Peter Pan

Also titled “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up” is a play originally written by James M. Barrie in 1904. The play is about a young boy, Peter Pan, who can fly and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers. Also included in the play are a fairy, Tinker Bell, the “Lost Boys”, the Indian princess, Tiger Lily, and the pirate, Captain Hook. In 1953, it was adopted as an animated, full-length Disney movie. When it aired on television for the first time, it is estimated that one out of every two Americans watched.
Peter Pan visits three children and takes them on a trip to Neverland. Here they enconter a world like no other. They become absorbed by outsmarting Captain Hook who is obsessed with defeating Peter Pan.
The Disney version of Peter Pan was based on the idea of escapism. Although the movie was made with cartoons, it was not only aimed towards children. The story creates a world where the characters live away from the normal issues. In the same way, the movie creates an escape for the viewers. The stress surrounding the Cold War made it impossible for adults to forget about the seriousness of the issue. However, television and movies, epecially one about a pretend world allowed both children and adults to escape.