Tinker Bell y el tesoro perdido

My mother, wife and I just took our 3-year old daughter to her first movie, and since she loved the first Tinker Bell DVD so much, we couldn't have chosen a better first than the sequel. We are fortunate enough to live in Los Angeles and have been to a couple of El Capitan screenings; if you ever get the opportunity it's an experience not-to-be missed. At $11 for the adults and $10 for children it's not especially cheap, especially considering that the DVD will hit stores on October 27 with a list price of less than the price of two adult tickets. However, the movie is playing at exactly ONE theater in the entire U.S. and for a week only. Disney did the same thing last year with the release of the first Tinkerbell movie.

As always once you're seated you're treated to a pre-show performance by Rob Richards on the theater's beautiful organ. The show's only just started though, when screening time comes an elaborate screen/miniature set plays some great animation reminiscent of the grand film palaces of the past. With every movie at the theater there's also a live-movie specific pre-show, for Tink it's just a single actress playing the titular hero who does a quick Irish jig similar to "Riverdance".

Previews: Toy Story 3, A Christmas Carol, Princess & The Frog. The first two were in 3-D with glasses provided. I hadn't seen any of Disney Digital's previous films, but I'll be darned if I don't want to see both of the upcoming 3D features, and I'm not a huge Jim Carrey fan! The preview for the most recent Disney Princess movie also contained a promotion for the exclusive 2-week engagement at the Disney Studios in Burbank

My daughter has just about worn out our copy of the first film in the Disney Fairies series, so we figured that she'd enjoy this one too, and she did, but being a 3-year old she was more afraid of the dark than anything else. The film itself is as good, if not better than the first one. We don't need any clunky origin story in this film, and thankfully there's no recap of the first movie either. The characters are all reintroduced, even if most of the familiar faces have little more than extended cameos. This is definitely Tink's adventure, shared with Terrence the Dust Keeper.

After the obligatory plot exposition beginning we get a few scenes of Tink and Terrence working on the big project, which of course ends badly. Tink then sets off in search of the Lost Treasure of the title in a home-made "balloon". There are some great action sequences and some minor thrills, but nothing too scary. No big villains either, some comical trolls and some nasty looking red-eyed rats are about as scary as you get. The end sequence is a beautifully animated celebration that was just about the best eye-candy that I've seen in a "kiddie" movie, and certainly was enhanced by the big-screen presentation.

The voice acting is all very well performed, if not exceptional. As I previous said most of the major characters from the first film don't really have a lot of scenes in this one. Each of Tink's friends get one or two standout moments, and they all get costume re-designs reflecting the colder weather of Fall. Rosetta's new outfit was especially pleasing to me, as I loved her original outfit but was really surprised at how much I liked her new top. Have I spent too much time watching the first movie? Yes, I have. As I said, my 3-year old has just about worn out our DVD. I've seen the first movie easily over 100 times in the last year.

I would have to say that my biggest gripe is that the film, when blown up on the big-screen, made some of the characters look like little more than animate dolls. It's especially noticeable in two-shots with Tink and another character (usually Terrence). The animation and production design of this film is really top-notch, every outdoor sequence looked fantastic and was filled with detail that you will miss when it's translated to your home TV. The backgrounds are simply sumptuous, and the fly-overs (of which there are many) are pure glamor-shots that don't disappoint. There's also a ton of homages and in-jokes to Peter Pan and the rest of the Disney oeuvre. A feast for the eyes is not understatement here.

A few random notes:

America Ferrera does not return as the voice of Fawn. While Vidia (Pamela Adlon) appears, I don't actually recall her having any lines. I could be mistaken though. The voice of the Minister of Autumn, is John DiMaggio, better known as Bender from Futurama Queen Clarion's skirt is really something to behold.

Sometimes when you go see a film at the El Cap sometimes there's even more extra perks. Today Rob Paulsen and Jeff Bennett the voices of Bobble & Clank, as well as the trolls, were doing a free signing at the Soda Fountain next door. Since Rob Paulsen is also better known as "Pinky" and "Yakko Warner" from Animaniacs/Pinky & The Brain it was a real treat for me to get his signature. I had hoped to bring our Animaniacs Season 1 DVD, but sadly forgot it. I did make my wife's Cell Phone ring, since her ring-tone is "I'm Cute" from the show. Rob sang along with us, and it was a magical moment. I've now met both Pinky and the Brain, as I met Maurice LeMarche aka The Brain, many years ago at a SDCC.

Not only that, but all kids in attendance got a nifty little Tinkerbell Coin Purse too. The service was fairly standard Disney quality, which when compared to most other major amusements is better than average

All fans of Tinker Bell and her first movie have no reason to worry; "Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure" is a full-worthy sequel to the first movie. Considering that there's only one year of absence between the movies, the filmmakers have done a good job to make this a complete movie and not only a product for cash-cowing, like it easily could have been.

Although I enjoyed last years Tinker Bell adventure, I definitively enjoyed this film more. The previews who were released before the movie came out seemed very promising and the final movie definitively lived up to the expectations. This "sequel" is more dynamic in many ways. It opens with the catchy and inspiring "If You Believe". The plot is more engaging, more suspenseful and it has a few more action sequences than it's predecessor, but this is after all a G-rated family film, so it never crosses the line.

The film focus more on the relationship between Tink and Terence this time, which serves the movie well. Tink herself is presented as a versatile character and the fact that she actually talks feels never distracting in neither of the movies.

Otherwise, this film has the cuteness-factor like the first flick had, which only makes the experience more enjoyable, but it's also a bit more edgier in terms of the adventurous plot. The animation is even better this time, the characters are still likable and the cute score of Joel McNeely fits the movie well. Besides, there are more humor in the screenplay.

So don't hesitate by seeing this movie when it comes to DVD. It is a cute and sweet movie experience and a wonderful movie threat for kids and every Tinker Bell fan.

Having enjoyed the first Tinkerbell I was all for watching this one too. And I liked it just as much. It is too short, with some uneven pacing and insipid dialogue in between, but actually for what it set out to do it was a very nice movie.

The animation is surprisingly very good, not all plastic no substance sort of animation, but quite colourful and somewhat warm and the characters are well modelled. The music is very fitting, memorable and soothing too, while the story while simple is cute and charming with a nice message told subtly.

The characters are engaging, there is more of a focus on Tink and Terence which is not distracting at all and is quite cute, and the voice acting is as good as it can be. All in all, very nice and ideal for especially young girls. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I second what most of these reviews seem to say.

Surprisingly great movie. Watched it with my 4 year old daughter expecting another god-awful kids movie that unquestionably scars their subconscious in some way I haven't even thought of. Instead, found myself enjoying the hero quest - as much as if I were watching Visionquest with Fiorentino.

A real movie, stunningly unexpected given the lameness of its progenitor.

I am amazed this has not received more attention. It's definitely and outlier in the genre.

This is another great film from the world of Pixie Hollow. I've always loved Tinker Bell, and I think this film is another great addition to the adventures that she gets involved with.

This time, Autumn is coming, and Tinker Bell is chosen to create a scepter to hold a precious and fragile blue moonstone so that blue pixie dust can be created to restore the Pixie Dust Tree. But when her friend Terence creates annoyance by trying to be too helpful, she not only gets into an argument with him, but accidentally breaks the moonstone. Hoping to repair the moonstone, she goes on a quest to find a magic mirror which grants wishes.

The voice cast is great, the music is wonderful and it's just a wonderful film, even if, like the first one, it only goes for a short time. However, the return of Rob Paulsen and Jeff Bennett as Bobble and Clank provide great laughs for the film with their fireworks launcher! It's a fantastic film, and another great addition to the world of Tinker Bell.