Peter Pan & the Pirates


Fox's Peter Pan & the Pirates is an American animated television series based on J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to September 10, 1991. 65 episodes were produced. The show was one of Fox's first forays into programming for children.
Ownership of the series passed to Disney in 2001 when Disney acquired Fox Kids Worldwide.

Plot

A disclaimer states that this show is independent from the book. It tells the story of Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Darlings, and the Lost Boys as they constantly take on Captain Hook and the rest of the Jolly Roger crew.

Characters

Protagonists

Peter Pan is the protagonist of the series and the leader of his group.Tinker Bell is a fairy and Peter Pan's sidekick. Her fairy dust allows humans and animals to fly, but has other abilities, like making fire or light.Wendy Darling is the oldest of the Darling siblings.John Darling is the middle Darling sibling.Michael Darling is the youngest of the Darling siblings.The Lost Boys are a group of six boys who got orphaned or lost. They only remember their life in Neverland. Their clothes are informal and they all wear caps shaped from various animal heads.
  • * Nibs - One of the tallest and the eldest of the Lost Boys. He has light golden blond hair and wears a cap shaped like a bear's head with the face cut out. He is Peter's second-in-command and leads the group when Peter is away.
  • * Slightly - The tallest and second eldest Lost Boy. He has pale skin, honey blond hair and wears a cap in the shape of a parrot's head. As a reference to his name, he constantly uses the word "slightly" in his sentences and regularly the others when talking to him use it, too.
  • * Curly - A hispanic Lost Boy with a cap shaped like a tiger's head with the face cut out. He has a tanned complexion and caramel brown hair. Age-wise, he is in the middle of the Lost Boys.
  • * The Twins - Two Lost Boys who are biracial twins. They are not identical, aside from both wearing caps in the shape of a leopard's head with cut-outs in the front for their faces. Individually and only in the written language, they are known as Tall Twin and Short Twin, their heights being the main distinction. The other notable difference is their color, Tall Twin having dark skin and black curly hair and Short Twin having light skin and straight ginger hair.
  • * Tootles - The youngest and smallest of the Lost Boys who wears a cap in the shape of a panda's head with face cut-out and has a black blotch around his left eye. He is very small and has a round stomach, because he loves eating.

Antagonists

Captain James Algernon Cloudesley Hook is the main antagonist of the series and Peter Pan's nemesis. He is the captain of his pirate crew. His right hand is missing and he has a sharp iron hook in its place. Despite his fears of being killed and eaten by the crocodile, he does not fear death by any other means.
  • * Smee is Captain Hook's first mate.
  • * Short Tom is a malicious parrot and Captain Hook's pet who wears an eye patch. He is capable of speaking, but is limited to phrases taught to him.
  • The Jolly Roger Crew are a group of pirates, several aged, whose home address is the Jolly Roger.
  • * Robert Mullins - A member of the Hook's crew who hails from Brooklyn. He is medium height, muscular, has a long face, a moustache and a scar at his left eye. Mullins is very good in sword fight.
  • * "Gentleman" Ignatious P. Starkey - A foppish yet gentlemanly and English member of Hook's crew. He speaks with a "dash-it-all" accent, has a high physique, long black hair he wears in a ponytail and a thin moustache. He wears a long cape and as a weapon uses a rapier.
  • * Alf Mason - A member of Hook's crew who serves as a carpenter and strongman. He has a strong physical build, is tall, very muscular, has no hair, and wears a blue nightcap. As a weapon, Alf often wields a mallet.
  • * Billy Jukes - The youngest pirate who is of Old World/Indian descent. Before he became a member of the pirates, he was a castaway on a desert island. Billy was rescued by Captain Hook's crew and taught pirating by Robert Mullins, to whom he is very loyal. He also has a wide knowledge at machines and other uncommon instruments and is the inventor among the pirate crew, what is a big feature he has in common with the Twins.
  • * Eucrates Cookson - The ship's chef who has his individual method for his dishes and menu. Instead of typical weapons, he can use kitchen devices and is very good at using a fishing net. Cookson spends most of his time in the kitchen, where he can be seen cooking.The Croc - A crocodile that had devoured Captain Hook's hand. She lives in her cave shaped like a crocodile's head and does not tolerate any kind of intruders. A ticking clock is heard every time the Croc is near. In the series, the clock is magical and controls the whole time of day in Neverland.Captain Patch – Jasper Hook is the older brother of James Hook who once served as his midshipman. When he died at some point, his ghost resides in a chest that is part of his loot.

Other characters

The Indians are a tribe of Native Americans who reside in Neverland and often help out Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Only three of them figure prominently in the series.
  • * Great Big Little Panther - The Indian chief and father of Tiger Lily and Hard-To-Hit. He is very wise and often assists Peter and his friends when they have problems.
  • * Tiger Lily - The daughter of Great Big Little Panther and big sister of Hard-To-Hit. She and her little brother sometimes tag along with and aid Peter and their other friends on their many adventures. She is physically active and regularly finds it unnecessary to take a risk, showing she is more mature. Together with her brother, they love having fun. However, they also know and recognize when the situation is more serious and act in a more mature way.
  • * Hard-to-Hit - Great Big Little Panther's son and Tiger Lily's younger brother. He knows the weapons of his tribe and how to use them. Generally, he gets accompanied by his sister and is less mature, but even though it is all obvious for him to treat her more gentle as a girl. He can become very stubborn and then just want to reach his goal no matter what!
  • * Spirit Guide - A panther that is invoked by Great Big Little Panther to guide Peter during the storm to recover the magic sand.
  • * Little Panther - An ancestor of the Native Americans who once took care to calm down the argument of the sun and the moon and their chaos of day and night this two creatures had caused.The Mermaids are a group of young women, who are half human-fish hybrids. They live in the Mermaids' Lagoon.
  • * The Mermaid Trio - Three mermaids, two brunettes with dark skin, where one has a dark pink and the other a violet fishtail and one mermaid with light skin, short strawberry blonde hair and cyan fins. They all care for Peter and like playing around only with him, the other humans they don't accept. They love to dress themselves up with shining jewels.
  • * Crooked Tail - A mermaid who was once beautiful but conceited and haughty, until a potion to enhance her beauty went horribly awry turning her into a green-skinned mustached mermaid. She is friendly not only to Peter, but also likes the other humans. Crooked Tail has a very determined personality why other strong individuals have no chance to resist against her. That's why she is feared by the Purple and Blue Mermaids.
  • * The Blonde and Redhead Mermaids - Two mermaids who only appear twice as villains in the series. While they are usually seen together, they often insult each other and both are very vain.Alde Baran is a white dwarf who works with miniature-horses and has magical boots.Olook is a troll who lives in a large cave with a secret entrance.

Crew

Broadcast

Prior to the series’ broadcast, on July 9, 1990, Fox made a presentation to television writers about their upcoming Fall season line-up.
The series aired on Fox from September 8, 1990, to September 10, 1991. Reruns continued to air until September 11, 1992. A rerun of the series' Christmas episode aired on December 25, 1993. The series was run on Fox in a rerun form on weekday mornings from November 4, 1996, to March 28, 1997. Reruns were then shown on Fox Family in 1998.

Home releases

VHS

Select episodes from the series were released on video in 1992. Titles included:

United States

Release name
Release date
Classifaction
Publisher
Format
LanguageSubtitlesNotes
Ref
Peter Pan & the Pirates – Ghost ShipJuly 2, 1992GFox VideoNTSCEnglish-23 minutes
Peter Pan & the Pirates – Demise of HookJuly 2, 1992GFox VideoNTSCEnglish-23 minutes
Peter Pan & the Pirates – Hook's Deadly Game, Part 1July 2, 1992GFox VideoNTSCEnglish-23 minutes
Peter Pan & the Pirates – Hook's Deadly Game, Part 2July 2, 1992GFox VideoNTSCEnglish-23 minutes

United Kingdom

Release name
Release date
Classifaction
Publisher
Format
LanguageSubtitlesEpisodes
Notes
Ref
Peter Pan and the Pirates 10 August 1992UFox VideoPALEnglish-Episodes 18, 42 & 13
Peter Pan and the Pirates 10 August 1992UFox VideoPALEnglish-Episodes 5, 50 & 63
Peter Pan and the Pirates 5 April 1993UFox VideoPALEnglish-Episodes 17, 8 & 53
Peter Pan and the Pirates 5 April 1993UFox VideoPALEnglish-Episodes 22 36 & 54
Peter Pan and the Pirates 23 August 2004UMaximum EntertainmentPALEnglish-Episodes 1, 3, 8, 17 & 3366 minutes

DVD

Select episodes were released on a single DVD for the UK market in 2004. Episodes released included:

Video game

A video game titled Peter Pan and the Pirates was released for the Nintendo Entertainment System by third party publisher THQ. The game was generally received poorly by critics.
In this single player side-scrolling action game, the player controlled Peter Pan, who could collect bags of fairy dust to fly and wielded a sword that boasted a short range. The player began out in the forest and was required to destroy all the pirates in each level to advance to the next, with the last goal of reaching the pirate ship and battling Captain Hook.

Comics

In addition to the TV show a German imprint Bastei-Verlag, inter alia with the Turkish comic book artist Yalaz, released seven comics. They are originally in German and tell new stories of the Fox's Peter Pan and his closest friends.

Titles

The main titles of the comics and their stories, all with English translation:
1. Rettung für das EinhornPeter saves the UnicornEin Piratenschiff geht fliegenA Pirates' Ship takes Flight Sturm über dem NiemalslandStormy NeverlandTinkerbell sitzt in der FalleTink is trapped
2. Das tickende KrokodilThe tickling CrocWer andern eine Grube gräbt... Who digs a pit for others... Die Jagd nach dem goldenen SteinHunting the golden StoneCaptain Hook geht badenCaptain Hook goes swimming
3. Captain Hook und der ZauberringCaptain Hook and the Magic RingCaptain Hook und der ZauberringCaptain Hook and the Magic RingAngeltour mit HindernissenGo fishing with obstaclesReise in die VergangenheitJourney to the PastDie verzauberte StatueThe enchanted Statue
4. Die Hexe mit dem grünen DaumenThe Witch with the green ThumbDie Hexe mit dem grünen DaumenThe Witch with the green ThumbAlles wegen IngwerbeerenAll 'coz of the Ginger BerriesVerrat im NilpferdreichBetrayal at the Hippopo-EmpireTootles auf AbwegenTootles goes astrayDer falsche PeterThe wrong Peter
5. Die Hexe lässt das Blitzen nichtThe Witch who did not stop LightningDie Hexe lässt das Blitzen nichtThe Witch who did not stop LightningDer HeiratsschwindlerThe Wedding SwindlerCaptain Hook hat SchweinHook and his Guinea PigsEin Pirat und ein GentlemanA Pirate and a GentlemanZaubern will gelernt seinDoing Magic is to be learned
6. Ein Ehrengast zieht LeineA Special Guest goes awayEin Ehrengast zieht LeineA Special Guest goes awayEin Monstervogel muckt aufRebel of a Monster BirdDer PiratenausverkaufPirates' SaleCaptain Hook geht in die FalleHook gets trappedEis und heiß im NiemalslandHot'n Cold in Neverland
7. Viel Radau beim MädchenklauMaking this much Noise, the Girl has no ChoiceViel Radau beim MädchenklauMaking this much Noise, the Girl has no Choice Ein Möhrchen zum anbeißenTo get a Nibble from the CarrotDer Stein der vom Himmel fielThe Stone from Sky Rettung für die StreithähneRescue of the SquabblersFreitag der dreizehnte – ''Friday the Thirteenth''