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Rachel Playing: Wendy Darling
Director P.J. Hogan
Written By: P.J. Hogan and J.M. Barrie (novel)
Release: December 25, 2003
Status: On out DVD
Genre: Family / Adventure / Fantasy
Runtime: 113 minutes
Rating: PG
In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay,
swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story,
when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of
stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland. Wendy and her brothers join Peter and the Lost Boys in an exhilarating
life while also facing the inevitable showdown with Hook and his bloodthirsty pirates. Source
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Movie Trivia
• Following tradition (in both theatre and film), the actor portraying Captain Hook is the same actor portraying Mr. Darling. In this case, it is Jason Isaacs.
• With the exception of the Russian version, Piter Pan (1987) (TV), this is the first live action adaptation of Peter Pan to feature a male in the role of Peter.
• Jeremy Sumpter grew eight inches during filming. The window of the nursery had to be rebuilt four times because he kept hitting his head on it.
• Both Rachel and Jeremy Sumpter had to be hospitalized at different points in filming due to injury and exhaustion.
• An alternate, yet unfinished, ending was shot to match the one in the book in which Peter meets the adult Wendy (played by the narrator, Saffron Burrows) and her daughter Jane.
• During filming of the flying scenes Jason Isaacs fell out of the support harness and was left dangling, upside-down, by his ankles.
• Rachel's brother, Patrick, played one of the sleeping children in the "I do believe in fairies" sequence.
• Filmed in Australia. Rachel spent 8 months filming there.
Quotes By Rachel
"The way I heard about this Peter Pan film was there was an open-call audition that I'd heard about, or read about, and I just thought, 'Oh, I'll go along for the fun.' Because I never dreamed in a million years I'd ever get it. And I've always liked drama; I've always found it really fun, like, I did go to drama club and things like that. But I never thought I'd get it. I just, when the film came out I wanted to be able to say, 'Oh, yeah! I auditioned for that part!'" - IGN
"At first I was lacking female company, you know, girls my age, and hanging out with Jeremy and stuff,
which was of course brilliant. But I kind of missed having friends, which were female. And then Carson Gray,
who plays Tiger Lily, came along, and we became really close friends. And we'd go swimming every day in the pool after work
and it was just really, really good." - IGN
"There are many layers to her character, I think, because she's a girl just on the edge of being... you know, she's
still a child, but she then she's suddenly been introduced to this grown-up way of thinking. But she doesn't want to be a
grown-up, she doesn't want to grow-up herself. So, there are many layers. She's very adventurous and outgoing, but
then she can quite feminine, quite girly at times as well. So she's quite a deep character, I think." - IGN
"The most fun to film? Well that would probably be bouncing down the clouds. That was really, really good fun." - IGN
"I was asleep actually when [the studio] called. And my mum came in and woke me up and said they made an offer.
And then I woke up, running around the house screaming and I nearly fell over because I was really, really tired and half asleep.
I was just so happy, it was incredible." - Unknown
"I found I could identify with Wendy quite easily because she’s very similar to me. She’s very motherly, kind of a
tomboy so I didn’t find it too hard getting into her shoes at all. Sometimes I felt like I was her, it was quite scary."
"I was really jealous of Wendy when she got to fly, and I had a bedcover with the Disney version on it." - Film Stew
"I didn't practice sword fighting as much as Jeremy and Jason, so I didn’t find it too hard, but I was
afraid because I’m not too terribly strong, so in the scenes where I’m fighting the pirates I was afraid
they were going to bash my brains in." - Unknown
Quotes About Rachel
"I was expecting to have this girl come on set and just show her around a bit, but instead she just blew me away." - Jeremy Sumpter, co-star
"[Rachel] thought you did your best but she did fantastic! Didn’t she? (asking the members of the press) Wasn’t she great? She’s
going to get an Oscar for this, for Best Actress. You’re looking at the Best Actress right here." - Jeremy Sumpter
"The story's two central characters, Peter and Wendy, are played by two likely stars of the future, Jeremy Sumpter and Rachel
Hurd-Wood, respectively. Hurd-Wood has said that she considers acting to be a mere side gig for her in her determined path of
becoming a marine biologist, but I hope we get to see her in at least a few parts before then.
She is the perfect choice for Wendy, exactly as the part calls for: a young girl on the verge of womanhood.
She plays the role with a youthful enthusiasm and a big, bright smile, and she handles the drama with equivalent ease." - IGN
"Hurd-Wood is a real find, touching and resourceful as Wendy without the faintest glimmer of amateurishness." - The Movie Insider
"Rachel Hurd-Wood is a gorgeous little actress who shows great talent for her age." - Dark Horizons
"The second entrancing player, Rachel Hurd-Wood, makes her professional film debut here as Wendy.
Her Wendy shines with innocence and sweetness perfectly bordering on emotions such as pain, sexuality,
love and a developing deeper understanding of the world around her. Hurd-Wood's Wendy is
a girl on the verge of turning into a woman, while still holding on to the allure of childhood. She captures this essence perfectly." - Movie Web
"Rachel Hurd-Wood, on the other hand, is the greatest find of the year. She nails
the role of Wendy perfectly and is undoubtedly on her way to bigger things after this." - Film Review
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