Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Peter Pan & Wendy

There are many ways to tell a story like Peter Pan. Perhaps most importantly, there are many ways to finish a story like Peter Pan. In his original 1911 novel, J.M. Barrie ended the adventure of the boy who wouldn’t grow up by having Peter return alone to a Never Land free of Captain Hook. The pirate captain ends the book being eaten by the crocodile that hunted and haunted him for years on end. In the 1953 classic animated Disney film, Peter Pan (Bobby Driscoll) returns to Never Land with his Lost Boys. Hook (Hans Conried) is chased off by the crocodile. It is unclear whether he survives. Now, in the newest live-action Disney remake, Peter Pan & Wendy, Peter (Alexander Molony) leaves the Lost Boys with the Darlings and goes back to Never Land to rescue Hook (Jude Law) after sinking his ship.

It’s a surprising ending, but one that makes a lot of sense considering the plot and the themes of Peter Pan & Wendy. Much like most, if not all versions of Barrie’s story, the movie isn’t so much about remaining a child forever, but about accepting that we all have to grow up. However, in Peter Pan & Wendy, there are many ways of growing up. The best alternative is to do so while keeping in touch with your feelings and, of course, your inner child.

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What Is ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ About?

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Directed by David Lowery, Peter Pan & Wendy is just as much a remake of the 1953 Disney version of Peter Pan as it is a completely new adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s original story. There are numerous differences between the two movies, from the songs to the outfits to the personalities of core characters such as Tinker Bell (Yara Shahidi) and Tiger Lily (Alyssa Wapanatâhk). These differences can be felt right away when we are introduced to Wendy (Ever Anderson). While, in the 50s film, Wendy was somewhat of a passive figure that was taken by Peter Pan to be a mother to his Lost Boys, here, she is a reluctant pre-teen that attracts the attention of Peter Pan by not wanting to grow up – just like any other member of his pack. It is Wendy’s last night home before boarding school when she and her brothers, John (Joshua Pickering) and Michael Darling (Jacobi Jupe), are invited by Peter Pan and Tinker Bell to go to Never Land. They promptly accept the invitation, flying away to the island on the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning. It seems like an endless world of adventure, at first, however, things in Never Land soon prove to be a lot more real than the Darling kids expected. As soon as they arrive at the island, they are attacked by Captain Hook, who nearly shoots Wendy and Peter out of the sky, and threatens to drown John and Michael. Thankfully, his plans don’t exactly work out.

Throughout the movie, he makes other attempts at killing the children and, of course, Peter Pan himself, and he almost succeeds. After finding the Lost Boys’ secret hiding place, he captures Wendy and the others and mortally injures Peter. He’s about to drown Wendy when Pan comes in, aided by Tiger Lily. Alongside the Lost Boys – who, by the way, aren’t all boys in this version – Wendy and Peter save the day. They throw Hook and his crewmen off the ship to be devoured by the dreaded crocodile and other sea creatures. With more than a little bit of fairy dust, they take the ship back to London, to return Wendy, John, and Michael to their parents. Missing their own families, the Lost Boys decide to stay behind as well.

Peter, however, doesn’t have a family to return to anymore. He reveals to Wendy that the house in which she now lives was once his own home, and that he ran away a long, long time ago. Wendy tries to convince him to stay back and grow up either way, but he simply tells her he’s not ready. With Tinker Bell always by his side, he returns to Never Land. The last scene of the movie has Peter arriving at the island with Hook’s ship to rescue the captain and Smee (Jim Gaffigan) with a smile on his face.

‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ Creates a Tragic Backstory for Captain Hook

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But, wait, Peter Pan rescuing Captain Hook? Why, that doesn’t make any sense! Ah, but, in Peter Pan & Wendy, it does make a lot of sense. Among the many changes that Peter Pan & Wendy makes to its two source materials, the movie gives the dreaded pirate captain a backstory that is very much intertwined with Pan’s. It turns out that Hook – or, rather, James – was the first Lost Boy that lived with Peter in Never Land. For a long time, both boys were extremely close friends. Until, one day, James started to miss his mother. Unable to accept that a child might want to live in any world besides Never Land, Peter cast him off.

Alone in the world, James was taken in by Smee and grew up on the pirate ship away from Never Land. With time, he became the captain, and ordered his men to sail to Never Land so that he could enact revenge on his former friend. This is why Peter and Hook are always fighting: not because of some silly treasure or for control of the land, but because they have hurt feelings between them. Pan blames James for growing up, and Hook can’t forgive Peter for sending him away.

In the final fight between the children and the pirates, Peter drops his sword and asks Hook for forgiveness. The captain doesn’t have time to give it to him: immediately afterward, Wendy turns the ship to protect Tiger Lily from an attack, and all the pirates fall into the sea. However, judging from the look on Hook’s face when Peter returns to save him, it’s pretty clear that he’s willing to let bygones be bygones.

At the End of ‘Peter Pan & Wendy,’ the Child and the Adult Must Learn to Coexist

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Peter Pan and Captain Hook patching things up might sound weird for old-time fans of the story, but it is the only possible logical conclusion for Peter Pan & Wendy. The movie is all about finding a good way to grow up, and we can never do that if we don’t reconcile the Peter Pan and the Hook that live inside each one of us.

Captain Hook, in Peter Pan & Wendy, is a stand-in for all the things a child fears being an adult means. He’s bitter, grumpy, and hateful towards children and everything childlike. However, there’s a reason why he is like that: he was forced to grow up way too quickly when he was kicked out of Never Land by Peter. Furthermore, growing up on a pirate ship, he didn’t have the best role models at his disposal. He’s an adult with no sense of whimsy, no innocence left over in his heart: he has lost touch with his inner child. But this all changes when he hears Wendy sing a lullaby to her brothers and the Lost Boys. He remembers his mother, and he remembers feeling loved. He gets in touch with the child he once was.

Peter, on the other hand, begins the movie as the polar opposite of Hook. He’s carefree, arrogant, and utterly afraid of growing up. While Hook trusts in his crewmen to help him hunt Pan, Peter is under the belief that he would be able to defeat his nemesis without help from his Lost Boys. But he changes after his mortal injury: when Tiger Lily comes to his rescue, and he finds himself unable to fly, he realizes that he can’t really do things by himself. He begins to come in touch with the hardships and complexities of adulthood. When he apologizes to Hook, neither he nor the captain are the same as they were when the movie began.

Right before the Lost Boys defeat the pirates for good, Captain Hook forces Wendy to walk the plank. As she’s about to fall into the water, she tries to think happy thoughts that would enable her to fly. As usual, she remembers her childhood, her carefree days listening to her mother’s stories and playing in the mud with her brothers. This time, however, Wendy also imagines what it will be like to grow up. She pictures herself finishing boarding school, celebrating Christmas with her family, writing her own stories, and sleeping soundly as an old lady. It’s a scene that shows us that Wendy has accepted that both childhood and adulthood are important parts of life. One can’t exist without the other. And, thus, neither can Peter Pan exist without Captain Hook, or vice-versa. However, it is always best that they coexist peacefully instead of fighting an incessant war.