Neverland (miniseries)
| Neverland (2011 film) | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Nick Willing |
| Produced by | Alan Moloney Redmond Morris |
| Written by | Nick Willing |
| Starring | Rhys Ifans Anna Friel Charles Dance Q'orianka Kilcher Raoul Trujillo Cas Anvar George Aguilar Bob Hoskins Charlie Rowe Keira Knightley |
| Music by | Ronan Hardiman |
| Cinematography | Seamus Deasy |
| Editing by | Allan Lee |
| Studio | Parallel Films Sky Movies Production |
| Country | United Kingdom |
Neverland is an adventure/fantasy miniseries that aired on the Syfy network (USA) on December 4 and 5, 2011, and Sky Movies (UK) on December 9 and 16, written and directed by Nick Willing. It is a prequel to and re-imagining of the Peter Pan story.
Plot
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 slips and falls, the orb falls on the ground, 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 led by Captain Elizabeth Bonny (Anna Friel), but Fox, one of Hook's gang of street thieves, 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 multi-legged alien crocodiles that occupy the sea below, 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, who has identified himself as James Hook, a magical mineral dust that comes from the fairy-like alien race (called "tree spirits" by the pirates) 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 Native village. The boys make friends with the Natives and meet the chief's daughter, Aaya/Tiger Lily (Q'orianka Kilcher). Peter makes an attempt to rescue the boys and Jimmy; while the boys are safe, Fox is killed when Peter returns for Jimmy, who stays on the ship.
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 (Charles Dance), 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 was 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 return Peter and the boys back to London, they are interrupted by Jimmy, Bonny, and several pirates who enter the city. 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. 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 Natives, with Aaya as hostage. Halfway across, Peter cuts Aaya loose and flies her to safety. Peter goes back and confronts Jimmy and threatens Bonny to make Jimmy tell him where the orb is, but he is incapacitated and captured. Back on the ship, Bonny tells Jimmy she is cutting their alliance for feeling he has gotten them no where, so he escapes the ship with Peter. Seemingly changed, he tells Peter he wants to go back to London with him and the boys, so Jimmy alone persuades Peter to show him the mountain passage and then they can return together. Once they reaches the passage, Jimmy 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 since she didn't have innocence in her heart. Though secretly pleased that he is the new captain of the pirates, Jimmy angrily tells Peter he killed his father for feeling he stole Peter's mother from him. The indians arrive and attack the pirates and Peter manages to escape in the chaos. 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 soon realises that Peter has lost much of his memory. However, he remembers everything again once Curly plays a song for him. Tinker Bell then joins up with Peter to try and stop Jimmy, now known as Captain Hook, who intends to bring back modern weapons to destroy the indians. Meanwhile, the boys manage to convince the indians to help them fight the pirates to stop Hook. As they head towards the ship, Peter follows Hook to the orb. The indians arrive and fight the pirates, but cannot find Hook, so Aaya and the boys move towards the cave
The two groups meet in the cave where the orb is hidden. While fighting Peter, inadvertently cuts off Hook's right hand, and demands his father's watch. Both the hand and the watch are swallowed by a giant crocodile. Hook manages to knock Peter unconscious and the cave begins to crumble. Ayaa and the boys quickly escape except for Peter and Tinker Bell. Peter, instead of fleeing, revives Tinker Bell, and the cave collapses. Hook and his first mate Starkey are still in the cave and Starkey figures out a way to escape but asks Hook what he will use for a hand.
Some time later, the boys are living with the Natives 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 that his shadow is missing, thus leading into the events of the Original Peter Pan.
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 (Hoskins also portrayed the character in the 1991 film Hook)
- Keira Knightley as Tinker Bell (voice)
- Charlotte Atkinson as Tinker Bell
- 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 Twins
- Brandon Robinson as Slightly
- Chase Willoughby as Nibs
Production
Film production took place in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and Genoa, Italy.
References
- Werts, Diane (November 30, 2011). "'Neverland' tale is all grown up". Newsday. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Nancy deWolf Smith (December 2, 2011). "Lost Boys and Bad Girls". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Serjeant, Jill (December 1, 2011). ""Neverland" gives fantasy twist to Peter Pan tale". Reuters. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Bianco, Robert (December 2, 2011). "Syfy shows growth in 'Neverland' miniseries". USA Today. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- R.J. Carter (December 2, 2011). "Interview: Charlie Rowe: Newest Peter Pan Flies High in Syfy's "Neverland"". The Trades. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Kay, Janice (November 30, 2011). "Trailer for 'Neverland' Movie Coming To Syfy This Weekend". ScienceFiction.com. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Hale, Mike (December 2, 2011). "Peter Pan, Before the Magic". The New York Times. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Hinckley, David (December 4, 2011). "Syfy's 'Neverland' is a prequel to the Peter Pan story, set in Victorian London". Daily News. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
- Ng, Philiana (December 6, 2011). "Syfy's 'Neverland' Starts Off on Good Ratings Note". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
External links
- Neverland at SyFy
- Neverland at the Internet Movie Database
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