Captain James Hook is the villain of J. M. Barrie’s play and novel Peter Pan. Hook is a pirate captain and Peter Pan’s nemesis. It is said that he was Blackbeard’s bosun, and that he was the only man Barbecue (aka ‘The Sea Cook’) Long John Silver ever feared.
Hook wears an iron hook in place of his left hand which was cut off by Peter Pan and eaten by a crocodile. The crocodile liked the taste so much, it follows Hook around constantly, hoping for more. Luckily for Hook, it also swallowed a clock, so Hook can tell from the ticking, when the Crocodile is near. Hook hates Peter obsessively, and lives for the day he can make Peter and all his Lost Boys walk the plank and become croc food.
Smee is Captain Hook’s boatswain and right-hand man, so to speak, not to mention his best friend. Contrary to popular belief, however, Smee was not First Mate; Starkey was.
The character of James Hook was first portrayed onstage in 1904 by Gerald du Maurier, and was at least in part tailored to him, as du Maurier was well acquainted with Barrie and in fact was uncle to the Davies children, who were Barrie’s inspiration for Peter Pan.
The version of Captain Hook who appears in the Disney animated film adaptation of Peter Pan is a cowardly fool, prone to crying out for help as well as being called a codfish and having his clothes repeatedly ruined (always starting with his hat), and had the hook in place of his left hand instead of his right (supposedly, the animators wanted Hook to be able to do things that are usually simpler to do with the right hand). Though he has his evil moments, Hook is overall a comically inept villain compared to other Disney villains such as Jafar, Scar or Maleficent. He apparently loves loopholes in contracts or deals — after he promises Tinker Bell that he will not lay a finger (or a hook) on Peter, he then lays a bomb in Peter’s hideout, since he didn’t say he wouldn’t do that. In the film, Hook is voiced by and modeled after Hans Conried, who provided the same talents for Mr. Darling. Frank Thomas was the directing animator of Hook.
According to Disney’s Platinum release bonus features, Hook was modeled after a Spanish King.
The crocodile, though not referred to by name in the film, was named Tick-Tock the Croc in early press material.
Occasionally, Hook appeared in the Scrooge McDuck universe of comic books as the nemesis of Moby Duck, a whaler cousin of Donald Duck.
Hook subsequently appeared in a number of other Disney productions, such as the 2002 film Return to Never Land. There, Hook had finally managed to get rid of Tick-Tock somehow, but he was replaced by a just-as-hungry octopus, who, in fact, actually (and quite ironically) mistakes Hook for a codfish. At the end of the film Hook and his crew were in a rowboat and got chased out of Neverland. Hook also appeared frequently on Disney’s House of Mouse, and was one of the main villains of Mickey’s House of Villains. In Mickey’s House of Villains, he is portrayed as Jafar’s (leader of the villains) second-in-command. In modern animation, Hook is voiced by Corey Burton.
He stars in the Disney Interactive computer game, Disney’s Villains’ Revenge. He stole the happy ending of Peter Pan and altered the story. Peter was reduced to an elderly man and lost his fighting touch. The player went against Hook in a duel and won, defeating Hook. Captain Hook fought the player again in the final battle, but saw his ship destroyed. He retreats to Skull Rock where he fires cannonballs. Unfortunately, one is deflected and sends him flying into the sky.
Captain Hook appears in the Action/RPG game Kingdom Hearts, in cooperation with Maleficent and other villains. He uses his pirate ship to get himself between worlds. He takes Riku along with him, where Kairi is being held. However, he does not like Riku’s bossiness and regrets taking him along. When Sora, Donald, and Goofy arrive in Neverland, Riku throws them in the hold where they meet and escape with Peter Pan, who is searching for his friend Wendy. Captain Hook believed that Wendy was a “Princess of Heart” and that is why he captured her. However, Riku reports to him from Maleficent that Wendy is not a Princess of heart at all, irritating Hook. After defeating the Heartless below deck, Sora fights a copy of himself summoned by Riku in Hook’s office. After confronting Hook on the deck, Sora and company realize that Riku escaped to Hollow Bastion with Kairi. Hook then flees to his office. Using a voice imitation of Smee, Hook’s right hand man, Peter Pan tricks Hook into thinking everything is all clear. Hook returns to the deck and is thrown into a fight with Sora and others. He proves a powerful swordsman and bomb expert, but no match for the Keyblade. Hook is thrown overboard and is chased into the horizon by his arch nemesis the Crocodile. His Japanese voice actor was Chikao Ōtsuka.
Captain Hook was released in the Disney Store exclusive toyline Disney Heroes, a slightly stylized version of the classic animation model, replacing the small hook with a metal forearm and larger, more angular hook. This new hook has been commented by some online review sites to resemble the mechanical forearm the character Ash builds in Army of Darkness.
Something worth noting, although Peter Pan is themed around a hatred of mother-figures, in nearly every Disney film and sequel there is a mention of Hook’s “mommy”. In Disney’s Return to Neverland the Captain holds a portrait of his two-hooked mother, and in Disney-published Peter and the Starcatchers, Hook is said to have marooned his mother.
Add Comment