Memorable Worlds: Neverland

Neverland

My Experience with this World: 

What child hasn't seen Disney's Peter Pan? In the past few weeks, my little sibs have been watching it too many times to count, as well as the sequel "Return to Neverland" (which, by the by, I got to see on the Big Screen several hundred years ago). I've watched a DVD version of the play, though I couldn't tell you names off the top of my head. Sitting next to me is a novelized version that I've read many, many times, and in my room I have Peter and the Starcatchers, which I really need to read. I've read the last book in that series ... I just need to read the rest.  I've also watched most of Hook. I have not read the authorized sequel Peter Pan in Scarlet. I have read some other indie-published stories, but I wasn't pleased with them.

I've watched two and a half of the four Tinkerbell movies, as well as read two of Gail Carson Levine's three Tinkerbell books, and two or three of the ones by various authors.

Origin:

J.M. Barrie never revealed its origin, though it's part of children's imagination.

Geography:

This is the Neverland of the Disney movie, and I found the image on this site.

Neverland is a very small, compact island, just big enough for a thousand and one adventures, but not so big that it takes weeks of travel to get to the adventures. It's different for every child, since it's made out of children's dreams, but various elements are fixtures, such as the mermaid lagoon, Peter Pan's underground home, the pirate cove, Pixie Hollow, and the Indian camp.

Peoples and Culture:

For such a small island, there is quite a variety of inhabitants. Most famous are the lost boys, of course, who are boys who have lost their mothers and don't want to grow up. They are led by Peter Pan.

Then there are the pirates, who don't like Peter Pan. They are led by Captain Hook, who had his hand cut off by Peter, who then fed it to a crocodile.

There are also the fairies, who are born from the laughter of babies, and use pixie dust to fly.

And there are the Indians, who know Neverland better than anyone. They also are in a bit of a feud with the lost boys. However, they always let each other go after captures.

And then there are the mermaids, who can be quite spiteful, despite their beauty. Their songs are dangerous, though, and it's considered wise to steer clear of the lagoon at night, which is when they sing.

What I like about this world:

The simplicity, and the fact that it is made of the imagination of children.

What I don't like:

There really isn't anything that I can complain about in Neverland, though if I want to get nitpicky, I can point out that the fact that the Indians are called Redskins makes me a bit uncomfortable, however, that was what was done in that era. 

What I learned from this world: 

Children love it when your world caters to their imagination.

It's actually my sister who has been more affected by Neverland, creating her people called Neverlings who do not age once they get to a certain point (that point varies from person to person). I do have a world of fairies in her system, but I'm not ready to talk about that yet.

The Ankulen does have Peter Pan elements. It's a world of children's imagination, you see. Also, I think Chris was unconsciously inspired by Peter Pan, and Derek does call him by that name a few times.

These world-building posts are for the promotion of the upcoming release of my book The Ankulen. Feel free to do one yourself, just make sure you refer back to my blog and let your readers know about my upcoming book. If you do write a post, post a link in a comment somewhere on my blog and I'll add you to a giveaway for a copy of my book. Multiple entries are allowed (Nay - encouraged!), and one out of every three may be a world of your own.