Though she's made her mark in numerous stage and television performances primarily in England, HARRIET KATE OWEN (Jane and Young Wendy) takes particular pride in her acting roots, which she claims began at age 2. "I flung myself down to the floor of a supermarket and declared that my mother was beating me, and she sort of said, 'Oh, dear, this child is slightly an extrovert.' So she took me to drama lessons."
The lessons have paid off handsomely, as evidenced by her performance as both Jane and Young Wendy in "Return to Never Land." Owen began recordings for the film at the age of 13, traveling an hour in each direction via train from her boarding school to the London recording studio. After a few hours of recording, she'd find guilty pleasure in a true American delicacy. "I'd go out and reward myself with a big, juicy cheeseburger and fries."
Audiences will be rewarded with the now-l 6-year-old's complex performance of Wendy's daughter, a girl who has grown up too quickly, denying herself the unique pleasures of childhood in the process — and abruptly having those playful emotions rekindled.
"Harriet walked a very fine line in the delivery of her performance, and she did it to near perfection," says Morrill. "Harriet found a marvelous balance between a girl trying to be a grownup and a girl who really just wants to be a kid, but is afraid to be one. It's an impressive performance, particularly when you realize it's her first voiceover role."
"Harriet was great casting because, in many ways, she is Jane," says Cook. "Harriet is a pretty mature kid — she's very clever and sharp-witted, and not very naive. She always understood our direction, and had a good handle on how to play Jane. She understood Jane's point of view, and that was instrumental in the process of finding the character."
Owen's performance is all the more impressive when realizing that, in her voiceover debut, Owen spent the majority of the production receiving direction via an ISDN connection from Los Angeles to London. Most of Owen's sessions would find her sitting alone in a recording booth with only an engineer to keep her company — along with the producers, directors and frequently other cast members connecting with her through her headphones.
"Doing the film with Harriet was kind of weird, because we've never seen each other, but we got to know each other pretty well while recording the voices and just chatting," says Weaver. "She's always asking me about Los Angeles, and whether I'd seen any famous people; and she tells me all about her horse and her estate in London. She's very British and I love that. We have a great time."
While admitting her mother is the family's greatest Disney fan, Owen says "Peter Pan" was always one of her favorite animated films because of its focus away from the traditional princess-driven fairy tale romance. She appreciates that continued theme in "Return to Never Land."
"'Peter Pan' is a special, classic story because it holds something that I think none of the other Disney movies have — it's not about romance or falling in love, like 'Snow White,' 'Sleeping Beauty,' 'Cinderella,' and 'Beauty and the Beast.' 'Peter Pan' is more about the magic — it's more about letting go of your inhibitions and believing. And it's not focused on the whole kiss, it's about two friends."
Owen is also particularly pleased to have become part of Disney's storied film history. "I've watched Disney films since I was a baby, but I never thought that my voice would be coming out of one of the characters," she says. "It's going to be a bit frightening when it actually happens on screen in front of me."
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