Image copyright Disney.
Tinker Bell's second adventure is an enjoyable, humorous tale that arrives on DVD with exceptional bonuses.
By Blake
Originally posted November 7, 2009.
I admit that I cringed at the thought of Tinker Bell finally being able to talk. As did many other Disney fans who preferred the classic fairy's speech to be restricted to sounds of enchanting bells and chimes as it was in the 1953 Disney animated film Peter Pan. However, now that the Disney Fairies film franchise is officially underway after kicking off with the 2008 direct-to-DVD movie Tinker Bell and Disney has gone deeper Tink's personality levels, as well as introduced the audience to her own secret world of Pixie Hollow, I think I'm now at the position where I feel comfortable to not nag at Disney for entertaining such a thought as Tinker Bell speaking, but to rather sit back and appreciate the enjoyable new series of stories and characters they've created.
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, the second film in the series, immerses audiences further into Pixie Hollow lore as they learn along with Tink (voiced by Mae Whitman) various new customs and traditions the land has. The film promotes a theme of friendship, as demonstrated through the relationship of Tinker Bell and her best friend Terence (Jesse McCartney). The series-wide subject of seasons continues, this time as Tink is asked to create a fall septar that will allow an annual Pixie Dust replentishment. However, when Tink lets her signature temper get the best of her, she makes a terrible mistake and has to travel outside of Never Land's borders in order to set things right.
The cinematic structure of Lost Treasure is cleverly designed to re-establish audiences with the fairies again, while simultaneously not wasting any time in getting on with the plot.
Lost Treasure brings up the comedy level significantly from its predecessor. There are several jokes that are clearly aimed at the preschool set, while others involving clever dialogue and visual gags really hit the laughter level out of the park.
The film makes one thing very, very clear: this is Terence's time to shine. In the series' first intallment, he was more of a secondary character that only appeared in a few scenes, but this time around, he's featured almost as prominently as Tink. The voice acting on Jesse McCartney's part is surprisingly performed very well, giving a wide range of emotions to the character without coming off as too cheesy.
Image copyright Disney.
However, with the spotlight focused more on Terence, the screentime lessens for Tinker Bell's other friends - Rosetta, Fawn, Iridessa, and Silvermist. I felt like the first film worked so hard to introduce these characters to the audience in a way that felt natural and not rushed (which it succeeded at doing), and now they hardly get any time with the camera. Each of them get their own little moment or two, but for the most part the audience is mainly spending time with Tinker Bell, Terence, Fairy Mary (Tink's boss), and a new character - a lightning bug named Blaze.
Image copyright Disney.
The entire purpose of Blaze's presence in the film is extremely ironic, as he serves for Tinker Bell as what she once served for Peter Pan: an energetic character full of personality hovering above her shoulder, speaking in only sounds and no words.
Bonus Features Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow (about 5 minutes) is a continuation of a same-name special feature that was included on 2008's
Tinker Bell DVD in which Tink tours viewers around different areas of Pixie Hollow. This installments takes up where the last one left off, showcasing locations that were featured in
Lost Treasure. Terence comes along this time, and with Tink narrates us through sets such as the septar hall, the tea room, the depot, and the fairytale theater. Illustrations are shown in the form of 2-D pop-up-book-style drawings as opposed to the CGI animation used in the film. The voice acting in the "Magical Guide" is performed particularly well, and even though the audience never directly sees Tink or Terence on screen, their emotions and appearances come across very clearly through their dialogue and vocal expressions.
Next up is
Scenes You Never Saw (about 4 minutes), which essentially is a blooper reel. They start out mediocre and aimed at the preschool set, and honestly I wasn't expecting much out of the rest of them. However, once they got going my expectations proved to be completely false; some of them were downright hysterical! They're not my-belly-hurts-from-laughing-so-hard funny, but they are pretty clever, and really go another level into the characters' personalities that we haven't seen before. Visual comedy takes up the majority of the bloopers, but there is some hilarious bits of dialogue thrown in, as well. The transition between each outtake could use some work, but several running gags help to tie the piece together.
Another unexpected treat comes in the abundance of
deleted scenes (about 16 minutes) included, which truly took me by surprise. Why they are included in the "Outtakes and Bloopers" sub-menu I don't quite understand, but nevertheless a total of 7 scenes are shown, collectively taking up quite a bit of time. Each one is preceded by an introduction with director Klay Hall and producer Sean Lurie explaining what's happening in each sequence, its context to the rest of the film, and why it was eliminated from the final product. Hall and Lurie, who continually look like they had quite fun creating the movie, discuss the deleted scenes comments from a Pixie Hollow-themed room where filmmakers apparently came to whenever they needed inspiration for the movie.
Disney park guests will enjoy watching
Pixie Hollow Comes to Walt Disney World (about 8 minutes), which covers the creation of the Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden, a new addition to the annual Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. Hall and Lurie return to discuss their part in helping influence WDW Cast Members in making the garden a reality. Also interviewed are Garden Festival Leader Eric Darden, Garden Designer Carla Schuman, Flower Specialist Heather Will-Browne, and Topiary Specialist Renee Worrell. Overall this bonus feature is very nicely put together, and takes viewers through many aspects (including initial development, topiary creation, and construction) of a seemingly simple project. It's certainly nice to see some attention given to the parks on DVDs, especially when it includes behind-the-scenes peeks like this does. Even better is when it goes in depth about a relatively small attraction such as the Fairy Garden.
Image copyright Disney.
Next is
the music video for "Gift of a Friend" by Demi Lovato (about 3 minutes), which mostly includes Lovato singing in a garden accompanied by clips from the film. The song summarizes the theme of friendship evoked in the movie, and will probably please the Disney Channel fans watching the disc.
Dylan & Cole Sprouse: Blu-ray is Suite! (about 5 minutes) is feature that's been appearing on various Disney DVDs this year and is basically an extended Blu-ray commercial. It features cast members of
The Suite Life of Zack & Cody the Sprouse twins and Kim Rhodes as themselves, but at the same time portraying personalities that are similar to their characters on TV. Most of it is very sales pitch-like, with a few cheesy jokes thrown in. There are indeed a few Disney jokes for fans, though.
Last is an explanatin of
DisneyFile Digital Copy (about 1 minute), which allows viewers to watch movies on the go with a digital copy of the film. Ironically, though,
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure does not include a digital copy, so the inclusion of the DisneyFile explanation is a bit puzzling.
As always,
Sneak Peeks (about 16 minutes) are included, this time featuring previews for
The Princess and the Frog,
Dumbo Special Edition, Disney Blu-ray, Disney Movie Rewards,
Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws,
Ponyo,
G-Force,
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Choo-Choo Express,
Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie, Pixie Hollow Online, Disney On Ice: Worlds of Fantasy, and
Sonny with a Chance. Also included is a first-look preview for
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Race, the third installment in the Disney Fairies series that's due out on Blu-ray and DVD in fall 2010. From the trailer, the film looks very sequel-ish and a bit like
Toy Story 2, but I think if it's executed properly it could be really special. The potential is certainly shown in the trailer, so hopefully it'll turn out to be a great film like it looks to be.
The DVD's menus include Pixie Dust underlining viewers' selection on the screen, making it visible to see where you're navigating. The main menu screen is animated, while submenus include still backgrounds accompanied by pieces of the film's score.
Wrapping It Up Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure succeeds at continuing to weave an entertaining tale of one of Disney's most timeless characters. It's not the next masterpiece, but it suffices at giving Tinker Bell her long-overdue time in the spotlight. Its character development is strong, but needs a little more balance - the characters it chooses to focus on have wonderfully imaginative personalities, while others have potential that seems to go to waste. Hopefully that task can be strengthened as the series progresses, as there are at least three more volumes to go.
The wealth of bonus material included is a very pleasant surprise. The numerous backstage peeks are appreciated greatly, as are the outtakes. I was expecting some sort of game to be included to satisfy younger viewers, but the set doesn't decrease in value because an activity is absent. Overall the film paired with the wealth of bonuses create a satisfying, if not pleasant, experience.
How do I rank
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure DVD? (
Bolded is my choice.)
Good movie +
very good bonus features =
Aaah!BlechNot goodGoodVery goodBrilliant Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure DVD will most likely please: Toddlers (ages 1-2) - Preschoolers (ages 3-4) - Kids (ages 5-7) - Older Kids (ages 8-10)
Related BlakeOnline articles:
DVD Review - "Peter Pan" Platinum Edition (posted March 9, 2007)DVD Review - "Tinker Bell" (posted November 29, 2008) By Blake; posted November 7, 2009. All images copyright Disney.
