After a successfulKickstarter campaignfrom earlier this year, actor/producer Dante Basco has unveiled his newHookprequel short film entitledBangarang, named after hisHookcharacter Rufio’s signature catch phrase. This 17-minute short film shows what happened to this young boy, before he became leader of The Lost Boys, when he was just an orphan like Peter Pan himself. Here’s the official description of the 17-minute short film from the Kickstarter campaign page.
“This is the story about Rufio, before the mohawk, beforeNeverland, before he was The Pan. Roofus is a 13-year-old kid who is destined to be more than he is. After his mother is forced to put him into a foster home, he and his rag-tag group of best friends, a Jamaican boy named Julani and a bright-eyed latina force of nature named Ella, find a way for Roofus to escape his ill fate, find his happy thought and fulfill his destiny. The story has been reverse engineered from what was set-up in Hook. We answer all the questions you’ve ever wondered. How and why is Rufio the leader of the Lost Boys? Where does “bangarang” come from? And of course, how he gets the mohawk.”
ThisHook prequelstarts out with Roofus (Sheaden Gabriel) pretending to be engaged in a pirate battle with his friends Julani (Keilyn Bryant) and Ella (Olivia Trujillo), when they’re encountered by a bully named Sid (Tyler Ross), which leads to a small scuffle. Dante Basco also stars as Principal Cullen, who gives young Roofus some advice and sends him home with a copy of hisPeter Pannovel. The short also featuresFringestar Jasika Nicole as Shauna, who puts Roofus' mother in touch with a young but talented lawyer named Peter Banning, the character Robin Williams portrayed inHook. As Roofus keeps reading thePeter Panbook, he begins to believe in himself more and more. Be sure to keep watching through the credits for a special post-credit scene on the video below, courtesy ofDante Basco’s YouTube.
This short film also comes just a few months after all of The Lost Boys reunited for theHook25th Anniversary, where they all paid tribute to their late co-starRobin Williams. Dante Basco was joined by Raushan Hammond (Thud Butt),James Madio(Don’t Ask),Ryan Francis(Young Peter Pan),Thomas Tulak(Too Small),Isaiah Robinson(Pockets),Ahmad Stoner(No Nap),Bo Georghe(Noseminer) andBrettandBryan Willis(Sooner & Later) for this special tribute. Dante Basco continued to work regularly in the 25 years afterHook, most notably portraying the title character in the TV seriesAmerican Dragon: Jake Longand voicing Prince Zuko in the iconic animated seriesAvatar: The Last Airbender, and General Iroh inThe Legend of Korra.
After thisBangarangshort film quickly reached its $30,000 Kickstarter goal within a matter of days, the production team added an update that revealed they would make a feature film based on this idea, if they could raise $200,000. They ended up raising $68,790 from the crowdfunding campaign, which is twice as much as their original goal, but still not enough to get a full-length feature off the ground. Still, if this short film is popular enough, then perhaps Dante Basco could put together another crowd-funding campaign to continue the story of Rufio. Take a look at the fullBangarangshort film below.
