''Never Never Land'' is a 1980 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Paul Annett and starring Petula Clark, Cathleen Nesbitt, John Castle, and Anne Seymour. It is named after

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. Altho ...

, the magical setting of the classic children's tales of Peter Pan.

Plot synopsis

Seven-year-old Jennie (Heather Miller) has been abandoned by her parents and left in the care of her aunt Bee ( Petula Clark) and uncle Jim ( John Castle). Jennie is treated poorly by her two elder cousins, and taking her lead from the story ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous li ...

'', she runs away from home with her younger cousin Joe (

Christian Henson Christian Henson (born 25 December 1971) is a British composer, primarily working on television and film soundtracks. He has also soundtracked video games, and is the co-founder of Spitfire Audio with fellow composer Paul Thomson. Henson has been ...

). She finds shelter in an abandoned London townhouse occupied by a gang of young ruffians, and becomes the equivalent of Wendy, role-playing "mother" to the Lost Boys. An old woman named Edith Forbes ( Cathleen Nesbitt, in her final screen performance) befriends the girl.

Cast

* Petula Clark as Bee * Cathleen Nesbitt as Edith Forbes * Anne Seymour as Zena *

Michael J. Shannon Michael J. Shannon (born January 24, 1943), also billed as Michael Shannon, is an American actor and playwright. Career Shannon has a cult following due to his appearances in cult classics such as ''Little Shop of Horrors'', ''Red Dwarf'', ' ...

as Peter * John Castle as Jim *Heather Miller as Jennie *

as Joe * Evelyn Laye as Millie * Roland Culver as Mr. Salford * James Marcus as P.C. Stubbs

Reception

Produced by actress

Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...

, it was unsuccessful in the UK and received a limited commercial release in the US. It was later broadcast by HBO in the mid-1980s. The film's theme song "Fly Away" was composed by Jane McNealy and Alice Kuhns. It is included on ''The Petula Clark Anthology: Downtown to Sunset Boulevard'', a CD released in 2000.

External links

* 1980 films 1980 drama films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios British drama films Films scored by Ron Grainer 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{1980s-UK-film-stub