Tinker Bell (2009)

I've never met a little girl who didn't like fairies, so when Disney announced they were making a movie entirely devoted to Tinker Bell, I knew they were in for a sure fire hit. And of course all the clothes and dolls and toys that go along with it - man, I wish I was in the children's entertainment industry!

"Tinker Bell" was an enjoyable film. We begin by learning how a fairy is born - when a child laughs, the sound of that laughter is carried on a breeze to Pixie Hollow, where it grows into a fairy. That fairy is then given a test to determine his or her special talent. They are shown symbols of the different talents they might possess, and when they feel an attachment to one of the symbols, they know that is the field they should pursue. When Tinker Bell comes to Pixie Hollow, she is attracted to the stone hammer, which glows at her approach. She is proclaimed to be a tinker and is shown her new home.

She's content at first with her assignment, fixing things that break and creating bowls and spoons for use in the hollow, but soon she notices that the nature fairies are getting ready for spring. They will fly to the mainland and paint the sky beautiful springtime shades, they'll cause the flowers to bloom, and they'll wake the earth from the dead of winter. Suddenly, Tinker Bell's lowly placement in life seems too much to bear, and she begs to trade assignments.

In her eagerness to be more important, she causes a lot of havoc and destruction, but by embracing her tinker skills, she is able to rectify her mistakes and she realizes that every fairy has his or her own special place for a reason.

This movie was mild, with no real peril or conflict. You can enjoy it with your very young children, although some parents might find themselves nodding off from time to time. Rated G.


Mini Reviews:

"Next" -- I recently enjoyed this Nicholas Cage thriller about a man who can see two minutes into the future and is asked by the FBI to help locate an atomic bomb. Some language and some violence, it's a little intense for kids, but put them to bed and enjoy the movie with your honey. Rated PG-13.

"Under the Greenwood Tree" -- really has nothing to do with a tree at all. This period piece is centered around Fancy Day, a young woman who has moved into a village where young women are scarce. Not surprisingly, she receives three offers of marriage before the movie's end, but she must choose her own heart. There were some nice heart-fluttery scenes in this one, and yes, the characters actually do kiss, unlike some period pieces I won't mention. This film was unrated.

"Impromptu" is inspired by the true story of the love affair between female author George Sand and the composer Chopin. The characters are often depicted as living tortured lives, trying to figure out how to cope with the immense amount of talent they've been given. Their choices aren't always the most moral and this is depicted to some extent within the film, but I found it fairly historically accurate (as these things go) and I appreciated the look into the lives of these immensely gifted people. This film was rated PG-13.


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