his memories were erased when he was adopted . He returns to Neverland as Peter Pan , regains his youthful spirit , and after a period of soul-searching and a confrontation with Captain Hook , reclaims his children and returns to his mother ’ s home . When Wendy suggests that Peter ’ s adventures are over , Peter expresses his enthusiasm for life . “ To live ,” he says , “ would be an awfully big adventure .” Similarly , Williams ’ s Genie role in the animated feature Aladdin ( 1992 ) has his character experiencing “ a whole new world ,” this time after popping out of a magic lamp . Once again , Williams creates a character with a frenetic style and a good heart . The Genie ’ s signature song , “ A Friend Like Me ,” underscores the importance of emotion and connection . Even in Mrs . Doubtfire ( 1993 ), for which Williams won a Golden Globe Award for best actor , he enters a new world of femininity when he poses as a nanny to be closer to his children after his wife asks for a divorce . “ My first day as a woman ,” Mrs . Doubtfire quips , “ and I get hot flashes .” Finally , in Jumanji ( 1995 ), Williams ’ Alan Parrish is trapped in a jungle-themed board game for twenty-six years and finally escapes when children find the long-forgotten game in their attic and begin playing . Now thirty-eight , Alan confronts his new world as an adult and navigates relationships .
However , it is in Good Will Hunting ( 1997 ), where Williams finds perhaps his most important and emotional role , harkening back to his character in Dead Poets Society . Here he plays the role of therapist Sean Maguire , who treats twenty-year old blue-collar laborer Will Hunting ( Matt Damon ), an unrecognized mathematical genius , and helps him to re-evaluate his life . Both Sean Maguire and Will Hunting suffered abuse as children and misfortune later in life but through disclosure and trust in one another find ways to move forward . Following a poignant scene in which Maguire repeats nine times to Hunting that the abuse was not his fault and the men weep , the script describes a quintessential image : “ Two lonely souls being father and son together ” ( Dougan 231 ). Showcasing Williams ’ s dramatic talents , Good Will Hunting proved to be a critical and popular success and earned Williams his first and only Academy Award , despite three previous nominations , for best supporting actor . Once again , Williams created a character who discovers deep feelings .
In his best performances , Robin Williams merged manic energy with heartfelt emotion . However , if there is one criticism of Williams ’ s movie career , it is that his work became too sentimental , a characteristic hinted at as early as Mork and Mindy . Movies such as Jack ( 1996 ), in which he plays a boy whose rare disease makes him age four times faster than normal , and Patch Adams ( 1998 ), in which he plays a clownish doctor who shakes up the hospital and lives of his young patients with his
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