Netflix: This film rejected by Steven Spielberg is still a childhood treasure adored by nostalgic moviegoers!

For anyone who grew up in the 1990s, this film is a veritable Proust Madeleine. Released in our cinemas in April 1992, Hook or The Revenge of Captain Hook was conceived by its director Steven Spielberg as a direct sequel to the famous story of Peter Pan, adapted from J.M. From the children’s novel written by Barry.

The story follows a group of children – Wendy and her brothers John and Michael – who are taken to Neverland by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell. Leading a group of lost children in a battle against the pirate Captain Hook, our three young heroes experience a wonderful adventure.

Before they return to their native England, Peter promises Wendy that he will visit them in the world.

Spielberg’s film takes place several decades after these adventures. As promised, Peter visited Wendy several times – with each visit he noticed how his friend was aging.

After falling in love with his granddaughter Moira, Peter made the decision to stay in this world and marry her. The years have gradually erased his memories, and the former lost child has become a lawyer obsessed with his case. Much to the dismay of his children Jack and Maggie, who feel abandoned by their loving but still absent father.

A replacement actor who turned out to be perfect

Specializing in the comic roles of adults who retain the spirit of childhood, Robin Williams is cast as Peter Banning, the former Peter Pan, who must rediscover his past magic to save his children, who are captives of Captain Hook.

The American actor was not Steven Spielberg’s first choice, although the director initially wanted to cast Michael Jackson as Peter over David Bowie as Hook.

However, the latter’s refusal forced the filmmaker to reconsider his plans, and in the end it was Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman who got the main roles in the film, and the role of Tinker Bell was assigned to Julia Roberts, in an era unknown to the general public. .

An ambitious follow-up to the childhood classic, Hook doesn’t shy away from darker themes such as abandonment (with leftovers from Peter’s childhood) or even the murder of Rufio, the leader of the Lost Children.

In general, the film still chooses a light tone, bordering on parody: especially when Captain Hook’s wig falls off during a sword fight, when the lost children rebel against the paternalistic Peter’s lessons, or even in the role of Glenn Close. The bearded pirate.

For many moviegoers who grew up in the ’90s, Hook remains a nostalgic gem that many watch every year, especially during the holiday season. But ironically, the film’s harshest criticism comes from… Steven Spielberg himself!

The American filmmaker met at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016 during the presentation of his film Le Bon Gros Géant. “I do not like” Hook, though, his kids love the movie. Words echoed by our British colleagues in the magazine already quoted Empire :

I felt like a fish out of water setting a hook. I had no confidence in the script except for the first act and the epilogue. I had no confidence in the body of the film. (…) I didn’t really know what I was doing and tried to express my uncertainty by assigning value to the products. The more confidence was lacking, the more colorful the settings became.

If you want to plan your annual movie binge, you don’t need to delay because Hook or Steven Spielberg’s Captain Hook’s Revenge will be leaving the Netflix catalog on October 31st.

Discover the list of movies currently available on the platform!