It has been a long time since I last read Peter Pan... so I do not remember all the details.

My interpretation is that the Pirates and the others are old because they do not believe to the whole concept of not growing up, or plainly said they do not believe in magic.

Peter Pan stays always young beucase he believes in all those things, and according to the book it has something to do with the fact that he actually does not exist, but it's purely an incarnation of all the wishes of never dying or staying forever young.

For Wendy, I agree with the previous friend who said she chose to since she wanted to be a mother.

I believe Captain Hook was taken to Neverland after killing his captain and making Smee his first mate, but the indians... whoever posted suggesting they want to grow up is probably correct.

I just read an entire wiki article on Peter Pan to remember most of the details. Funny thing is, while they do mention the age, they never explain much about why Peter is always young, but there is no mention whatsoever of the other character's age.

In any case, the fact that Peter is always young comes from a personal experience of the author, who created Peter to resemble his younger brother who died at 14. Apparently in the family, he always remained as the boy who never grew up.

I was never a fan of Peter Pan. Probably because my aspie self could never reconcile this whole concept so the story didn't follow a logical (in my childish opinion) path.

I can look back at a lot of things now that I know I'm on the spectrum and understand why I 'got it' or 'didn't get it'.

I like the idea of Peter Pan, but honestly, I would have always chosen any other Disney movie (apart from Pinocchio, but it was a freaking nightmare for me as a kid) instead of Peter Pan. The way I was brought up, I do not think I ever identified with him.

I don't know if any of you read Wen Spencer's books, but the Ukiah Oregon series has an interesting perspective on that, with a character who wanted desperately to grow up, but was stuck in a young boy's body for a very long time (I don't want to say how long, because spoilers. It's not in the first book. I forget if it's the second or third).

Anyhow it was an interesting insight into the flip side of that coin.

Okay thanks guys. I sort of forgot about this. XD Sorry. But thanks for the info.

Dunno if anyone is interested but I do know a thing or two about Peter Pan. This might get long and I apologize in advance.

In the Disney version it's explained passively by Smee and Hook that they somehow sailed to Neverland which according to the Disney canon that shouldn't be possible HOWEVER in the Disney JR spinoff Jake and the Neverland Pirates it's revealed that there are more islands nearby insinuating that Neverland might be a parallel universe though that's just speculation.
As for why Wendy can't return, in the Disney version at least. I think it's because adults can't use pixie dust and therefore can't fly. Since flying is the only way to get to Neverland Wendy would never be able to come back if she grows up.
Now in the sequel Return to Neverland. The Jolly Roger and all the adult pirates on it sail to London and kidnap Wendy's daughter Jane. This is a little strange but my assumption is that the ship is not an adult and therefore somehow can retain the ability to fly. Not sure. It was an iffy sequel anyway.

In the live action movie I love the most it makes a smidge more sense. In that he never says that Wendy can never come back. In this version Hook can also fly with fairy dust. Meaning if you wanted to go to Neverland all you need is to know where it is and maintain happy thoughts. In this version however it's said that Wendy can never come back as she doesn't have any fairy dust and Peter won't return to see her because he can't bear her growing up and knows he'd have to leave Neverland behind to be with her.
It's also kinda implied that he's dead in that one so... that's also a thing.

In Hook Peter can fly because he's remembered how to be a child. Having to remember how to use his imagination (in one of the best book to movie scenes ever. Seriously, no other movie wanted to touch the part in the book where Peter uses his imagination for meals instead of real food.)

Now in the book Peter actually sails the pirate ship back to London. On ocean. Meaning Neverland was an actual island that could be sailed to if you knew where it was. THe book also introduced us to Peter killing lost boys if they got too old which leads to the belief that some of the pirates were actually old lost boys. Meaning Peter was the only child who never grew up. Even Wendy found herself growing a little taller in Neverland.

My personal belief is that the more you act like a child the less you grow in Neverland. Which explains why Peter never grows up. He's so against growing up he does everything possible to remain childish and therefore forever young. Also why the other people on the island still grow up. If they are forced into an adult situation they grow a little bit older. But that's just my own interpretation.

Sorry this got long. I'm a little passionate about Peter Pan (and Alice in Wonderland...)