Long before “Peter Pan” appeared in a 360-degree, high-tech video and  live action production, James Barrie’s tale about the boy who refuses to grow up circled the globe in print, on the stage, and later, on film and TV.

One of the best-known versions of the story is Disney’s 1953 animated film, which hasn’t been in theaters for many years.

In May, the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco will at last screen the 77-minute film, which features the voices of Bobby Driscoll as Peter, Kathryn Beaumont as Wendy and Hans Conried as Capt. Hook.

The film is significant in Disney lore as the last work in which all members of the illustrious “Nine Old Men” — core animators at Walt Disney Productions who created the studios’ most famous works, from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” to “The Rescuers” — worked together.

“Peter Pan” includes all “12 principles of animation” the animators developed and practiced. They were: Squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, straight-ahead action and pose-to-pose, follow through and overlapping action, slow in and slow out, arcs, secondary action, timing, exaggeration, solid drawing and appeal.

In addition, in the Disney Museum lobby, where no admission is charged, a “Peter Pan” exhibit remains open through June 27.

It includes 16 original concept drawings by famed Disney artist Mary Blair, from the Walt Disney Animation Studios Research Library.

Also on display are 1930s character sketches, storyboard outlines, original concept art, model sheets and vintage posters from the collection of the Walt Disney Family Foundation.


IF YOU GO
Peter Pan film and exhibit

Where: Walt Disney Family Museum, 104 Montgomery St., Presidio, San Francisco
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, closed Tuesdays
Tickets: $12 to $20 for museum entry; $4 to $8 separate admission for film; free for exhibit
Contact: (415) 345-6800, www.waltdisney.org

Note: The movie screens 1 and 4 p.m. daily except Tuesdays from May 2-31. Beaumont will make a personal appearance at
3 p.m. May 22.