The CW had their big day today at the Television Critics Association’s annual Summer Press Tour, which included a #DCTV panel featuring the producers of Supergirl, The Flash, Arrow and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
By Karen Valenzuela (@VictoriaNoir89)
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Hook, Steven Spielberg’s unrivaled take on Peter Pan. Some of the cast came together to celebrate, recreating scenes while wearing renditions of the outfits they wore in the film.
The Lost Boys are back again, and even after 25 years, it’s almost like they never left. Dante Basco, Brett Willis, Bo Gheorghe, Ryan J. Francis, Raushan Hammond, Thomas Tulak, Isaiah Robinson, Ahmad Stoner, James Madio, and Bryan Willis were all there, and online production company 22 Vision documented it with a fantastic photo shoot. Check out the photos here.
Hook flew into theaters on December 11, 1991 and immediately became a sensation. Boys and girls everywhere (including me!) wanted to be pirates. Granted, none of us really understood that real pirates didn’t play baseball, like the pirates in the movie did for Jack. But if you didn’t latch onto the whole pirate thing, you probably wanted to be a Lost Boy, or you wanted to fly.
And then there was Neverland. The freedom of the place was what really spoke to me as a little kid who had a bed time and homework and rules – always so many rules, rules, rules. The Lost Boys got to skateboard around and make-believe and climb trees. They had names like Ace, Don’t Ask, No Nap, Too Small, Toodles, Noseminer, and my personal favorite…Thud Butt. They were allowed to say gross things without their parents telling them to behave. My teachers probably didn’t appreciate how often I said “You lewd, crude, rude bag of pre-chewed food dude!” in class. And my poor parents were forced to come to terms with me yelling “GRAAACE!” at the dinner table.
And remember the food they ate? Remember how badly you wanted to taste that colorful globby stuff they threw at each other during the food fight? There was something so unbelievably appetizing about the food the Lost Boys conjured with their imaginations.
Hook shaped the way I saw the world forever. The entire tone of the film was imaginative and whimsical, inspiring and fun and silly. But the one thing that has resonated with so many of us for so many years is how much heart Hook had. All the way down to Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Captain Hook. There were even layers of emotion in the bad guys. Hook and Mr. Smee’s scenes were witty and silly, with banter that rivaled some of the best slapstick films of the 1930s, but there was also so much affection there. Like they were best buddies, brothers even. Smee was devoted to his captain in a way that had nothing to do with fear.
And the Lost Boys, who had lived in Neverland for so many years, had fought pirates and survived on their own, without rules or adults telling them what to do, were still so innocent and naive and sweet. Even Rufio (Ru-fi-OOOOOOO!) had a heart of gold under that bad boy act.
But the reunion was missing a few important people. Bob Hoskins, who played Smee as a silly, loyal, and even strangely reasonable foil to Hoffman’s Hook, and Robin Williams both passed away in 2014, only a few months apart. In fact, Robin passed two years ago this Thursday.
The Lost Boy actors spoke about Williams in their exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight (below), how he mentored them, how he made the set so much fun, how silly he was.
The character growth of Peter Manning in Hook was all Robin Williams. From the boring, obsessed-with-work Peter Manning who yelled “This is an insurance nightmare!” about the Lost Boys’ hideout, to the family man Peter Pan who finally defeated Captain Hook, Robin Williams shone through every line, every laugh.
So while you look through some of the photos of the reunion, and cry a little (or a lot if you’re like me) revisiting your childhood, don’t forget about Bob and Robin. Remember those two dudes for the joy they brought into your life. Spare a thought for the difference they made in the lives of those boys, many of them first-time actors, and how the influence of both men shaped their futures. Remember how Hook shaped your future, shaped how you look at the world. And how it awakened (and reawakens in every rewatch) your imagination to the impossible.
Happy 25th Anniversary, Hook.
Oh, and one more thing for all of my fellow Lost Nerds out there…
BANGARANG!
The last Supergirl comic set within the DC Universe was published on March 18, 2015.
