The Untold Origins of Disney’s “Peter Pan”

For years, the character Peter Pan has captured the imagination of children all over the world. The boy who could fly and never wanted to grow up was a representation of what most kids want when they’re young.

But Disney’s “Peter Pan” is based on author J.M. Barrie’s real-life relationship with five “lost boys.” And it was anything but a fairy tale!

The Peter Pan Author Had A Dark Past

Peter Pan’s author, James Matthew Barrie was born into a conservative family in Scotland in 1860. His childhood started out okay. But when turned six, something tragic occurred that changed everything.

The Boy Who Could Fly

According to the classic tale, Peter Pan was a boy who never aged and could fly with the help of his fairy friend Tinkerbell´s magical pixie dust. One night, Peter flies into the room of a girl named Wendy and whisks her and her siblings away.

He Takes Them to Neverland

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell take Wendy and her siblings to Neverland where they meet his friends, the “Lost Boys.” But behind the fairy tale we all know and love is a twisted reality full of pain and trauma for the author.

Tragedy Struck His Family

In 1867, Barrie’s big brother, David, crashed into another ice skater, suffered severe head trauma, and died. The boy was only 13, and losing someone so young had devastated him and the rest of his family.