Captain James Bartholomew Hook is the main antagonist of Disney's 1953 animated feature film, Peter Pan. He is the bloodthirsty commander of the Jolly Roger, and the Scourge of Never Land. Hook has long since abandoned sailing the high seas in favor of having revenge on Peter Pan for cutting off his left hand and feeding it to a crocodile, who has since been in constant pursuit of the captain. While a worthy opponent for Peter, Hook is destined to fail, sometimes because of Peter Pan's ability to fly, but more often through the bumbling actions of his first mate, Mr. Smee, who while unquestioningly faithful to the captain, is incompetent and flimsy.
Hook's frustrations are understandable; he lost a hand to his opponent, is constantly pursued by the crocodile and cannot fly. These factors arguably make him one of the most sympathetic Disney Villains. His antics with the Crocodile are considered by many to be the funniest animated scenes ever created by Disney according to Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston in the book The Disney Villain. As one of the most recognizable and popular villains in Disney's animated library, Captain Hook is also a primary member of the Disney Villains franchise.
In the original film, Hook plays the main antagonist and is first seen on his ship, The Jolly Roger, trying to find the hiding spot of Peter Pan using a map. Hook suddenly gets the idea to kidnap the Indian Princess Tiger Lily and tells the idea to his faithful first mate, Mr. Smee. He plans to force her into revealing the location of Peter's hideout or be killed. While Hook is trying to concentrate on his scheme, he becomes annoyed when one of his crew members starts singing. Hook off-handedly shoots the man, causing him to fall into the sea. When Mr. Smee points out that what he did was not good form, Hook lashes out at him, reminding him of how Peter Pan cutting off his hand and throwing it to the crocodile wasn't "good form". Just then, Hook hears the sound of a ticking clock, causing his eyes and mustache to twitch in rhythm. When he turns to see that the crocodile, who had eaten his hand, has come to taste more of him, he begs Smee to get rid of the creature, which Smee does. A little moment later, Hook receives a word from a pirate on a lookout that Peter is on approach. He orders Smee to rally up the pirates, then looks through the telescope to see Peter and three others, the Darling children, in company of him standing on the clouds. He and the pirates then set up the cannon and fire cannonballs up at Peter Pan.
Later, Captain Hook and Smee are seen rowing past the Mermaid Lagoon in a rowboat with a captive Tiger Lily, whom they take to Skull Rock. Unbeknownst to Hook, Peter Pan spots them and follows them to the cave, plotting to rescue Tiger Lily. Hook also doesn't notice that the crocodile who had stalked him earlier is following him. As Captain Hook forced Tiger Lily to reveal Peter's secret hideout to the point of shouting directly to her face, Peter spooks Hook by imitating a spirit. Captain Hook goes on an investigation to find out where the strange voice is coming from.
He finds Peter on the rocks and is about to lay his hook on him, but thanks to Wendy's warning, the captain's hook only catches Peter's hat as Peter slips away. Captain Hook engages Peter in a duel, eventually pushing him off the cliff's ledge. Upon realizing that he is standing on thin air, he struggles to keep himself from falling and manages to hang onto the ledge with his hook. Just then, Captain Hook hears the sound of a ticking clock, causing his eyes and mustache to twitch in rhythm again; the crocodile arrives and attempts to eat Hook as it pulls him into the water. Captain Hook escapes from the crocodile's jaws and frantically swims back to his ship with the crocodile in hot pursuit.
Back at Jolly Roger, Hook sits in his room, sick and injured from the previous battle with Peter. He is bothered by Smee hammering up a sign asking to not disturb the captain but when he tries to attack Smee, he is smacked on the face with the hammer causing him to briefly lose consciousness. When Hook gets a visit from Smee, Smee tells Hook that Pan has banished Tinker Bell. This shocking news gives Hook an idea, so he orders Smee to capture her. He does so, and Hook uses her jealousy of Wendy to get to Peter's hideout. As Captain Hook thanks Tinker Bell for her help, he locks her in a lantern, then he, along with Smee and the pirates, goes to Hangman's Tree to capture Wendy, Michael, John and The Lost Boys. As the pirates take them to the ship, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee set a time bomb in the hideout, since Peter is still there.
Captain Hook tries to convince the captured children to join his crew but they all refuse. Wendy believes Peter will save them but Hook reveals his plan to blast Peter away from Never Land forever, prompting Tinker Bell to struggle to break free from the lantern, which she manages to do so, and flies off to warn Peter. Peter and Tinker Bell are caught in the explosion anyway, but they both quickly recover and leave the destroyed hideout to rescue Wendy and the boys. Just as Hook, who has had sent Wendy off the plank, is about to select the next person to follow her, Peter reveals himself and engages Hook in another duel. While dueling on the ship's deck, Peter launches himself from the ship's rope ladder like a slingshot and kicks Hook backwards, sending Hook flying to one of the ship's cannons, which hits him hard on the head, knocking him unconscious.
After Hook recovers, he climbs up the rope ladder to confront Peter on the mast, calling him a coward for his tendency to fly away from the duel. Hook makes Peter promise not to fly and gains the upper hand by disarming Peter. Hook corners Peter at the edge of the mast and is about to stab him, but Peter, having noticed a Jolly Roger flag right above Hook, uses it to blind the captain and disarm him. Hook pleads for his life, declaring that he will leave forever and do anything Peter says. Peter orders him to shout that he's a codfish; Hook does so, making Wendy, John, Michael, and the lost boys cheer and sing "Hook is a codfish", to which the crocodile dances in the sea. Peter then allows Hook to leave and never return, but when his back is turned, Hook sees his chance and is about to lay his hook on Peter in revenge for cutting off his left hand as well as humiliating him. Thanks to Wendy's warning, Peter jumps out of the way, and Captain Hook loses his footing as he falls to the sea, where the crocodile is waiting to catch him. Captain Hook ends up being chased away from Never Land by the crocodile. He is last seen skipping along the water like a rock under a rowboat rowed by Smee and the pirates, with Smee calling for Hook.
Captain Hook plots to murder Peter Pan once again and gain his treasure all at the same time. His first part of the plan is to kidnap Wendy to lure Peter to his dooml and thus he travels via his ship to London during the Second World War. Likely having lost the concept of the passage of time/aging due to his time in Neverland, he mistakenly takes Wendy's daughter, Jane.
Fortunately for Hook, Pan arrives and Hook summons an undersea giant octopus to kill both Peter and "Wendy". Peter dives down to battle and is seemingly killed. Just as Hook begins to celebrate, Peter reveals to be alive and by using pixie dust, Tinker Bell boards the octopus onto Hook's ship. After accidentally swallowing Hook, the Octopus develops a taste and becomes another problem for the Captain. The Octopus pulls him out of the ship, into the water, and then accidentally throws him back onto the ship, after which Hook gently asks Smee to fix the broken plank so he can "make him walk it!".
Later on during a massage, the Captain is again attacked by the octopus, who is shooed away by Smee. This encounter angers Hook (who laments how he must now deal with the octopus after somehow getting rid of the crocodile) even more to the point where he gathers the pirates to sail to the island to find and kill Peter. While searching, they witness the girl they kidnapped is not Wendy but her daughter Jane and that she is desperate to return home, giving Hook yet another plan. That night, he tricks Jane into working for him; if she can find his treasure, he'll give her a ride home on his ship. He also gives Jane a brass whistle to alert him once the treasure is found. Jane then finds and manipulates Peter and the Lost Boys into assisting her via a game of "treasure hunt". Eventually, the treasure is found but she changes her mind, having gradually warmed up to the boys throughout the course of the game, and throws the whistle to summon Hook into the waters. It is however found by Lost Boy Tootles who curiously blows it, accidentally calling the pirates. An ambush follows resulting in Peter and the boys being captured and taken to The Jolly Roger.
Back in the ship, Captain Hook prepares to watch Pan's death, but he and the pirates are interrupted by Jane and Tinker Bell. A battle follows and in during which Pan is set free. Hook's anger and frustration are targeted for Jane who is the cause of his failure. Just before he is given the chance to murder her, Peter saves the day by cutting the rope in which Hook is holding on to, sending him falling through the ship with his anchor and into the ocean. The anchor hits the octopus on the head, attracting him. The octopus than chases Hook up and through the ship, which is now sinking. In the end, Hook and the pirates are all chased away in their remaining small boat by the octopus.
Captain Hook regularly made cameo appearances in the animated series House of Mouse. At the opening of the show, Donald was seen being rather reluctant on shaking Hook's hook at the club's entrance. He was also one of the leading villains in Mickey's House of Villains, where he was Jafar's second-in-command. Hook was also one of the few villains to appear in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse, where he was seen with Jafar and Hades during the finale song.
In "Dining Goofy", Goofy innocently told Hook about Donald's constant jokes centering the captain, putting Donald in an awkward position.
In the episode "House of Genius", Hook was shown to get very frustrated upon hearing Goofy say the word "Pan".
In "Pluto vs. Figaro", Hook mistakenly thought he and his crew were under attack and fired a cannon into the kitchen, landing in Goofy's mouth.
In "Ask Von Drake", Hook assisted Mickey and friends in an attempt to prove that Ludwig Von Drake cannot know everything. In that same episode, Hook was seen alongside Smee during the headcount of all the guests.
Captain Hook is referenced in one chapter in this prequel book to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, with author A.C. Crispin having referred him as James the Mysterious. "James" is brought up by Don Rafael, Mistress Ching and Eduardo Villanueva of the Brethren Court. They talk about how James had been a pirate of the Caribbean who disappeared off the face of the Earth before returning, having not aged a day. While his new moniker of "James Hook" is not mentioned, the Pirate Lords do mention how James lost his hand and replaced it with an iron-hook as well as having developed a fear of children with his anger issues appearing to have become much more subdued.
In Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, when Mother Dove's egg breaks, he, like the other Neverland residents, starts to grow older. Later, the questers take his double cigar holder while he is asleep to give to Kyto so he can restore the egg.
He appears briefly in Iridessa, Lost at Sea, when Iridessa and Tinker Bell sneak onto his ship and order Smee around.
In Mickey Mousecapade, Hook appears as the boss of the fourth level, the pirate ship, but only in the Japanese version. (In the American version, he is replaced by Pete.) Out of all the bosses in the Japanese version, he is the only one not from Alice in Wonderland.
In this game, Hook stole the ending to Peter Pan and altered it so that Peter would age into an old man, giving him the incredible advantage of succeeding to the point where he doesn't even have to battle. However, the game's player, along with Jiminy Cricket, battle Hook in Peter's place, defeating him twice and on the second battle, deflects on of his cannons. Hook goes flying past the moon and Peter is given his youth back.
In this game, Hook and Smee travel around Neverland to find Peter who has a treasure map that belongs to Hook. However, Peter is also after the treasure, and once they finally cross each other, a battle follows, leading to Hook's defeat. After Hook is defeated, he hears the sound of a ticking clock, causing his eyes and mustache to twitch in rhythm (with the sound of the music Never Smile at a Crocodile). The Crocodile arrives to eat his favorite dish, the "codfish." Hook flees from the hungry Crocodile while Smee rows the boat to follow and to rescue him.
Captain Hook made appearances in four installments of the Kingdom Hearts video game series as a recurring villain residing in the world of Neverland.
He first appears in the original Kingdom Hearts, where he was called upon by Maleficent to aid her in her quest to conquer the worlds using the seven Princesses of Heart. The Captain was assigned to kidnap Wendy, who was believed to be one of the chosen ones. However, after kidnapping the girl and imprisoning her aboard the Jolly Roger, it's revealed she wasn't one of the chosen ones after all, and Hook is ordered by Riku to drop all the dead weight, including Wendy, and return back to Hollow Bastion, the base for the villains. However, Sora, Donald, and Goofy, the heroes of the story, also find themselves aboard Hook's ship and team up with Peter to save Wendy, as well as Kairi, Sora's friend who's been captured alongside Wendy. Hook orders the Heartless to do away with the boy but soon finds himself defeated and on the run from the dreaded crocodile.
Hook returned in Chain of Memories as a figment of Sora's memories, where he kidnapped Wendy to use as bait for Peter Pan. Sora and the others are able to foil the pirate, nevertheless.
In 358/2 Days, Hook becomes a victim to Maleficent's scheming, as her closest ally, Pete, arrives in Neverland seeking to turn Captain Hook into a Heartless. As Hook and Smee search for treasure, they are attacked by the creatures, only to be rescued by Roxas, thus allowing Hook and Smee to return to the Jolly Roger safely.
In Birth by Sleep, set 10 years prior to the events of the first game, Hook and Smee encounter a boy named Terra, who Hook manipulates into attacking Peter Pan, telling Terra he's a boy looking for the light inside his treasure chest and requests him to take it to Skull Rock. Once they arrive, Smee informs Hook of a shooting star which landed not far from where they are. Hoping to find more treasure, Hook leaves the chest in Terra's care and departs to find the shooting star. After they squabble, Peter and Terra are able to make amends, explaining neither of them is villains. Ventus confronts Hook, but the captain escapes as Terra and Peter stop fighting when they soon realize Hook is behind the confusion, and the duo team up to defeat him, as well as free Tinker Bell, who he'd attempted to use as bait for Peter. In Aqua's story, Peter and the Lost Boys are playing treasure hunt, as the villainous captain once again made away with their treasure. However, Hook soon learns the "treasure" he stole was merely Peter and the boys' play things, as opposed to jewels and riches. As he curses, the Crocodile appears and he runs away. During the End credits, Hook and Smee are watching behind the bushes as Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, and the Lost Boys get their treasure back, eventually Peter flies over and steals his hat.
Two versions of Hook appear in the Epic Mickey games - a robotic version who lives in Wasteland and the real Hook.
In Epic Mickey, Hook's Wasteland counterpart has been transforming his crew into Beetleworx and is waging an attack against the non-converted pirates. Mickey can choose to either defeat him on the deck and either destroy him or send him to the animatronic Tick Tock lurking in the Thinner Sea, or climb up to the mast to free Pete Pan's Sprite and restore that rivalry.
In Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, Animatronic Hook has disappeared, leaving a power vacuum in the ranks of his crew and rival pirate Blackbeard driving Hook's pirates from Tortooga. His clothes can be found in chests in Ventureland to be utilized in various quests in the area.
The real Captain Hook appears as Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion's first boss. Under the enchantment of Mizrabel, Hook battles Mickey with a massive array of bombs on the deck of the Jolly Roger. After being defeated, Hook is restored to his proper self and wants revenge on Mizrabel for making a fool out of him.
Hook plays a large role in the game, appearing as a meet-and-greet character in Fantasyland and taking part in the Mickey's Soundsational Parade mini-game. Hook also takes part in the Peter Pan's Flight mini-game. Here, the captain kidnaps Cubby and threatens him to reveal the whereabouts of Peter Pan. Before Hook can kill the uncooperative Lost Boy, Peter and the players arrive. Hook sword fights the player(s) and is ultimately defeated and thrown overboard. Hook is last seen swimming away from the crocodile. Hook also assigns several tasks. For one of the tasks, the player must find some ticking clocks hidden throughout the park.
In the Legacy of Chris Thorndyke,
And he is reprised by Corey Burton in the English dub and Naoyu Uchida in the Japanese dub as a tribute for Chikao Otsuka.