The Troubled History of Steven Spielberg's "Hook" - A Classic That Should’ve Been

I love this movie, even as a girl. Now a grown up, I still love many of it's details.

Hook by far is the best Pan movie period. To even assume that this movie was a flop is a slap in the face to the millions of people that enjoyed this iconic film. Long live Pandaman.

$1.99 happy meal, damn we're far from those affordable times😢

An absolutely iconic movie.

hook was a masterpiece!!!!!

Hook is awesome!

I, like so many other commenters, absolutely ADORED this film as a child. But I think possibly what part of the issue is was not enough ppl took their kids to see it bc they didn't think kids would be interested in a grown-up running around being a grown-up about things, and the journey Peter goes on emotionally. Except that as a kid, it was actually reassuring in a lot of ways. Reassuring that sometimes when parents don't spend time with you it's not because they don't love you or because you did something wrong. Reassuring that growing up didn't HAVE to mean not having fun anymore. And reassuring that the things I loved then could still be part of me when I was a grown-up. But no one seems to think kids might resonate with that kind of story for some reason

I swear, for the longest time, I thought this movie was a fever dream. I dont even know where my VHS copy originally came from, but I loved it. Eventually, it got lost, and I never met anyone who had heard of it. Im glad to know that, despite it being considered a flop, other people also loves this movie.

I have heard somewhere that after this movie when Spielberg did Schindler list or saving private Ryan. These movies are very important to Spielberg and often he became down cause of the story behind those movies. He called robin up and asked him if he could make him laugh again. And of course after a while he was not down anymore. Robin always could make anyone laugh. He was THE GREATEST. ❤️

Hook 1991 Film is a Phenomenal Masterpiece. Robin Williams was Incredible Casting as an Older Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman did a Phenomenal Performance as Captain Hook.

Cringey movie. Saw as a sixth grader and hated it then. Constant secondhand embarrassment.

I’m glad it wasn’t a musical.

I loved this film so much. I remember after seeing it in the cinema I got it on VHS for Christmas, and watched it over and over again.
I had no idea there was a negative attitude about it among some.

For me it was and still IS a masterpiece, too. My father and my family watched the movie several times. We eve PLAYED "Hook and Peter Pan" with my siblings in our bedroom. :D :D My father was Hook, my Sister was Peter Pan, I was Tinkerbell, my brother was Smee. And the Double Bed of my father was the ship xD

The only character Hook (1991) is lacking:

Cher as a full-grown Tiger Lily (she would've been born for that role).

I wish we still had Robin

I grew on Hook. I was 11. I dont know one kid my age at the time that didn't love the movie. Any person that had issues with the movie needs to look inside and take a deep look at if they are happy. It was a warm funny movie with lots of life lessons even a kid of 11 could pick up on.

One of my most memorable film going experiences as a young child. Probably around 5 or 6 years old. My whole family loved the movie.

I'm pretty cynical, but I can't imagine how cynical a person would have to be to not appreciate the spirit of this movie.

well the critics and everyone who didn't like this are dumb because this is absolutely a classic for gen's x and y

Sometimes there’s just no need to overanalyze things. This movie was and still is a classic to my childhood

I fucking loved and will always love this movie! Hook is an incredible movie for a kid and I remember getting so damn excited any time it was on. Long live Hook.

Ruuuu fi ohhhhh

I adored hook as a small child when it came out i went to the cinema and was enthralled, still a fantastic magical movie!!!

The movie was astonishing.

The only problem is hooks death, honestly. Oh, and casting Julia Roberts, obviously.

I still mix up epiphany's and apostrophe

Hook is such a good movie

We gotta get the extended cut of Hook.

I normally hate redone movies but I think Hook was a great movie

i lovd it

I recall when Hook came out on home video, which was on a prominent display in a retailer I was shopping at. A fellow shopper commented to me about the positive influence Hook had with her husband, which improved the relationship with their son.
She told me her husband, after seeing the movie, noted the errors in his own ways with putting work before family; thereafter he always made time for his family and devoted more time to their son.
I was so touched by her comments that here I am, decades later, vividly recalling that encounter.

I wish they would make a 3hr full length director's original cut version someday - I'd buy it, I loved Hook when it came out & I still do.

Never knew this flopped. Everyone I knew at this time loved the movie.

And no movie would've beat out T2.

"...only just a 40 to 50 million dollar profit" 😆

It is easily Spielberg's worst film. It is a near unwatchable waste of celuloid.

What the hell is Spielberg talking about…this movie would have SUCKED if it had been a musical.

Technically did this movie invent the "Rage Room" when Jack destroys things with a bat when upset about his dad not being around for him? Spielberg or one of his crew shouldve copyrighted that. When I first heard about a rage room i immediately thought of that scene

What these critics don't realize is movies are made for audiences and in this case, the kids. I saw Popeye when it came out. I was a kid. I loved it! I was a huge fan of Popeye. Smoked his candy cigarettes and everything lol. Ohhh the 90s... They say that movie was bad, not to me. Same with Hook, amazing! The kids adored that movie and arent they who that movie was made for? Rufie... ohhhh 😏

An extended cut of Hook would be amazing.

Suddenly this version dosent look so bad at all. ;)

I can't believe people didn't like this movie. This is the first I ever heard of such a thing.

God audiences are impossible to please.. this movie, to me, is close to a perfect movie. It remains one of my favourite movies to this day. Dustin Hoffman was the greatest Captain Hook of all time, the story was incredibly touching with some knockout acting from Robin Williams who was the perfect grown-up Peter Pan, the lost boys were a loveable band of misfits who were equal parts tough and vulnerable as orphaned children in their circumstances would be, and the sets and storytelling were nothing short of magical. And props to Maggie Smith as Wendy, she was fantastic - even little Charlie Korsmo was bloody brilliant as Jack; a big role for a kid his age at the time.
Hook had such a great mixture of heartbreaking moments, fun, and dark themes, and the character development and story progression was not lacking at all imo. You needed to have the preamble to establish the main character as a stuffy, stressed out lawyer who has totally forgotten what fun is and most of the other characters didn’t NEED more character development for the purposes of the story telling - sure it might be nice to know a bit more about some of them, but it wasn’t ultimately necessary. An absolutely brilliant film which all involved should feel proud of as far as I’m concerned.

As someone who didn't grow up with this film. Goddamn this film is amazing to me. It has a unique feel to it. There's something magical about it and I can't pin point. Maybe it's the performances of Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman. Maybe it's the sets and designs of the movie. Idk but this film has a special place in my heart even as a cynical eighteen year old.

Grew up watching this movie. Hell I could quote the entire thing, watching this in the 90s with my cousin.

This movie is a classic.
It is the definitive Peter Pan film.
With Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman stealing the show.

Just watched this again. Still love this movie. Robin Williams will always be my favorite actor. Just tragic how he left this world though.

when i think of peter pan i think of hook. classic film.

As someone who was a child in the 90s Hook is one of my favorite movies and my young children now even have a love for this movie. It is a classic that will live on forever

For me it's the perfect family-movie - and not just for the festival seasons. It's also quite a psychological reminder for grown-ups.

Gee, if there was ever a movie made about which ppl should ignore EVERY movie critics' negative critique of it prior to watching it, it's "Hook," imho...It's just the type of movie in which the Hollywood movie critic's negative reviews & the regular, American movie goers' positive reviews of it, contrasted so sharp, it made you wonder if both groups had actually seen the same movie...

The guy narrating has parents that are brother and sister.