Tinkering with the Brain

Disney's movie "Finding Neverland" touched me. It's not like Peter Pan's my ultimate, favorite story (FYI: Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie- not the Disney version) but how JM Barrie came up with the story intrigued me.

As a wannabe author, I thought it was rather interesting how they depicted JM's working mind: how he was influenced by real life, how he integrates his ideas, why he would depict things as such.

Whether or not Johnny Depp lived the real essence of the author is beyond me. I thought he played the role well, accent and all. But he made me believe. I, too, like the children, yelled, "I do believe". I cried.

Finding Neverland had a wonderful script. Real enough to relate to the human elements implemented: a dying marriage, a friendship with a dying mother, a set of children who grieve in their own ways.

Peter, the third child, was JM's favorite. Barrie said, "he grew up too soon". Indeed. Peter was a child who was so torn between being a child and not enjoying it and an adult afraid to embrace the responsibility. The Catch-22 he was caught in made Peter vulnerable and sad. Finally, a movie that caught the moment beautifully; descriptive without being too in-your-face.

I've always wondered why we, as a society, would like to grow up so soon. I don't know if you're guilty of emphasizing the 1/2 to the age when you were a kid. I know I was. In retrospect, I guess I should've realized it meant I was growing up too soon.

Another line I loved was when George, the eldest boy, finally admitted to Uncle James that he's afraid his mother is going to die. In such a dark moment, JM says, "Remarkable. In thirty seconds, I saw a boy grow up into a man." How true! As soon as that magical moment is crossed, you can't go back.

I don't mean the ability to collect your childhood memories: The Muppet Show plush or the Star Wars memorabilla. I am referring to the loss of innocence.

I may look back to the past and not regret a majority of the things I've done but there are days that I wished I stayed a kid longer. I had the rest of my adulthood to be an adult.