Tinker Bell

Fledgling fairy Tinker Bell may have been “born of laughter, clothed in cheer,” but this direct-to-video computer-animated feature was clearly born of marketing. Since her memorable debut in Peter Pan, Tinker Bell has been an iconic Disney mascot, so it's a bit surprising that it took this long to launch her movie career. Sadly, the spunky sprite has been saddled with yet another bland, Disney-esque girl empowerment tale about the importance of “finding your wings” (but hey, why should Disney tinker with success?). Furthermore, Tink talks (just one of her glares in Peter Pan was worth a thousand words). Set in Pixie Hollow—where fairies toil to enhance the beauty of the four seasons—the sparse story finds Tinker Bell destined to be a tinker, but preferring to have a more “important” job. Even in this enchanted place, of course, a mean fairy—the jealous and speedy flier Vidia—is necessary to bring a little drama into Tinker Bell's life. The nefarious Vidia's plan to undermine her new rival Tink puts Spring in jeopardy, until Tinker Bell fulfills her destiny with a “we can do it” rescue mission to save the season. The impressive voice cast—including Anjelica Huston, Kristin Chenoweth, Pamela Adlon, Lucy Liu, Jesse McCartney, and Raven-Symone—are not really given much of a chance to shine. The computer animation conjures up a magical Pixie Hollow, but apart from Tinker Bell, who rocks her form-fitting leaf (go green, indeed), the other characters are hardly even distinctive. An optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include 13 minutes of deleted scenes, a 10-minute “Creating Pixie Hollow” making-of featurette, a “Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow” segment (8 min.), a “Tinker Trainer” activity featurette, an “Ever Wonder” segment on fairies (4 min.), the music video “Fly to Your Heart” by Selena Gomez, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a somewhat uninspired sequel.] (D. Liebenson)