Dustin Hoffman is incredible as Hook here and, yet, this performance is often forgotten! Hookβs hatred of clocks is a double metaphor. Prior to the events of Peter Pan, the crocodile swallowed an alarm clock so heβs presence was always heard through the tick-tock of the clock in his belly before he was actually seen.
But the clocks also represent the passage of time and Hookβs fear of becoming irrelevant. He breaks clocks so time canβt continue on, just as he wears his wig and make up to cover his old age. But breaking a clock only stops time temporarilyβ¦ it doesnβt reverse it.