Tiger Lily is a fictional character in

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

's 1904 play ''

Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievou ...

'', his 1911 novel ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel titled ''Peter and Wendy''. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous ...

'', and their various adaptations.

History

Tiger Lily is the daughter of Great Big Little Panther, the chief of the Piccaninny tribe, the fictional tribe of Native Americans living in

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. ...

. Barrie describes her as "a princess in her own right. The most beautiful of dusky Dianas and the belle of the Piccaninnies, coquettish, cold and amorous by turns." She is apparently old enough to be married, but refuses any suitors because of her feelings towards Peter. She is jealous of

Wendy Wendy is a given name generally given to girls in English-speaking countries. In Britain during the English Civil War in the mid-1600s, a male Captain Wendy Oxford was identified by the Leveller John Lilburne as a spy reporting on his activit ...

and

Tinker Bell Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie's 1904 play '' Peter Pan'' and its 1911 novelisation '' Peter and Wendy''. She has appeared in a variety of film and television adaptations of the Peter Pan stories, in particular the 1953 ...

. Tiger Lily is kidnapped by

Captain Hook Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play ''Peter and Wendy, Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' and its various adaptations, in which he is Peter Pan's archenemy. The character is a pirate captain of the br ...

and his pirates but is rescued by Peter Pan.

In other media

* In the 1924 silent film ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

'', she is played by Anna May Wong. * In the 1953 Disney animated film of the same name, Captain Hook kidnaps Tiger Lily. This leads her father Big Chief to suspect that the Lost Boys were responsible. Hook leaves her to drown at Skull Rock, but she is saved by Peter. He returns Tiger Lily to her tribe. While the tribe celebrates, Wendy becomes jealous of how Tiger Lily is flirting with Peter. Unlike other females in Neverland, Tiger Lily has no hostility towards Wendy herself. In the film, she has no speaking lines (except for a brief "HELP" when she almost drowns provided by an uncredited voice actress). * In '' Cheshire Crossing'', an older Tiger Lily is responsible for saving Wendy's life after she is stabbed, both having previously been romantically involved. * Tiger Lily appears in '' Peter Pan & the Pirates'' voiced by

Cree Summer Cree Summer Francks (born July 7, 1969) is an American-Canadian actress and singer. She is best known for her extensive work in animation, voicing characters such as Elmyra Duff in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' and related media, Susie Carmichael ...

. She and her brother Hard-to-Hit sometimes tag along with and aid their friends Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, the Darling children and the Lost Boys on their many adventures. * In P. J. Hogan's 2003 film, she is played by Carsen Gray, who is of Haida Indigenous and mixed descent. In this version Tiger Lily is attracted to Wendy's younger brother John. *In the 2011 miniseries ''

'', she is portrayed as Aaya, played by

Q'orianka Kilcher Q'orianka Waira Qoiana Kilcher (; born February 11, 1990) is an American actress. Her best known film roles are Pocahontas in Terrence Malick's 2005 film '' The New World'', and Kaiulani in '' Princess Kaiulani'' (2009). In 2020, she starred i ...

. Aaya means "lily of tiger" in her native language. *Tiger Lily appears in the 2015 film '' Pan'' portrayed by Rooney Mara where her casting in this role created a controversy due to claims of whitewashing. She appears as a love interest to a younger James Hook. * Tiger Lily appears in ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

'' portrayed by Sara Tomko. In this version, she started out as a

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

that was the fairy godmother to a baby

Rumplestiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about an imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a woman's firstborn child. Plot ...

and a friend of the Blue Fairy. At some point, Tiger Lily gave up her fairy wings and relocated to

where she had a history with Captain Hook. Though she would later regain her wings at some point. * She is the protagonist of the book ''Tiger Lily'' (2012) written by Jodi Lynn Anderson, told from the point of view of Tinker Bell. * Tiger Lily appears in Jonathan Green's role-playing gamebook ''Neverland: Here Be Monsters!'' as a playable character. This version is a fierce warrior who rides a

saber-toothed tiger ''Smilodon'' is an extinct genus of Felidae, felids. It is one of the best known saber-toothed predators and prehistoric mammals. Although commonly known as the saber-toothed tiger, it was not closely related to the tiger or other modern cats ...

as a steed and has proven herself in battle against the dinosaurs roaming Neverland. * Canadian

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

actress Alyssa Wapanatâhk portrays Tiger Lily in the film '' Peter Pan & Wendy'', which premiered on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

on April 28, 2023. Unlike the original film, this version of Tiger Lily has a larger role as she is shown to be friends with Peter Pan, the Lost Boys, and later the Darling children. She even calls Peter "Little Brother." Throughout the film, Tiger Lily speaks Cree in addition to English. * Tiger Lily appears in '' Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare'' portrayed by Olumide Olorunfemi. This version tries to help Wendy to rescue her younger brother Michael, who has been kidnaped by Peter Pan.

Reception

In modern times, the character has attracted controversy due to accusations of

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

and Native American stereotyping. Controversy has also arisen from the name given to her tribe, "Piccanniny", a term now widely interpreted as a racial slur. The Disney animated sequel '' Return to Never Land'' (2002) avoided controversy by leaving out the Indians entirely, although Peter and Jane briefly visit their monument. The book series ''

Peter and the Starcatchers ''Peter and the Starcatchers'' is a children's novel that was published by Hyperion Books, a subsidiary of Disney, in 2004. Written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, and illustrated by Greg Call, the book is a reinterpretation of the characte ...

'', also commissioned by Disney, replaces the Indians with a Samoan tribe called the People of the Mollusc, with a girl named Shining Pearl serving as the analog of Tiger Lily.

References

External links

* {{Disney Princess Theatre characters introduced in 1904 Peter Pan characters Fictional princesses Fictional tribal chiefs Child characters in film Child characters in literature Female characters in film Female characters in literature Female characters in television Fictional Native American people