John Darling is the brother of Wendy and Michael Darling, and one of the main characters of Disney's 1953 film Peter Pan. He was voiced by Paul Collins, who also performed the live-action reference sequences of the character and even appeared, dressed as him, for the 1951 Christmas special the Walt Disney Christmas Show to promote the film.
Personality
John is shown to be extremely sophisticated (despite his age). He often speaks in a sophisticated way, which his younger brother Michael usually mimics and repeats (albeit in a more simplistic way- i.e. John: "Oh, I should like very much to cross swords with some real buccaneers". Michael: "Yeah, and fight pirates, too!"). He also shows interest in piracy, which may explain why he plays the part Captain Hook in his nursery games with his younger sibling. John is also shown that he is brave and clever, cause when he and Micheal were playing with the Lost Boys, he was the leader. John is, as well, very mature, but loves his time being very adventurous and playful.
Appearances
Peter Pan
John in the original film.
John loves hearing Wendy's stories of Peter Pan and plays the character of Captain Hook while his younger brother Michael plays Peter Pan during their nursery games. He is very brave and very smart.
One night, while their parents go away to a party, Peter visits the Darling kids and teaches them how to fly and takes them to Neverland with them. When they arrive in Never Land, Captain Hook and his pirates shoot at them with their cannon, but Peter orders Tinker Bell to take the children to the island while he takes on Hook. Tinker Bell jealously tries to make Peter's friends, the Lost Boys, take out Wendy, but after Peter tells the Lost Boys that Wendy will be their new mother, they feel bad.
John is ordered by Peter to take the Lost Boys and Michael on a hunt for Indians, but the boys are captured by the Indians themselves and are mistaken for the kidnapping of The Indian Chief's daughter Tiger Lily, and the Chief orders the boys to be burnt to stake if Tiger Lily doesn't return by sunset. Luckily, Peter saves Tiger Lily from Captain Hook and returns her to the Indian camp, and John and the boys are set free while Peter is made a Flying Eagle by the Chief. During the song, John tries the Chief's pipe, which sickens him and makes his face turn dark green. Also during the song, John dances along with the tribes, wanting to live like savages.
After the party, Wendy tells her brothers that they're going home tomorrow, but John and Michael refuse until Wendy reminds them about their mother, and the boys wish to return home, along with the Lost Boys who wish for a mother, too. John leads the boys out, but they (along with Wendy) are captured by Captain Hook and his pirates who are waiting outside. On the ship, the boys are offered to become pirates to which the boys agree, but Wendy stops them, saying that Peter Pan will save them. However, Captain Hook admits to leaving a present for Peter from Wendy that had a bomb in it that will blow shortly and take Peter with it. But unknown to Wendy, the boys, and Captain Hook, Tinker Bell manages to escape from her prison and warns Peter of the bomb, and Wendy and the boys being captured. Thinking the bomb has killed Peter Pan, Hook has Wendy tied up and thrown overboard, but luckily Peter arrives and saves her and frees the boys, and they fight off Hook and his pirates and the pirates go off their rowboat chasing the crocodile who chases Captain Hook.
In the end, Peter takes Wendy, John, and Michael home to London. After that, John is seen sleeping in his bed and tucked away by Nana the nursemaid dog and John's mother Mary - the whole experience is speculated by some viewers to be a dream, validated by the fact that the word Neverland today appears in English vernacular as "an ideal or imaginary place; a dream world".
Return to Never Land
John didn't appear in the sequel Return to Never Land and wasn't mentioned by any of the characters, including Wendy. However, he made a couple of shadowy cameos on some starry night clouds that light up by Tinker Bell to begin with (flying with Wendy and Michael and leading the Lost Boys to the Indian campus). He might of also grown up like Wendy and gotten married and had children, or perhaps join the war that was going on during the film, but it is unknown what happened to him. Peter Pan in Scarlet, and official sequel to Peter Pan, confirms that he has survived the war, grown up, married and had two children of his own. It also confirms that he has become just like his own father, practical and not mentioning Peter much.
Strangely, he does not inherit the house in Bloomsbury; Wendy inherits it instead and raises her family in it.
Jake and the Never Land Pirates
John is set to appear in the Jake and the Neverland Pirates movie, Battle for the book.
Cameos
John makes a cameo appearance at the end of This is Your Life, Donald Duck.
In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, John Darling, in a black trenchcoat, can be briefly spotted during the final scene of the film with the other Toons, while the song is finishing, right next to Tweedle Dum.
John made frequent cameos on House of Mouse alongside his siblings and Peter Pan. In "Ask Von Drake" John makes a cameo during the Ludwig Von Drake Song. In Mickey's Magical Christmas, John takes part in the musical performance at the end of the film.
Live-action appearances
Once Upon a Time
Older John Darling in Once Upon a Time.
John Darling and the rest of the Darling family appear in the Season 2 episode "Second Star to the Right". He is portrayed by child actor William Ainscough. After a boy named Baelfire was welcomed into their family, he and John overhear Baelfire one night warning Wendy to stay away from a shadow that looms outside the window. Wendy ignores his advice and travels to Never Land with the Shadow. When she returns, she reveals the Shadow wants to take one of her brothers away to Never Land forever. During the next night, Baelfire helps to hide everyone when the Shadow comes, but Michael is nearly caught by the creature. To avoid the splitting up of a family, Baelfire asks to be taken to Never Land instead.
In "Dark Hollow", John and Michael became employed by Pan after the latter kidnapped Wendy sometime after the events of "Second Star to the Right". Now adults, they arrive to Storybrooke to destroy Pandora's Box, the only thing capable of defeating Pan. While they succeed in capturing the item, they are thwarted by Belle and Ariel in the mines. They reveal Pan is holding Wendy captive in Never Land, so Belle promises she will do what is necessary to save Wendy if they do not destroy the box.
Disney Parks
John posing for a photo at Disneyland Paris.
John has been a rare character at the parks for decades but has recently returned to Disneyland Paris; at one point in the 1980s he was played by a young boy, but child labor laws of the 1990s forced him to be played by much older actors. At the same park, John made a meet and greet appearance during after hours.
Peter Pan's Flight
John can be spotted alongside his siblings as an audio animatronic several times in the dark ride.
Following the Leader with Peter Pan
Here, John and some of the Lost Boys assist Peter and Wendy, in their regular duties battling pirates.
Gallery
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