Johann Wyss, a Swiss minister, originally wrote Swiss Family Robinsonin 1812 for his four sons in order to impart life lessons about family values and self-reliance. Walt Disney believed that it had all the makings for a grand family adventure film that would be perfect for Disney audiences. Swiss Family Robinson had been made into a movie before in 1940, but Disney wanted to put his own stamp on it. In his 1960 film adaptation, the Robinson family is shipwrecked en route to a new life in New Guinea following a treacherous storm at sea. Mother and Father Robinson (Dorothy McGuire and John Mills) and their three sons Fritz (James MacArthur), Ernst (Tommy Kirk) and Francis (Kevin Corcoran) find themselves stranded on a deserted island with no rescue in sight. The Robinsons quickly learn to adapt to life on the beautiful island, but danger is never far away as the family copes with harsh weather, deadly wild animals and ruthless pirates who threaten the paradise that the Robinsons have created for themselves. The Disney film version of Swiss Family Robinson also added a love interest for one of the sons as well as more adventure elements and thrilling subplots. The movie classic was filmed on the remote and pristine island of Tobago, twenty-five miles northeast of Trinidad. John Mills, who played Father Robinson, said that the island was so lush and undisturbed that when he and others were scuba-diving, the exotic fish "were so tame they poked their noses against our face masks as we swam amongst them."