Summer of Netflix Day 53 - Hook

Editor's Note: As some of you may have noticed, today's Summer of Netflix movie was suppose to be The Birdcage but, unbeknownst to us, that movie was scheduled to be no longer on Netflix before this week. You can understand my panic when I go to find that movie and come up with nothing on Netflix. That being said, we at IBA scrambled to find a good replacement and went with Hook. Go watch it if you haven't already and check out what our writers have to say about it below.

Joel: Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the loss of Robin Williams so it’s fitting that we had Good Will Hunting and Hook back to back like this. Hook was probably the first time I saw Robin Williams (Aladdin may have been the actual first movie, but I really think it was Hook) Every young child has a handful of movies that they watch over and over and over again, much to the chagrin of their parents. Hook was one of mine. And maybe that’s the reason I love this movie so much. After all, Hook isn’t universally loved. My dad didn’t care for it (though he had to sit through it the hundred times a week that I wanted to watch it.) It has something like 30% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the director, Steven Spielberg has said he was disappointed with the movie. But to me, it’s fantastic. Still is, even as a grown up. Williams was a perfect casting choice for an adult Peter Pan. His transformation from the high strung grown up at the beginning of the movie, to the return to Pan is really a great bit of acting. Neverland is amazing and colorful. It’s not just a retread of the iconic Neverland locations from the famous Disney Peter Pan, but makes Neverland this huge and expansive magical island full of wonder and mystery. It’s exciting and thrilling. It’s one of the reasons I was inspired to struggle through reading the book Peter Pan when I barely even knew how to read. It’s the biggest reason that I loved Robin Williams growing up and it’s a movie that I’ve returned to several times. If you’re one of the ones that doesn’t like it (and I’ll admit, that does appear to be the majority of people) I’m sorry, I just don’t get it. This movie is fantastic.

Jason: What happens if the boy who never grows up finally does? It is a question that JM Barrie had to have pondered at some point in his life. And yet, he never weighed in on the answer. “Peter Pan” was essentially written as a bedtime story and a tale of eternal youth. To remove the youth is to remove the magic.

But along comes Hook. This is a huge piece of nostalgia for anyone who grew up in the 90’s. I don’t believe I’ve ever heard anyone say they genuinely didn’t like the movie. It was beautiful and touching. It was able to preserve the wonder of Neverland and expound upon it through exploring the aftermath of Peter. The music was gorgeous, the sets are intricate and interesting, and the casting was absolutely perfect. Robin Williams shows the world-weary side of youth lost to responsibility and yet still retains the heart and spirit of childhood. And I maintain that Dustin Hoffman is a brilliant Captain Hook.

Sure there are some things that didn’t make sense to me as a kid, like the mermaid scene where they start kissing him underwater for no reason (Yes, I understand what they’re doing now). And there are bits that are kind of a stretch now. Like why does Tinkerbell talk? And why is the crocodile MASSIVE? But on the whole, the movie holds up and is still as magical today as it was when I was a child. I guess some parts of a person never do grow up.

Chris: I was 3 when this movie came out and watched it around the time when I was a massive Peter Pan fan. Sure, I didn’t comprehend much of it but luckily, my Pan fandom continued and watched this movie many, many times and eventually understood exactly what was going on. I even had the action figures that came out around the movie’s release. I didn’t have all of them, mind you, but I had the ones that mattered, Peter Pan, Hook and Rufio. This film as it’s faults and there’s moments, watching it now years since the last time i watched it, where it feels very dated but there’s still something magical about this movie. Perhaps it’s my own nostalgia getting in the way but I adore this movie, always has and probably always will.

Your Viewing Homework for Tomorrow: I Hate Christian Laettner