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Hook acts as a sequel to Peter Pan's original adventures, focusing on a grown-up Peter who has forgotten his childhood. Now known as "Peter Banning", he is a successful corporate lawyer with a wife and two children. Captain Hook kidnaps his two children, and he must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit as Peter Pan in order to challenge his old enemy.

Synopsis

Hook poster

Hook is a 1991 Steven Spielberg film starring Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams. The film's storyline is based on the books written by Sir James Matthew Barrie in 1904 or 1905 and is the sequel to the first book. Technically, the film is the first live-action Peter Pan movie to be made and is known for it's spectacular acting, dazzling special effects, whimsical and adventurous score.

Plot

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HOOK

The film starts out with Peter Banning (Williams) enjoying his daughter Maggie's school production of Peter Pan. He gets a call on his cell phone which draws negative attention from the audience. As he and his family are leaving for London to see Granny Wendy Darling, Peter schedules a morning meeting to settle his affairs; his son, Jack, reminds Peter of his baseball game tomorrow and that his father promised he'd be there. Peter says he will still show up.

The next day, Jack's game has already started and Peter has not come. Peter, swamped by all of his co-workers, is entirely oblivious to the fact that he has to be at his son's big game, so he sends one of his associates to the game with a camcorder. Peter's wife, Moira, who is concerned for both her husband and son, feels angry with Peter, says nothing when the associate arrives. Jack, now up at bat, scans the stands for his father and sees the associate taping him. Jack's focus snaps back to the game. The pitcher signals for a curve ball, Jack's main weakness, and throws; Jack swings and misses, losing the game for his team. Moments after the game ends, Peter's car speeds up to the field, but finds the field empty. He is completely crushed and sad that he missed his son's biggest game of the season. His phone rings again and he answers, assuming his businessman's guise again.

On a plane ride to England, Peter and his family enjoy a nice flight, but Peter shows a great fear of heights. Jack is still angry at his father, which he illustrates by drawing a pictures of his father falling out of the plane without a parachute.

When the family lands in England, they arrive at Wendy Moira Angela Darling's home, the grandmother of Moira and who took Peter in as a child. Though an elderly Tootles shuts the door on them initially, Peter is immediately recognised by Liza, Wendy's caretaker, proceeded by screams of joy. Peter walks to the stairs where Wendy greets him with, ""Hullo, boy." As she descends the stairs, she states that it has been ten years since the last visit to her house. When she hears how much Peter has been working, she remarks how Peter has now become pirate.

Later on, Peter walks upstairs to the children's nursery, where a strange and mysterious feeling passes around him. He looks around the room and looks at the painted walls that have images of a strange land and a man clad in red with a hook for one of his hands. He notices the balcony door open and shuts the hook-shaped latch over it. After that, Moira calls him into the bedroom, where his phone is on hold. He reaches the phone and starts to talk to his associate Brad about how a business deal has gone down the drain, when the children rush in making very irritating noises. Peter, who is less than pleased, angrily shouts at his wife to remove them from the room. Out in the hall, Wendy watches, horrified. Moira hands the children to her grandmother and walks back into the room, where she scolds her husband for not appreciating the children more. Rather than doing something about it, Peter proceeds to his phone and Moira throws it out the window, telling him that if he's not careful, he will miss out on so much.

Wendy peacefully reads her copy of Peter Pan to the children. She then mentions that Sir James Barrie (the real life author and creator) was her neighbor and that he liked Wendy and her brother's stories so much that he wrote them down more than 80 years ago. Maggie, impressed, says that Wendy must be very old to know of all this.

Peter walks in to take Granny Wendy to the Great Osmond's Children's hospital where Wendy is being commemorated for her orphanage. Peter tucks both Jack and Maggie in, giving Jack his pocket watch. While the parents are at the ceremony, the Darling household is mysteriously attacked by a strange green wind and the children are kidnapped. Toodles, who senses the whole thing, barks the name "Hook".

When the Bannings return home, they notice that the house has been messed and the walls have been deeply scratched by something sharp. Wendy immediately thinks of the children. Peter and Moira rush up to the nursery to find that their children are missing, and the nursery window wide open. Wendy brings Peter's attention to the door, which has a note pinned to it by a gleaming dagger. The note reads:

"Dear Peter, your presence is required at the request of your children. Kindest personal regards, Jas. Hook, Capt."

Toodles comes to the room, advancing on Peter saying that he must save Maggie and Jack and that Hook is back. Wendy faints and everyone rushes to help her.

When the police leave the house, Wendy reveals to Peter that he was once the legendary Peter Pan and says that Captain James Hook still wants his revenge, that Peter must find a way to remember his childhood; Peter is unconvinced. When he wanders into the nursery, a strange light follows him all around the room. When it finally lands, it turns out to be his old fairy friend, Tinkerbell. She tries her best to stir Peter into coming to Neverland to face off with Hook one last time. She finally trips him up and wraps him in a parachute Maggie made for Peter, and flies off with him in her arms to the "second star to the right and straight on till morning".

When they land, Peter is convinced that this is all a nightmare. He wakes up to find himself in Pirate Town, and to a giant crocodile made into a clock tower. He is attacked by several pirates and Tink ends up saving him. She dresses him up so that he will blend in. As he walks through, he sees a hook being sharpened and given to a pirate named Smee. All the pirates and Peter follow Smee to a ship, The Jolly Roger, and Smee ducks into the captain's quarters and give the hook to his captain, who he brings out to the crew, Captain James Hook.

Hook states that he finally hopes to kill Peter Pan; to state this, he kills a pirate who had doubted Hook's claims. When Jack and Maggie are lifted out in a net, Peter ditches his disguise and demands they be released. Hook can't believe that this man is Peter Pan, but Smee reveals a scar from when Peter had rescued Tiger Lily of the Indians from Hook. He gives Peter a chance to free his children by flying to them. Peter instead climbs a mast to them, but his fear still gets the better of him. Realizing the war will never happen, Hook orders Peter to walk the plank. Tink then negotiates with Hook to allow her to train Peter for three days to get him back to shape. The pirates are so excited that one accidently knocks a bound Peter into the sea below, but he is luckily saved by three beautiful mermaids in the lagoon.

Peter stumbles upon the village of the Lost Boys, who are unconvinced that this old man was once Peter Pan. He also finds himself at odds with the current Pan, Rufio. After a chase through the village and being hit by the various child-like tools of the Boys, Rufio draws a line in the dirt for the Boys who says Peter isn't himself anymore. All the Boys join Rufio's side, except for little Pockets, who sees Peter through the wrinkles of age. The Boys see this too, and agree to retrain Peter.

Back at his ship, Hook lamants to Smee how he hates how he has to wait for Peter to be ready. He has accomplished all he has wanted: killing the crocodile, and luring Peter with his children, but it is not enough. He even attempts suicide, but Smee stops him. Smee then offers an idea to really break Peter's spirit: make his kids love Hook. Stealing the idea for himself, Hook decides to do it.

It's day one, and Peter begins intense training with the Lost Boys; trying to get himself into shape, dueling with Rufio, and trying to be young again. However, he has a lot of trouble trying to fly because he can't find his happy thought. Meanwhile, Hook begins brainwashing Peter's children; though he is unsuccessful with Maggie, the neglected Jack finds some truth in Hook's words. That evening, at dinner time, Peter is distraught there's no food when the lids open. Rufio states Peter will never truely become Pan and they both get into a heated name calling contest, which Peter manages to win with his superior intellect. He uses his imagination to throw food at Rufio, and is suprised when the food becomes real. As they eat, the Boys get an idea and begin a huge food fight, which Peter finds himself enjoying. Rufio jealously throws a coconut; a Boy throws Peter a sword, and he slices it cleanly in half before the stunned eyes of the Boys. Later, Thudbud, the large Lost Boy, tells Peter how Toottles used to be a one of them and gives Peter his lost marbles. Everyone on Neverland goes to bed after hearing Maggie sing a song that her mother used to sing to her.

Hook is woken up in the morning by the ticking of Jack's pocket watch, and takes him to the clock museum. There, he goads Jack into smashing it and any other clock to take his rage out on how negelectful his father is. Hook then seduces Jack by transforming Pirate Town into a baseball stadium. Peter and some Boys disguise themselves so Peter can steal Hook's hook and then crow. However, Peter watches Jack play, and Jack hits a homerun on a curve ball. Peter sees how Jack now looks to Hook as a father figure, and determines to fly. He is then hit on the head by Jack's homerun ball, and it falls into a pond where he sees himself as a child. Suddenly, his shadow comes to life and guides him to the Never Tree, where he finds the old hideout.

Tink greets him in there in a sparkling dress, and slowly helps him rekindle his repressed memories. As a baby, he heard his mother discussing his future, and fate seemed to draw wind that allowed Peter to run away. He was found by Tink who brought him to Neverland; even though he missed his family, he found they had forgotten about him and had another baby. He flew to other windows that weren't shut on him, and one where his detached shadow had fled was none other than Wendy's house. After that, Peter came for her for spring cleaning, until the one day where she felt too old to come with him anymore, an age where her own children had their own children. She showed him her grandchild, Moira, and Peter fell in love with her at first sight. After that he never went back to Neverland because he realized something he wanted to do: start a family and become a father.

Realizing this is happy thought, Peter finds himself able to fly. He flies through the trees and is dressed in his Pan clothes once again. He flies to the Boys and plays games with them. A stunned Rufio brings out the Pan sword; while a duel for leadership seems inevitable, Rufio drops to his knees, offering leadership and the sword back to Peter. Peter takes it and happily crows, and Rufio and the Boys follow suit. Peter visits Tink's house, and finds her depressed because she knows he'll leave once he rescues his kids. She grows to a normal human size and kisses Peter, saying she has always loved him, and urges him to go save his children.

The third day has come, and the Boys suit up for the war. Hook has dressed Jack up exactly as himself and is about to give him his first earring when Peter cuts a shape of himself out of the mast and reveals himself. Excited, Hook sends his men to attack. Peter holds them off with brilliant swordplay, and reveals to Jack that he was his happy thought. Hook catches Peter in a net; Peter yells the battle cry, "Bangarang!", and the Lost Boys appear and begin to attack with their child-made weapons.

Peter goes to rescue Maggie while Rufio duels Hook. As the Boys force the pirates to surrender, Hook catches Rufio off guard and runs him through with his sword. Rufio falls into Peter's arms, and his dying words are that he wished he had a father like him. Jack breaks through the brainwashing, and Peter walks off with his children, but Hook warns him that he will always follow him until the end. Peter goes back and they both begin the final duel. At one point, Hook tries to intimidate Peter by telling him this is all a dream and that he'll go back to his old life, but Peter's children and the Boys tell him they believe in him. The duel continues to the crocodile clock tower where the Boys distract Hook with his fear: working clocks. Peter disarms Hook and is about to kill him, but his children urge him not to. Peter tells Hook to never return to Neverland; Hook draws out a secret sword and pins him to the crocodile. As Hook is about to bring his hook down on him, Tink saves Peter, who runs the hook into the crocodile. The crocodile seems to come to life and falls down on Hook and eats him, with Hook crying, "I want my mummy!"

Peter has Tink fly his children home so he can have one final moment with the Lost Boys. They don't want him to leave, fearing he'll forget them all again, but he assures them he never will. He passes the Pan sword and leadership to Thudbud, making him promise to take care of anyone else smaller than him. And with that, Peter flies home.

Jack and Maggie suprise everyone back at Wendy's house with their return. Peter wakes up outside with his old clothes back on, and is found by the groundskeeper who looks like Smee. Tink appears one last time, and tells Peter that, at that moment between sleep and awake, she'll always love him and wait for him. Grabbing his recovered cell phone, Peter climbs a drain pipe to the window and greets everyone; Peter shows his changed way of life by telling Jack he can always keep the windows open, and when Brad calls his phone, Peter tosses it out the window again. Peter gives Tootles his marbles and cries as he hugs Wendy, saying each tear is happy thought. Tootles shows his by showing what was really in his pouch of marbles: fairy dust. He pours it on himself and flies to Neverland.

As they watch, Wendy says Peter's adventures are over, but Peter says they are not. He says, "To live would be an awfully big adventure!" As Tootles flies away, the stars toward Neverland shine even though it is day.

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