So apparently Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy is the sixth film in the Tinker Bell franchise with film seven already planned for 2015. The Wikipedia page has so much mythology and character categorisation going on it reads like the index for Lord of the Rings. I may be late to the party here but apparently this whole Disney Fairies thing is big business and the films have attracted some respectable names for its voice-cast. Who knew eh?
Tinker Bell and her fairy pals live in a place called Pixie Hollow, an idyllic community which revolves around the production of Pixie Dust. In this installment of the franchise, we meet Zarina, an inquisitive, scientifically minded fairy who believes that dust can be modified and improved with some daring experimentation. Unfortunately, her experiments go too far and she leaves Pixie Hollow in disgrace, turning to a life of crime as a Pirate Fairy. After a year’s absence, she returns to her hometown to steal the mythical Blue Dust. Tinker Bell and her friends are forced to track her down in order to retrieve the Dust and save Pixie Hollow.
This was my first experience of the Tink phenomenon and I was pleasantly surprised. Pirate Fairy is sweet, colourful fun and even though it’s part of a franchise that is obviously a huge money-spinner for Disney, it feels like a sincere, uncynical piece of storytelling. The characters have distinct personalities and the whole thing zips along nicely thanks to the pleasingly un-saccharine script. I was particularly taken with the fact that alongside the fairy shenanigans, there is the origin story of Captain Hook – an ingenious little subplot that will entertain any Peter Pan fans.
The 3D animation is nicely realised and the character design has the occasional touch of old-school Disney. The voice cast includes Christina Hendricks as Zarina and the distinctive plummy tones of Tom Hiddleston as the pirate James. Now, Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy will most likely only be required viewing if you have a little person to bring along but as kids’ movies go, this is entertaining, amusing and won’t leave you with a case of diabetes.