This article is about the character from Peter Pan & Wendy. For other characters, see Wendy (disambiguation).
Wendy Darling is the female protagonist in the 2023 live-action film Peter Pan & Wendy.
She is based on both the character of the same name from the play by J.M. Barrie and Disney's 1953 animated film Peter Pan.
Role in the film[]
Wendy Darling is first seen getting ready for boarding school where her mother, Mary Darling, tells her to not wait for the last minute to pack just as she is on her way to the nursery to get herself ready for the train the next day and as she overhears her brothers, John and Michael Darling, pretending to be Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Wendy has fun playing with her brothers, but she accidentally causes John's sword to hit George Darling's vanity mirror. George, after discovering this, tells them to give him the swords for being too noisy in the nursery. Wendy then tries to convince her father that she and her brothers were just having fun for their last night, but he tells her that she is too old to have this type of fun for her last night at the nursery just before George takes Nana Darling outside. Seeing the now-broken mirror, Mary approaches her daughter, seeing Wendy's ready for boarding school just before Wendy goes to bed. Mary approaches her daughter, telling her about the importance of leadership, explaining that if Wendy is lucky enough at a certain age, she goes off to boarding school to get ready for the life ahead of her. Wendy, while feeling disappointed and frustrated of growing up, refuses, admitting that she "want[s] things to stay the way they [we]re." Feeling sorry for her, her mother tells her to adjust to the life when she grows up and how important it will be if she missed out on it by stopping time, and then sings "All Grown Up".
Peter suddenly arrives at the Darling family's house with his fellow fairy Tinker Bell where Peter approaches Wendy, John, and Michael, upon them waking up to him and Tink, to ask them for help in reclaiming his shadow. Wendy curiously questions to know how he is real which Peter replies that he likes to hear stories about him, as he found the Darling family's house the perfect place where people believe in him and tell stories about him. After Peter catches his shadow before it goes downstairs, Wendy helps sew his shadow back on him. Wendy then asks him to know how he knew her name which Peter recaps that he heard Wendy's mother call her occasionally, but Wendy never wanted to grow up as Peter was waiting for her to come with him to Neverland, ending with Wendy giving Peter her thimble she dubs "Her kiss" to him, since he didn't know what kisses are. Upon hearing Tink jingling, Peter tells Wendy that it's time for her and her brothers to go to Neverland, the place where no one grows up. Upon hearing that offer, Wendy immediately agrees happily. Peter then tells Wendy, John, and Michael that in order to fly, all they have to do is think of happy thoughts with faith, trust, and a little bit of Pixie Dust which Tink sprinkles Pixie Dust as Wendy finds herself flying, followed by Michael and John, thanks to the Pixie Dust's effects just as Peter and Tink bring the children to Neverland. As Peter and the children fly past Big Ben, they fly into the Second Star to the Right where they end up in Neverland.
As Wendy, John, and Michael arrive at Neverland, they are having a fun time with Peter and Tink, as well as briefly encounter some mermaids, when suddenly, they are attacked by Captain Hook and his pirate crew, who fired cannonballs at them from their ship. Peter attempts to lead them to a safe spot to avoid getting hit by the cannonballs. Just as they land at the edge of Neverland, Peter sees the Jolly Roger from a distance, telling Wendy, John, and Michael that Hook is the one leading the attack against them. As Peter is devising a plan to the Darlings to distract Hook, Wendy and the others are suddenly knocked off the ledge by a cannonball. Wendy suddenly finds herself on shore at the beach where she regains her consciousness, leading her to go look for Tink, Michael, John, and Peter. However, Tiger Lily, riding on her horse, approaches Wendy who is crying for help, followed by a group of Lost Children who also approach her accusing her of what she did to Peter. At first, Wendy is confused with the "Lost Boys" name due to the team of children having four girls (the Twins, Birdie, and Curly), much to the offense of the Twins. Wendy then recaps that she went flying with Peter when they were attacked by Hook and his pirates. As the Lost Children are curious to know where John and Michael are, Wendy uses Bellweather's telescope to spot them when they see her brothers getting captured by Hook and his crew.
As Hook and his crew set sail for Skull Rock, Slightly alerts Wendy that the crew has headed for Skull Rock to execute John and Michael by leaving them to drown, leading Wendy, Tiger Lily, and the Lost Children to go after them to rescue John and Michael. While following Tiger Lily guides them through a shortcut to Skull Rock, Wendy discusses with the Lost Children about the story of what Peter did to Hook and how he earned his namesake and how Hook "Grew up wrong." Tiger Lily then alerts them that Hook and his crew have arrived with John and Michael. Seeing Michael and John being chained to a rock to be drowned, as well as being bait to lure Peter to them, Wendy, the Lost Children, and Tiger Lily notice this just as they see Peter, with Tink by his side, coming to the rescue as the two fight off the pirates. Then with Tiger Lily and even Tink's help, Wendy was able to reach John and Michael and free them. After she speaks with Peter briefly, Hook sneak-attacks Peter by his shadow's back, much to Wendy's concern. Then just when Hook was about to finish Peter off, Wendy shouts out to Hook to stop, saving Peter. After she tells Hook who she is and where she came from, she then points out to Hook that "Gentlemen do not harm children." Then just when Hook threatens Wendy to say her last goodbye to Peter while he kills him, the Crocodile emerges from the water and attacks Hook and his crew, who escape, while Peter gets Wendy, John, Michael, and Tiger Lily out of Skull Rock in time, meeting up with the Lost Children.
After escaping from Hook to another part of Neverland, Wendy angrily slaps Peter for being reckless after he exclaimed how fun their adventure is. She then argues with Peter that she had a dangerous adventure during her encounter with Hook to which while arguing, she asks Peter if he could beat Hook on his own without help and Peter replies that he doesn't need any help, and then he tells Wendy and the Lost Children that nothing ever changes in Neverland. As Wendy follows alongside her brothers and the Lost Children to their hideout, she learns from Nibs and Curly respectively that some things do change in Neverland and that “Hook wasn’t always Hook.” Arriving at the hideout, Wendy has a heart-to-heart with Tiger Lily about their own homes and paths, to which Tiger Lily tells her her great-grandmother's words of wisdom before leaving for her home. Once inside the hideout and settled in, Wendy attempts to convince Peter to tell a bedtime story to her, her brothers, and the Lost Children about how Peter and Hook became enemies, but when they began discussing about growing up and mothers, Peter angrily storms off into his room, to which Wendy instead sings a lullaby her mother sang to her when she was at home to make her brothers and the Lost Children feel better when they became upset and concerned over her and Peter's recent tension. After the song puts the children to sleep, Wendy then follows Tink into Peter's room where she discovers Peter's carved name on his door, along with another name, James, which is scratched off. She then approaches Peter, and after they both come to terms that they were fighting lately like Peter and Hook are, Peter finally recaps that Hook used to be named James and that he was friends with him, just as he describes him as the very first Lost Boy and after Hook left, he betrayed Peter and became a ruthless pirate captain. Wendy tells Peter that Neverland is not exactly she was expecting just before she exits Peter's room, accepting the acorn necklace from Peter, which he dubs "His kiss" to her. As Wendy goes downstairs, she finds out that John, Michael, and the Lost Children have been captured by Hook and his pirate crew, who arrived from overhearing her lullaby earlier, just as Hook captures Wendy, resulting her and Tink to be held hostage and Peter seemingly killed by Hook during this.
With Wendy held captive with Tink and the other children, she tells Hook, who confronts her about her lullaby that he overheard earlier, about the lullaby her mother sings to her as she, in turn, confronts Hook on who he really was before he betrayed Peter. Hook then tells her that Peter left out that he banished him because he missed his mother who also sang that similar song that she sang to him. Hook then continues recapping that he never saw his mother again, fearing that he would have perished after he was lost at sea and Mr. Smee and the pirates was able to rescue him and was later raised by pirates throughout his life and became Captain Hook. Wendy tries to convince Hook that he could be happy again and do right things, which Hook refuses, telling her that his time for joy is lost and everything he could have been has been reduced to his state when he grew up, resulting Wendy to realize that Hook grew up wrong because of the pirates. Hook then orders his crew to send Michael, John, and the Lost Children to walk the plank, much to Wendy's concern, resulting her to convince the pirates to spare them and have her walk the plank instead.
The next day, Wendy prepares to walk the plank, much to John, Michael, Tink, and the Lost Children’s despair. Just when Wendy was about to fall into the ocean while walking the plank, Tink, who escaped from the lantern she was trapped at, saves her from falling into the ocean, while no one onboard the ship hears a splash, as Tink saved Wendy at the last minute thanks to Wendy thinking happy thoughts of what her future will be like when she grows up. Then she and Tink appear after sprinkling Pixie Dust on the ship, much to John, Michael, and the Lost Children's joy and the pirates' shock. Then Peter, who regained his consciousness and treated for his injury thanks to Tiger Lily, arrives to fight against Hook, having come to the realization of the errors of his reckless ways from his near-death experience. Wendy drops the sail onto Hook and his crew. She then fights against Hook's crew during the battle, followed by John, Michael, the Lost Children, Tiger Lily, and Tink joining the fight. Later when John and Michael are under attack by a pirate who tells them to give him the helm as they tried to steer it away from a cliffside, Wendy turns the wheel while telling everyone to hang onto the ship, causing the pirates and Smee to fall into the ocean. Wendy then saves Peter from falling from the hatch of Hook's cabin, as well as helped him regain his ability to fly again, and then she confronts Hook who is about to kill Peter, who tried to reconcile with him, telling Hook to grow up to which Hook is struck by a cannonball fired by two of the Lost Boys, followed by Hook falling into the ocean after Peter tries to save him by telling him to try and think happy thoughts.
With Hook and his pirates defeated, Wendy, along with her brothers and friends, comforts Peter when he grieves over the loss of his friend, then telling him to give the Lost Children a home with her and her brothers just as Peter and his friends, after bidding Tiger Lily goodbye, leave Neverland to return to London. Upon the return home, Wendy reunites and reconciles with Mary and George, admitting that she is ready to grow up, while introducing the Lost Children to them, much to the two’s surprise and then amazement that the children came from Neverland. Wendy then approaches Peter on the rooftop of the Darling family's house where Peter, after showing her his carved name on the chimney, recaps that her house used to be his original home just before his mother scolded him, because Peter would never grow up. Peter then tells Wendy that he could come back to the Darling family's house as there are people who read stories about himself. Wendy then tells Peter that he could stay with her and her family, but then she relents and agrees with Peter after he admits that he'd rather stay in Neverland with Tink and never grow up. Just before Tink leaves with Peter, she thanks Wendy for hearing her just before she flies to catch up with Peter to return to Neverland as Wendy and her brothers, including the Lost Children, George, Mary, and Nana, who see them off, bid goodbye to Peter and Tink, and before heading back inside, Wendy carves her name next to Peter's on the chimney.
Trivia[]
- Unlike the original character, Wendy wields a sword and is shown dueling Captain Hook in the official teaser poster and in a brief clip of her fighting one of the pirates.
- Wendy also wielded a sword and fought in the 2003 live-action film adaptation of Peter Pan.
- Wendy is a deuteragonist in the original film, while in the remake, she has been elevated to a protagonist alongside Peter Pan.
Gallery[]
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