Comment Re:Scientific Progress ... (Score 1) 327
Actually, Peter Pan did go on past Wendy & Co. going home. Wendy did return for some spring cleanings, but Peter, just being a boy, eventually forgot and Wendy grew old, too old to fly. She had a daughter and when Peter eventually remembered to come again to the Darlings, he confused the girl for Wendy. Wendy graciously allowed the daughter to visit Peter for spring cleaning...
I'd argue that a Peter Pan/Calvin and Hobbes comparison is more apt than the GP intended, as both really allow for differing perspectives as the reader ages. As many have commented in this thread, it's possible to read Calvin and Hobbes as a child (as I did) and say, "Oh, wow! What a fun, silly comic!" It's also possible to (re)read it as an adult (I'm not yet there, but sooner than I'd like) and say "Yeah, that's what my kid is like. And that's how childhood felt, even if I see things a bit differently now... (Also, wow. What a fun, silly comic.)"
For Peter Pan, it's a story that appeals to children because the characters go have adventures and still return home safely. For parents (or older readers), it's all that and a story about how childhood ends and children always do have to grow up. I don't have kids, but I cried the first time I read Peter Pan, at 23, because it's a fun adventure story and a really bittersweet and poignant look at the cycle of childhood into adulthood.
I'd contrast Calvin and Hobbes or Peter Pan with something like Fox Trot or Harry Potter. Both Fox Trot and Harry Potter are fun, and both offer something for multiple age levels. I'd even say both stand rereadings (to greater or lesser degrees). But I'd argue that neither have the same depth or subtlety that Calvin and Hobbes or Peter Pan do; neither allow for such drastically differing perspectives when read as a child or as an adult.
Just my two cents as a performer who thinks way too much about the power of narrative and story...
-Trillian