In Steven Spielberg’s beloved 1991 fantasy adventure ‘Hook’, fans of Peter Pan learned what happened to the boy who wouldn’t grow up and the storybook land that he called home when he actually did grow up. And while everyone fondly looks back on Robin Williams’ performance as Peter, a whole generation of kids felt a stronger connection to the mohawked badass named Rufio. Although, the story didn’t really include any background information on the former leader of the Lost Boys. But all that is about to change if a few people have their way.
Rufio actor Dante Basco (who some may also recognize from his voice work from ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ and ‘American Dragon: Jake Long’) and writer/director Jonah Feingold (who is actually working on another Peter Pan project starring Brittany Snow) recently launched a Kickstarter to fund ‘Bangarang’, an unofficial fan-made short film that will act as a prequel to ‘Hook’ that will finally answer all the burning questions about the mysterious successor to Peter Pan when he left the first time. Not only will we see how and why he was chosen over the rest of the Lost Boys, but we’ll get a glimpse at Rufio’s pre-Neverland life as well. You can check out the campaign video below, followed by the official synopsis of the short:
This is the story about Rufio, before the mohawk, before Neverland, before he was The Pan.
Roofus is a 13-year-old Filipino kid who is destined to be more than he is. After his mother is forced to put him into a foster home, he and his rag-tag group of best friends – a Jamaican boy named Julani and a bright-eyed Latina force of nature named Ella – find a way for Roofus to escape his ill fate, find his happy thought and fulfill his destiny.
At the time of this writing, the filmmakers have already reached their minimum goal of $30,000 and have entered the pre-production phase of the process. As a teaser for what they’re up to so far, Basco and Feingold updated the page to say that there will be some awesome cameos in front of and behind the camera. Additionally, they revealed that if they reach their ultimate goal of $200,000, ‘Bangarang’ will be made into a feature film rather than a short. So if you want a full on Rufio movie, be sure to donate to the cause. In the meantime, let us know what you think about ‘Bangarang’ in the comments.
Despite being a “professional writer”, Ben likes run-on sentences far too much. For more of his attempts at being funny and the occasional insightful thought, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
