Tinker Bell is a 2008 American animated film and the first installment in the Disney Fairies franchise produced by DisneyToon Studios. It is about Tinker Bell, a fairy character created by J. M. Barrie in his 1904 play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, and featured in the 1953 Disney animated film, Peter Pan and its 2002 sequel Return to Neverland. Unlike Disney's two Peter Pan films featuring the character, which were produced primarily using traditional animation, Tinker Bell was produced using digital 3D modeling. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on October 28, 2008. A sequel, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, was released in 2009.
Tinker Bell is the first Disney film to feature Tinker Bell in a speaking role. Actress Brittany Murphy was originally selected for the part before the role went to Mae Whitman. The film follows Tinker Bell’s origin story, before she met Peter Pan, as she works out her place in Pixie Hollow and struggles with what her “talent” is.
Plot[]
Tinker Bell (Mae Whitman) is born from the first laugh of a baby and is brought by the winds to Pixie Hollow (which is part of the island of Neverland), and Queen Clarion (Anjelica Huston) welcomes her. She learns that her talent is to be one of the tinkers, the fairies who make and fix things. Two other tinker fairies, Bobble (Rob Paulsen) and Clank (Jeff Bennett) show her around Pixie Hollow, teach her their craft and show her her house.
While out working, the trio are hit by sprinting thistles, a type of menacing weed. Tinker Bell meets Silvermist (Lucy Liu), a water fairy; Rosetta (Kristin Chenoweth), a garden fairy; Iridessa (Raven-Symoné), a light fairy; and Fawn (America Ferrera), an animal fairy. They tell her about the fairies who visit the mainland to bring each season. Tinker Bell is thrilled and cannot wait to go to the mainland for spring. After meeting them, she notices Vidia (Pamela Adlon), a fast-flying fairy who immediately dislikes her because of her unusually strong talent. Vidia challenges her to prove she will be able to go to the mainland, and Tinker Bell creates several inventions but messes up with them while showing them to the Minister of Spring (Steve Valentine). Tinker Bell then learns from Queen Clarion that only nature-talent fairies visit the mainland. She talks with Fairy Mary (Jane Horrocks), the tinker fairy overseer, who tries to please her with who she is, but instead inspires her to "switch her talent".
She tries her hand at nature skills; making dewdrops with Silvermist, lighting fireflies with Iridessa, and trying with Fawn to teach baby birds to fly, but she fails miserably at all of these. Meanwhile, Bobble and Clank cover for Tinker Bell when questioned by Fairy Mary. When Tinker Bell returns, she tries to explain, but Mary simply responds that she knows, and expresses her disappointment with Tinker Bell's actions.
On the beach, Tinker Bell finds parts of a music box and figures out how to put them together. Iridessa, Fawn, Silvermist, and Rosetta witness her doing this, then tell her that she should be proud of her talent — if this is what she's good at, the mainland should not matter. But Tinker Bell still wants to go to the mainland. She asks Rosetta if she will still teach her to be a garden fairy, to which she doesn't respond any differently.
As a last resort, Tinker Bell asks Vidia to teach her how to be a fast-flying fairy, then explains that her friends gave up on her. Vidia craftily tells her that capturing the sprinting thistles would prove her worth as a garden fairy. However, once she sees Tinker Bell making progress, she lets the captured thistles loose, and in attempting to recapture them, they destroy all the preparations for spring. Tinker Bell decides to leave, but after talking with Terence (Jesse McCartney), a dust-keeper fairy, about how important his job is, she realizes the importance of a tinker.
Tinker Bell redeems herself by inventing machines that quicken the process of decorating flowers, ladybugs, etc. This allows the other fairies to get back on schedule, thus saving the arrival of spring. Vidia is punished for prompting her to cause the chaos, and Queen Clarion allows Tinker Bell to join the nature-talent fairies when they bring spring to the mainland, which she declines having realised her talent. However, Fairy Mary arrives with the music box Tinker Bell fixed and gives her the task of delivering it to its original owner, who is shown to be Wendy Darling. The narrator ends by saying that when lost toys are found or a broken clock starts to work, "it all means that one very special fairy might be near."
Cast[]
- Mae Whitman as Tinker Bell, a tinker fairy born of a baby's first laugh. She is fascinated by stories about the mainland and is thus discouraged to learn that tinkers do not go there. She tries to learn various other skills before finally accepting, with the help of her friends, that she truly is a tinker. She helps to repair the massive damage she created and is rewarded, as she is allowed to join the nature fairies on their trip, where she delivers Wendy her lost toy.
- Kristin Chenoweth as Rosetta, a garden fairy who at first agrees to teach Tinker Bell how to garden, but later changes her mind after seeing Tinker Bell fix a music box.
- Raven-Symoné as Iridessa, a light fairy who tries to teach Tinker Bell to light fireflies. She is often the first to voice discomfort about Tinker Bell not wanting to accept her job as a tinker.
- Lucy Liu as Silvermist, a water fairy who tries to teach Tinker Bell to make dewdrops. She is possessed of a sassy sense of humor.
- America Ferrera as Fawn, an animal fairy who tries to teach Tinker Bell to get baby birds to fly. She is the closest to Tinker Bell and expresses her desire for her to be happy, which she suggests is in tinkering.
- Jane Horrocks as Fairy Mary, the overseer of the tinker fairies, who expresses high hope for Tinker Bell. She is greatly disappointed to learn that Tinker Bell does not like being a tinker, but is pleased to see her accept her job and help repair the damage caused to Spring. Mary charges her with delivering the toy she repaired after she becomes a nature fairy.
- Jesse McCartney as Terence, the pixie-dust keeper, who is surprised to find out that Tinker Bell knows his name. In mentioning how his job is unimportant, he causes Tinker Bell to remark just how important it is, and realize her own importance.
- Jeff Bennett as Clank, a large tinker fairy with a booming voice. He is usually found with Bobble or Tinker Bell.
- Rob Paulsen as Bobble, a wispy tinker fairy with large glasses who helps Tink out; he is usually found with Clank or with Cheese, a mouse.
- Pamela Adlon as Vidia, a fast-flying fairy, Tinker Bell's rival and the film's main antagonist. She is humiliated by Tinker Bell when they both choose the same hiding space from a hawk, and Vidia has a load of berries fall on her. When Tinker Bell comes to her for help, Vidia craftily suggests that Tink capture sprinting thistles. Vidia is later punished for her part in this.
- Anjelica Huston as Queen Clarion, the queen of all Pixie Hollow, who gives Tinker Bell her job and oversees the four seasons. Queen Clarion is wary of Tinker Bell's eagerness; she is proved correct when Tinker Bell accidentally destroys the preparations for spring after being sabotaged by Vidia. Queen Clarion nevertheless forgives Tinker Bell after Tinker Bell helps repair the damage done. Queen Clarion then rewards Tinker Bell by allowing her to go to the mainland.
- Loreena McKennitt as The Narrator, who relates the importance of fairies as it applies to reality.
- Steve Valentine as The Minister of Spring, the grand master of spring, who makes sure everything is finished in time.
- Kathy Najimy as The Minister of Summer
- Richard Portnow as The Minister of Autumn
- Gail Borges as The Minister of Winter
- America Young as Wendy Darling, the girl whose toy Tinker Bell repaired. She is given it back at the end of the film.
- Kat Cressida as Mrs. Darling
- Bob Bergen as Fireflies