Return to Neverland: Interview

Review by By Clint Morris

Interview with Captain Hook - Corey Burton
Voicing Captain Hook in the forthcoming Return to Neverland.

That hat. That snarl. That Hook! Yes, Disney's most feared villain, Captain Hook is back on the big screen, doing what he does best… tormenting Peter Pan. And, in Return to Neverland, Hook's persevering that not even an alligator can stop his latest devious plan. The man behind the deliciously evil howl of Hook, Corey Burton, talks exclusively to Clint Morris about bringing back to the screen one of history's greatest bad guys.

Voice-meister, Corey Burton

"It's always a great deal of fun to perform such a flamboyantly villainous character", tells Burton.

"I think many who love the original film really wanted to revisit Neverland."

In the film, Wendy's daughter, Jane, has misplaced her sense of imagination and play - and all her attachments to Peter Pan's "faith, trust and pixie dust" - in order to focus on surviving the blitzkrieg's devastation of London.

Jane must face the reality of fantasy when she is mistakenly kidnapped and brought to Never Land by Captain Hook.

"Well, now we're in London during the War, where we're surprised to find that Hook has survived the Crocodile, and mistaking Wendy's daughter Jane for the young Wendy - kidnaps the girl to use as bait in order to GET Peter Pan once and for all!" Explains Burton.

Capt'n Hook teases Peter Pan

Hans Conried supplied the voice of Captain Hook in the original Peter Pan - but did Burton rely on the prior musings?

"To ensure consistency with his performance as Cap'n Hook, I did tune up before going on (the) mic each time, but his voice is a perennial favorite of mine, and I can usually conjure it up without any trouble." Burton says.

Corey Burton has supplied the voices of many an animated character including Gus of the recent Cinderella II, the announcer in Dudley Do Right, James Bond Jr and Mole from the box office hit Atlantis.

"I absolutely loved every aspect of working on Atlantis", says Burton. "Fantastic, brilliant, wonderful people made it all a genuine dream come true."

In addition, Burton has also worked on a number of live-action projects, including the soon to be re-released E.T. "Well I did background voices, such as the Doctors, the men with keys, overheard conversation as the neighborhood is spied upon, and you can clearly hear me scream "G - Dammit" as the man left standing in the plastic tubing after the kids drive off in the van," explains Burton.

"Wait just a minute, Capt,n Hook!"

But despite the fact jobs like these do pay well, Burton stresses that the role of a voice-artist isn't very glamorous. "Sure, but that doesn't mean that it's an easy way to earn a living. I always tell people, 'If you don't love it more than anything else in the world, you'll never make a living at it.'"

And to end, what are the chances of Captain Hook and Peter Pan returning for a third time?

"Not that I know of," explains Burton. "I've begun working on scratch tracks for Disney's Snow Queen (set for completion in about 4 to 5 years!), but I never know what may come up for me in this constantly surprising occupation."

Return to Neverland commences March 28th across Australia.

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