Neverland

Neverland is a fictional island in J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan stories, a place where children do not age. It serves as the home of Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and other inhabitants, and functions as a setting where time stops and imagination governs events. Since Barrie’s era, the term has entered broader culture as a metaphor for perpetual childhood and escape from adult responsibilities; it is used both as a literal setting in some adaptations and as a symbolic idea in others.

In Barrie’s narratives, Neverland is reached from the coast near London and visited by Wendy, her brothers, and Peter Pan after they leave their nursemaid's care. The island is home to pirates led by Captain Hook, mermaids, and a community of Lost Boys. Adventures emphasize friendship, risk, and the tension between growing up and staying young.

Disney's 1953 animated film helped shape the modern image of Neverland, introducing recognizable elements such as the flying kids, Tinker Bell, and the line about the “Second star to the right” guiding the way. Subsequent film and stage versions preserve Neverland as a place of fantasy and risk, while often reframing it as a place of moral and emotional testing for its visitors.

Outside fiction, the name Neverland appears in real-world contexts. Notably, Neverland Ranch in California was the former residence of musician Michael Jackson. The term is also used by various entertainment venues, hotels, and resorts to evoke fantasy, innocence, and escape.