Not that surprised tbh.

Nor am I.

It's funny. Peter Pan talked but Link never does. Tinkerbell never talked but Navi does. A lot.

He said in a previous interview that Link was based off of Legolas from The Lord of the Rings....

I've also heard that Link was originally meant to be named "Chris".

I'm not surprised one bit, but that's still a cool fun fact.

@Donjwolf lol i never notice. XD

so thats how link got his name, i wonder how samus got her name?

Wow, that seems like such a ripoff. I wish they would have never admitted it if it is true.

They should of have watch BraveHeart, maybe then, we wold have had a cooler link, with blue face paint

I wonder what it would be like if link could fly though.

Not really surprising. More surprising is the fact that triforce parts were first supposed to be electronic chips.

Well DUH, my grandma once called him peter pan when she watched me play OOT a few years back.

Miyamoto better be careful with what he says. Disney is notorious for being one of the most obsessive companies about copyright infringement.

I can see the resemblance, fun fact nevertheless.

... That explains SOOOOOOOOO much.

Miyamato better not tell them Mario was based on Mickey Mouse

All you guys know Sonic the Hedgehog was based on Felix the Cat, right?

@Alien_Mosky Wasn't Mario originally a quick replacement for Popeye?

@Gamesake I was about to post that Sonic's desgin was probably inspired by Mickey Mouse.

Another fun fact: Yellow Kirby in Kirby's Return to Dreamland looks alot like Pac-Man. You can also play as a pink Pac-Man in Pac-Man Battle Royale.

That goes without saying

When I was little, I use to get Link and Peter Pan names mixed up. LOL

i can see the resemblance,kinda

I saw all of this in some recent Did You Know Gaming posts.

Same as TeeJay.

I knew it!

Just a heads up:
Braveheart would have been a good inspiration if it hadn't come out almost a decade after link was created.

Though Legolas as an inspiration is possible, it certainly wouldn't have been from the movies as they came even later than Braveheart and though his name roughly means green leaves, I'm not sure he's ever described as wearing green, (in the Bakshi LOTR movie he wears whit I think and he's barely in the rankin and bass version).

He does look a bit like Robin Hood, which could have been an inspiration but if Miyamoto says its from Peter Pan it probably is.

I think I remember reading something about this link to future and past as something that Ocarina sort of used. The original idea maybe came up again and inspired the young and old Link, maybe? Even if my brain is making that up, it seems like a possibility.

I love Peter Pan. Tezuka has good taste.

Except Peter Pan is way cooler hehe.

I hate Disney.

Wow, so that makes the Kokiri.....the "lost boys". Maybe thats why the Deku tree doesn't want them to leave?

I'm surprised I didn't notice this sooner, though I wasn't much into Disney growing up so it wasn't on my mind very often.

@EvisceratorX I'm no expert but I would think they would need a stronger case than "Link looks like Peter" or "they both have fairy friends". Otherwise they would probably already have done something.

I can't really see the likeness beyond the green tunic and a fairy, besides Zelda being good of course. Had he said Hols Prince of the sun then I could see it but maybe Miyamoto never saw that film. It's not a million miles away from a Zelda adventure.

It'd be interesting if they had a game with lost boys reference and a pirate based villain, could be a sequel to Wind Waker

@Radbot42

Wait, what?

So Link was going to be the Hero of time from the very beginning.

@Zombie_Barioth Disney owns pretty much everything on Earth. They could find a way if they wanted to.

Disney wouldn't have much of a leg to stand on, though, considering the Peter Pan IP belongs to a children's hospital. Whether from them or the hospital, though, It's much too late for anyone to do anything now, especially considering apparently no one else made the connection until this interview. there's a difference between 'inspiration' and 'derivation'.

@EvisceratorX

And that's what causes blank expressions when you ask someone who Totoro is. Shame really given Disneys "Help" dubbing Ghibli films. Sorry, ruining. Seriously, do Disney even read Hayao Miyazaki's scripts?

Princess Mononoke can at times remind you of your average Zelda romp.

Look familiar? Hols: Prince of the sun (1968) Vs The Wind Waker

Michael Jackson also wanted to be like Peter Pan.

Well, this is kinda cool, I love Disney movies.

I ALWAYS thought so.

Why? Fairies

Holy cow, it sounds like the original Zelda nearly had a very different story! Imagine...

Link to the Future!

^^BLASPHEMER^^

Kind of expected...

@Gamesake I'm surprised they didn't sue nintendo for stealing their character. Nobody can beat disney's lawyers.

I remember when I was 7 and I showed my mom the twilight princess trailer. She was very strict about teen and mature rated games. But she commented, when link was riding epona, that he looked like peter pan.

With the way Link could shoot an arrow with a bow, you could also say he could be a Robin Hood inspiration too. Rob himself also wore green clad and a green cap just like Peter Pan and Link.

A Zelda game taking place in the past, present and future sure would be interesting.

Green was the only bright colour clothing available back in the day, every hero wore it =p

Wasn't there some relation to Legend with Tom Cruise? That movie is far too similar.

Prepare the fan art.

@Tsuchiya #39
They both look similar to countless other pictures of people sailing on small boats.

@Gamesake: I thought original mario looked the way he did because the hat was so they wouldn't make hair and the moustache so he wouldn't have a mouth.

...you just think you're a man, dressed up like Peter Pan... [0:44]

I knew it wasn't a coincidence!

...REALLY??? my life has been nothing but a big fat lie... sarcasm* I don't really like to act like a douche but this is pretty much obvious...

You know... the Fairies in the first Zelda game kinda resemble Tink, too.

@grimbldoo Agreed...that's a very loose connection at best.

That Peter Pan was the inspiration for Link was quite obvious.

"Miyamoto also gave some insight into the origin of the character's unique name. When the team began designing the first The Legend of Zelda game, the Triforce fragments were supposed to be electronic chips. The series was planned to take place in both the past and future, and the hero was the "link" in the middle - hence the name"

This is new to me. It also sounds as if Zelda could have been much more sci-fi then it now is! Maybe it's not such a bad idea if Retro makes a sci-fi Zelda, if only once!