Tinker Bell (2008)

Today's animated feature is Tinker Bell. I have always loved Tinker Bell but have never liked the movie Peter Pan.  I wanted a movie that just featured her.  So I was excited when this movie came out.  There are several sequels and they are mostly hit or miss.  My daughter also loves two of these sequels and I'll be sure to review them.  It is important to write about this one first because it introduces all the characters.

Legend has it that when a baby laughs for the first time, that laugh travels all the way to Neverland, to a magical place called Pixie Hollow.  There, the laugh, carried on a dandelion seed, transforms into a fairy.  The fairy appears to be full grown, yet has much to learn.  Immediately after being created, she is forced to choose a talent. Surrounding her are many objects, such as a flower, snowflake, and a hammer.  When she passes the hammer, it glows, therefore that is her talent.  She is declared a tinker fairy and named Tinker Bell.  Wouldn't that be great if that's how you chose your major in college?  I wouldn't have had to change it so many times!

We see all the fairies during this stage, but many things change throughout the sequels.  In one film, the winter fairies live in a separate area because they cannot stand the warmth of the other seasons.  In another, most of the tinker fairies go to the mainland even though we are informed they do not.  It seems like the filmmakers made this movie in a hurry and later established the "fairy rules" as the sequels were written.  So, if you or your child watch this, you will notice many discrepancies.

The main purpose of the first film is to introduce its many characters.  Every fairy has a special talent that they use to bring about the changes of seasons on Earth.  I like how all the fairies look different so that little girls all over the world can identify with them.  In my hometown, I see little girls dressed as these fairies all the time.  Here is a list of the main characters and their talents, which are pretty self-explanatory:

• Iridessa, a light fairy. She wears a sunflower dress and manipulates light.
• Rosetta, a garden fairy.  She creates flowers, paints petals, and does not like mud.  She is a Southern Belle brunette with a strong accent and reminds me of quite a few relatives.
• Silvermist, a water fairy.  Rather ditzy.
• Fawn, an animal fairy.  She is in tune with animals' needs and helps them.
• Vidia, a fast flying fairy.  She creates breezes, with she uses in many different ways.  Jealous of the new girl Tinker Bell.
• Terrence, a dustkeeper fairy.  He is in charge of Pixie Dust, which allow the fairies to fly.
• Clank and Bobble, nicknames of two tinker fairies, the engineers of the fairy world.

From left to right: Iridessa, Fawn, Tinker Bell, Rosetta, and Silvermist

If you'll notice, everyone works hard at their talents and yet there seems to be no payment system.  The changing of the season is payoff in itself.  Everyone works for the betterment of their world and ours.  It's essentially a perfect system.  If it were me, I would be a garden fairy.  I would get to paint the leaves orange and red for autumn.  That would be sweet.

The movie has a good message too: Be yourself and don't let others get you down. Vidia, being jealous of the new girl Tinker Bell, convinces her that she's useless because she lacks the magical nature talents of the other fairies.  Tinker Bell creates pots and baskets, not rainbows and flowers.  Tinker Bell decides to learn about the other talents, but failing in all of them, feels even more useless.  But when one of Vidia's cruel pranks backfires, Tinker Bell uses her engineering know-how to fix everything.  She no longer worried about not having the same talents as everyone else, she used her own talent to the best of her ability.  I will give this film a 6/10.