) in December 2011. It imagines a different backstory to the well-known story of Peter and Wendy, inspired by Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist. The film is written and directed by Nick Willing. Film production took place in Dublin, Ireland and Genoa, Italy. It stars Charlie Rowe as Peter and Rhys Ifans as Hook.

Syfy previously produced Tin Man (2007) and Alice (2009), which reinterpreted the stories of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, setting them roughly in the present, with science fiction and modern fantasy elements added. This production, however, is presented as an "origin story" for Peter Pan, much like Peter and the Starcatchers... and also ignoring J. M. Barrie's own Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. It should not be confused with Damion Dietz's Neverland, which was a modern-day retelling of the popular story.

Plot
The film borrows heavily from Oliver Twist, with Jimmy Hook playing a role similar to Fagan, Peter as Artful Dodger, and the Lost Boys (plus one, who clearly will not survive the story) as the rest of Jimmy's crew of orphaned street thieves. Neverland is another planet, reached by means of a glowing orb which transports anyone who strikes it along with everything in their vicinity. The Indian tribe and pirate ship came to Neverland that way, and all stopped aging when they did (a common misconception about Neverland). The pirate ship is commanded by a pretty young female captain (clearly also doomed) who came there over a hundred years earlier. The fairies are called "tree spirits", and protect a mineral dust which enables flight. A plot by English "elites" to use the orb to colonize Neverland serves as the main conflict, parallel to the boys' attempts to return home.

Part 1
In 1906 London, orphan Peter Pan (Charlie Rowe) is one of a gang of juvenile street thieves assembled by arch crook and ace fencer James 'Jimmy' Hook (Rhys Ifans). When Jimmy scores a major job, the ever-willing-to-please Peter talks the other boys into pulling off the heist themselves in order to impress Jimmy. They manage to steal a strange glowing orb from a gallery for a mysterious man. While Peter is off to the side, the boys and Jimmy gather around the orb. When Jimmy gives it a tap, Peter watches a glowing sphere encompass them and they disappear. Believing his friends dead, Peter runs to find the man for whom they stole the orb in order to exact revenge. The man tells Peter that they are still alive, so Peter hits the orb himself to see where they went.

Jimmy and the boys find themselves in a strange land and are quickly captured by a band of pirates lead by Captain Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel), but Fox manages to escape. The crew tells the gang that they are from the early 18th century and have never aged the entire time they were here. The captain decides that Jimmy is useless and tries to have him thrown to the giant crocodiles, but Jimmy manages to fight off the crew. Having earned their respect, Jimmy is allowed to stay. In the captain's quarters, Bonny shows Jimmy (whom she calls Hook) a magical mineral dust that comes from the tree spirits that live on the island. The dust gives the power of flight, but she only has a small vial and does not have the knowledge of how to properly use it. She further explains that the tree spirit colony lies in a forest beyond the mountain range and the only passages are protected by a lost Kaw tribe. Jimmy agrees to help the pirates get to the tree spirits.

Peter finds himself in the middle of a strange forest and has a quick reunion with Fox before they see a large swarm of tree spirits flying towards them. Running away, they stumble upon a group of Kaw hunters and are taken blindfolded through the secret passage to the Indian village. The boys make friends with the Indians and meet the chief's daughter, Aaya (Tiger Lily). That night Peter has a strange dream in which he sees a hooded figure holding the orb on top of a mountain as meteorites rain down and a tree spirit races towards him. The next day, Peter notices that a scout had painted the scene he witnessed in his dream. Discussing the dream together they are able to work out where the mountain was that the scene took place, and so Peter and Aaya set out in search of the orb which will take them home. Meanwhile, back on the pirate ship, Hook and Bonny have a similar discussion and they too set off in search of the hooded man, hoping he will lead them to the tree spirit colony.

On the way to the mountains, Peter and Aaya stumble upon a city grown entirely out of living trees. While exploring, they find the hooded man who reveals himself to be the mysterious benefactor who hired Jimmy's crew to steal the orb. He introduces himself as Dr. Fludd, the royal alchemist for Queen Elizabeth I. He explains that he had discovered a planet which exists, paradoxically, at the edges and center of the universe and due to the strange nature of its position, time stands still. He created the orb as a way of transporting people to the planet, which he calls Neverland. The process of creating the sister to the orb, which can take the user from Neverland back to Earth, was what Peter had witnessed in his dream. The tree spirit from the dream thought that Fludd as in danger and tried to save him, instead imbuing her with "astral energy". Fludd named the spirit Tinker Bell, who can communicate through telepathy. He built the city as a Utopia where all the greatest scientific minds on Earth can live. While they plot out a way to rescue the rest of the crew from the pirates, they are interrupted by Jimmy, Bonny and several pirates who enter the city. The two groups fight, Fludd is killed, Aaya is captured and the pirates take the orb. Peter is stabbed by Bonny and thrown off of a balcony, assumed dead.

Part 2
The pirates make their way back to the ship, with Jimmy vowing to find a way to get the power of flight before he returns to England. Meanwhile Peter is brought to the tree spirit colony by Tinker Bell and after being healed is immersed in a pool filled with the mineral dust, emerging with the ability to fly. The spirit elders tell him that he was recognized for his innocence and must use his new powers to stop Jimmy from finding the colony.

Jimmy persuades the captain to risk traversing a ravine protected by the Indians, with Aaya as hostage. Halfway across, Peter cuts Aaya loose and flies away with her. Using the gang of boys as bait, Jimmy alone persuades Peter to show him the spirit colony and then they can return together. Once Jimmy reaches the forest, via the Indians' secret passage, he betrays Peter and reveals that the pirates have been following them. Forcing Peter to show them how it's done, Bonny immerses herself in the mineral dust pool, but burns up and dies upon emerging as she didn't have innocence in her heart. Secretly pleased that he is the new captain of the pirates, Jimmy forces Peter to show him the cave where he hid the orb. Peter manages to escape along with the boys. The tree spirits, angry that Peter lead Jimmy to them, try to erase Peter's memory so that the only thing left will be his childlike innocence, but they are interrupted by Tinker Bell who releases her astral energy on them. Ostracized from her people for that act, Tinker Bell joins up with Peter to try and stop Jimmy, now known as Captain Hook. The two groups meet in the cave where the orb is hidden. Peter and Hook fight over the orb, during which Hook tells Peter that the picture of the woman in a fob watch he carries is actually Peter's mother, to whom Hook swore an oath to protect her son, despite his hatred of Peter's father. While fighting Peter cuts off Hook's hand. Both the hand and the watch are swallowed by a giant crocodile. Hook manages to knock Peter unconscious and the cave begins to crumble. All the parties quickly escape except for Peter and Tinker Bell and Starkey and the now handless Captain Hook. Peter, instead of fleeing, revives Tinker Bell, and the cave collapses. Now stuck inside the cave, Starkey tries to find a way out and realizes the bottom of the cave is water. He approaches the wounded Hook and questions him, asking what he will use as a hand now, should they make it out. Hook simply gives him a pained smile for they both know the answer.

Some time later, the boys are living with the Indians when they are surprised to see Peter reappear, dressed in a suit and accompanied by Tinker Bell. He tells them that he managed to activate the orb before the cave collapsed and did well for himself stealing some goods in London, which he gives to the boys. When asked why he came back to Neverland, knowing that now there is no way back to Earth, he tells them that there is adventure everywhere in this land.

One of the boys suddenly points out to Peter his shadow is missing, setting up the nursery scene in the original Peter and Wendy.

Cast

 * Rhys Ifans as James Hook
 * Anna Friel as Captain Elizabeth Bonny
 * Charles Dance as Professor Fludd
 * Q'orianka Kilcher as Aaya
 * Charlie Rowe as Peter Pan
 * Bob Hoskins as Smee (returning to the role he played in Hook)
 * Keira Knightley as Tinker Bell (voice)
 * Raoul Trujillo as Holy Man
 * Cas Anvar as Gentleman Starkey
 * George Aguilar as Kaw Chief
 * James Ainsworth as Tootles
 * Patrick Gibson as Curly
 * Lorn Macdonald as Fox
 * Thomas Patten as The Twins
 * Brandon Robinson as Slightly
 * Chase Willoughby as Nibs