Disney Heroines: A Return

The third and final heroine in the tales of Peter is Jane, Wendy’s daughter and oldest child.

Peter Pan 2: Return to Neverland was produced by DisneyToon Studios in Sydney, Australia and released in 2002 by Walt Disney Pictures. It is set during World War II during the London Blitz, which was the bombing of England by the Germans in an attempt to invade and conquer the country and its other United Kingdom counterparts.

The movie is ultimately a sequel to the 1953 Disney film instead of a sequel to Barrie’s Peter and Wendy. Though it was based on the final chapter, which briefly introduces Wendy as an adult and her daughter Jane. And rather than in the book, Jane being just like Wendy (motherly and domestic), Disney’s Jane is tomboy-ish, independent, and fully capable of taking care of herself. Wendy’s husband, Edward, and her son Danny were actually made for the film and are not even mentioned in the novel.

There are several other differences between the novel’s and Disney’s Jane, one being that in the movie she refuses to believe in her mother’s stories of Peter and is taken to Neverland by force (by Hook). In the novel Jane is eager to believe in Peter, and with her mother’s permission flies away with him much like Wendy had done.

Jane (Peter Pan 2: Return to Never Land):

1.      Childhood is precious and should be cherished.

2.      Family is important.

3.      Our wants shouldn’t blind us to our needs and what we know is right.

4.      If we allow it, we can change for the better.

5.      Friends are precious.

6.      Know where you’re needed.

Many would wonder why I’ve added a sequel heroine, since Disney has a habit of making sequels that don’t quite measure up. The reason for this is simple: Return to Neverland, in my opinion, was by far one of their best; with a realistically troubled girl who had her childhood stolen from her by war.

I haven’t seen any themes that berate Jane, and I’m sure that this is because she’s a sequel heroine. And because of this I’m going to address her, just who she is, and her story.

The beginning of Jane’s story, as I’ve said, is set in the London Blitz. Her father, Edward, has been sent to fight in the war, leaving Wendy to care for the two children by herself. Under the pressures and circumstances of war Jane became cynical, berating and belittling her mother and brother for having faith in the stories of Peter. Mostly doing so unintentionally to her younger brother.

Before her father left he told Jane to look after her brother and mother, and I think that this is that main reason for why she acted the way she did towards the stories. The war had lasted longer that thought, and she didn’t want her brother’s hopes crushed.

Jane, on the outside, seems cynical and too grown up for her age, but the truth was that she was actually worse off than her brother or mother. And I think the main song that everyone remembers from this movie, I’ll Try, states it quite bluntly and eloquently.

In her adventures in Neverland Jane was much different than her mother when it came to everything. She was more interested in getting back home than being a mother to the Lost Boys (because she wants to apologize to her mother and brother for the things she said), though they tried to teach her to have fun and fly. But she failed in these because she didn’t believe. When they accidently destroy her notebook she becomes angry and berates them for their behavior, and that she doesn’t believe in fairies. (Putting Tink’s life on the line)

When she’s confronted and tricked into a deal by Hook she only thinks of herself and getting home. But when all is said and done, after she learns to finally have fun and her serious façade melts away, that she threw away the whistle Hook gave her, refusing to help him. Her eyes were, in an effect, opened.

And even when she became banished, she knew she needed to fix her mistakes; and took action on that knowledge, by saving Tinkerbell, Peter, and the Lost Boys. This action, in the end, was the gateway to her belief. When she could finally fly she knew where she needed to be, much like her mother, and headed home.

In truth, Jane is one of the much stronger characters I’ve seen in a Disney sequel: And though she had a moment not that different from Ariel’s, when she realized her mistake she took action on it. We need to remember that that is the most important thing, for how many times do we say one thing and do another?