Tinker Bell

For the summer, I've decided to review all 6 direct to DVD Tinker Bell movies, which act as prequels to Peter Pan! The first one was released back in 2008 & is actually the very first time the Disney version of the iconic character would speak! She was supposed to be voiced by Brittany Murphy before her untimely death & was replaced by actress Mae Whitman AKA Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender, Rose from American Dragon: Jake Long, Parenthood, most recently The D.U.F.F & so much more! Now that Tink has taken centre stage in her own movie series/franchise, will this be a success with faith, trust & pixie dust, or should Peter have stuck to being in the spotlight ? Let's find out!

Story: I consider the plot of this as more of an introduction to the world of Pixie Hollow along with the origins of Tink & how she became the fairy we know today. The mythology of Pixie Hollow is also pretty interesting due to the various talents fairies are allocated from their 'birth' & how they are used when going to the Mainland in different areas like light, water, animals and gardening. It can also easily be qualified as a 'be happy with who you are' message & that everyone is special no matter how small their job may seem. This is a good message for children, although I will say that it is pretty cliched and predictable with the way they handle it. Also, I will say that the scenes where Tink tries the other fairies' talents is pretty funny due to her continuously screwing up along with being forced to face the consequences of her selfish actions (which is yet another good message for children) after they cause catasprophe for everyone else in Pixie Hollow. Sure, it may be cliched & predictable with the plot, but at least there's some funny moments and the messages mentioned are good ones to teach.

Animation: Since this is a direct to DVD movie, the animation pretty much shows that. It's not bad at all, it's just the detail & scale isn't quite on par with theatrical CGI movies like on the skin, hair and plants (it's way better than Legends of Oz, that's a given). The designs of the characters easily go for the classical Disney look, but thankfully it does look good on computer animation as they are more stylized even if a few are more cartoony than others. But I will say that it doesn't really look that good on the design of Wendy at the very end. The look of Pixie Hollow is also nice thanks to the different areas like the Pixie Dust Tree and the sections allocated for different seasons, also making the movie look very colourful as a result. And I also love how they Victorian era London at the beginning and end. Another part I like is the use of nature integrating into the world like the clothes being made by various plants or the Tinker Fairies using the same to make things for the other fairies or animals when they go to the Mainland. And given that this is a spin-off of Peter Pan, other than Wendy's cameo, it is a nice little touch that the animators included the mountains around Neverland into the background of different scenes. The animation, while being direct to DVD and being the first CGI movie for DisneyToon after ending their mostly dreadful sequels, it's still pretty good!

 

Characters: Tinker Bell (voiced by Mae Whitman) is pretty much the same headstrong, creative and adventurous fairy we know her as, except not as bitchy as in Peter Pan and learns about the importance of her job for Pixie Hollow, making her pretty likeable. Her friends on the other hand can easily be qualified by what type of fairy they are along with their personalities. Silvermist (voiced by Lucy Liu) is an air-headed yet kind water fairy, Iridessa (voiced by Raven Symone) is a light fairy who's the only one who has doubts about Tink wanting to change her talent with good reason, Rosetta (voiced by Kristin Chenoweth) is a vain yet nice garden fairy akin to Glinda from Wicked while Fawn (voiced by America Ferrera) is an animal fairy who well, loves animals, but is pretty much the most one dimensional fairy of the group. Clank & Bobble are entertaining as they show Tink how to be a tinker fairy with their funny personalities, but they do manage to be sympathetic at times when she complains about her job. Vidia is really the closest thing to a villain who puts Tink in her place when she wants to go to the mainland & tries to get her into trouble, but she just comes across as the cliched bitch who wants things her way. Queen Clarion (voiced by Angelica Huston) is pretty much the benevolent queen of Pixie Hollow, although she can be a bit insensitive. Fairy Mary (voiced by Jane Horrocks), the overseer of the tinker fairies, can be entertaining thanks to her organized and driven personality, but also sees lots of potential in Tinker Bell. The weakest character for me would have to be Terrence (voiced by former pop star Jesse McCartney), the pixie dust fairy who can easily be qualified as the love interest despite him & Tink not sharing any chemistry & is also the one to make her realize that she should be happy with her talent regardless of how small it may seem. They may not be the most developed or complex characters I've seen from Disney, but they're fine as they are and they're all likeable in their own way!

 

Tinker Bell is a pretty decent start to the Tinker Bell movie franchise with a plot with good messages, very nice animation and likeable characters, even if it may be handled in a cliched way for the most part. I'd definitely recommend this for girls who enjoy the Disney Fairy franchise and for those who like the character Tinker Bell in general and want to know more about her story (same goes for the other Tinker Bell movies) It's not the best direct to DVD movie I've seen, but given that this came just as the Disney sequels were ending, it's already a big improvement.
Story: 7/10
Animation: 8/10
Characters: 7/10
Overall: 7/10