No flash in the Pan

They may have been arch rivals in Disney's Peter Pan but its clear within moments of speaking to Wendy (Kathryn Beaumont) and Tinker Bell (Margaret Kerry) that they are good friends in real life. Both ladies are full of beans and it crosses my mind that they are remarkably animated about a movie which they must have been getting asked to talk about repeatedly over the last 50 years.

But they're certainly don't seem to be bored of it.

"I feel particularly lucky that this is a film that has endured," says Kathryn, in an accent which still bears traces of her English heritage. "It is such a wonderful adventure for children now that it has been clearly rendered.

"It's delightful to see it with all the extras. Especially to see they had worked on it from the 30s, working on parts of the stories. Animation makes the story much easier to tell, a lot of the fantastic things that happen - such as the crocodile - lend themselves to animation."

Margaret - who sounds every bit as sprightly as her character - adds: "I'm so excited because of all the children who put on the costumes of Tinker Bell. It's a lovely, lovely film. A romping adventure."

Animators based Tinker Bell on Margaret

Not only happy to talk about the film - which has just been given the DVD special edition treatment, with a lovely digitally remastered print and new set of extras - they're also game for a giggle. "Go on," urges Margaret. "Do the voice." Kathryn happily complies: "They always get me to say, Peter, look out!" and for a moment the years fall away as she transports us back to Never Land.

For Kathryn, playing Wendy was her second big role at Disney, having already provided the voice and been the live action model for Alice in the animated version of Alice In Wonderland. Although, she was born in London, Kathryn was spotted by an MGM talent scout and whisked across the Atlantic under contract. But she says the working environment at the two studios was totally different.

"I remember being at MGM," she says, "then I went to Disney, the whole atmosphere was different. Walt Disney was visible. He would go and eat lunch in the cafeteria and was very hands on. It was more relaxed there. I felt very comfortable, they made me feel at ease."

Kathryn was 12 when the film was shot - the same age as her character. Margaret meanwhile was "a few years older", which meant that she just got to work, while Kathryn had the dubious joys of lessons as well.

"Being a child I also had to go to school I did four hours of school and three hours for Disney with an hour for lunch. When I was finished reading, I didn't really get to observe or interact with the others. I would look at Margaret and think, 'how lucky, you can just sit, I have to go do my school work'."

Considering the film is animated, it is perhaps surprising how much live-action work went into the making of the movie. In fact, the cast shot whole chunks of the script so that the animators had additional footage to use as reference.

"We did the live action scenes in the part of the character so that they could get and idea of your characteristics," says Kathryn.

This even included hoisting Wendy and Peter (played by Bobby Driscoll) into the air.

"Most kids would say 'What fun,' but I was a little nervous," she adds. "I was hooked up with a harness and was thinking the stage looked so far down there."

I ask whether they were surprised when they saw the finished product onscreen. Margaret says she knew what was coming.

"They had boiled it down. I knew exactly what she would look like. She was to be a little girl from the waist up and woman from the waist down.

"I worked on her for nine months off and on. She wasn't a big character at first - but I'm told that they eventually spent more money on her than any one else. But I didn't even get a screen credit. Wendy was the star back then."

It's strange then, in many ways that it is Tink who has gone on to become the archetypal icon for Disney - but thanks to television shows including The Wonderful World Of Disney, she has become a silent star to generations of children.

Margaret is grateful to Disney, too, for giving her a small, uncredited, speaking part as a red-headed mermaid in the film, which lead to a new career in voice-overs.

"Before Peter Pan I did 37 motion pictures, but most of them ended up on the cutting room floor," she says. "After I did the Disney film, it changed my life. I thought, you don't have to do your hair or get up at six in the morning. I went to the microphone."

Fifty years on, it's clear that neither of them have lost their sparkle and both still have close ties still to the Disney.

Margaret says: "We don't live very far from the studios and, bless their hearts, they invite us to various events there. We know many people who have stayed through the years."

Kathryn provided the voice for Wendy

Kathryn, went on to have a full career as a teacher after starring in those few films as a child, and following her retirement, returned to the world of voice-over, providing the voices for Wendy and Alice on a number of rides and TV shows. And in 1998 she became a Disney Legend. So what is it like to become a legend in your own lifetime?

"I just feel blessed that they selected me. Because so many people have contributed so much, engineers, composers, have contributed a lifetime of work. I feel very honoured and privileged."