STUDIO: Sony
RELEASE DATE: October 28, 2008
STARRING: (THE VOICES OF) Kristin Chenoweth, American Ferrera, Jane Horrocks, Anjelica Huston, Lucy Liu, Jesse McCartney, Kathy Najimy, Rob Paulsen, Richard Portnow, Raven-Symone, Steve Valentine, Mae Whitman, and America Young
WRITTEN BY: Jeffrey M. Howard
DIRECTED BY: Bradley Raymond
FEATURES: Tinker Trainer -- Hone Your Skills As A Tinker Fairy In this All-New Activity
Magical Guide To Pixie Hollow -- Discover The Ancient Realm Of Fairies With Tinker Bell
Ever Wonder -- Discover How Fairies Put The "Wonder" In Natural Wonders
Creating Pixie Hollow -- See How The Humans Created This Magical Realm
All-New Music Video -- Performed By Disney Channel's Selena Gomez
Deleted Scenes
And More!

Disney's Tinker Bell is cute, cute, and more cute. This G-rated, very kid-friendly, straight-to-DVD companion piece to one of my favorite Disney movies of all time, Peter Pan, won't appeal to the babysitter or the parents as much as the wee ones, but it does have that undefinable Disney charm and has been given a Blu-Ray treatment that would make some theatrical animated film producers jealous. It's not that there's nothing here for the adults, but I have to admit that Tinker Bell made me feel older than the average Disney movie. This is the brave new world of Disney with sparkling CGI animation. Having grown up renting battered VHS tapes of the two-dimensional Disney classics that would set the foundation for my love of cinema, I'm taken aback by something like Tinker Bell on Blu-Ray. I wonder if even Walt Disney himself would have thought that lavishly produced CGI film like this one would make its debut on the home market instead of being an event like all of the movies that he was personally involved in making. There also seems to be a heavy focus on the visual, where the best Disney movies have always been heavy on storytelling. There's gorgeous imagery in most Disney classics, but it's always in service of a fantastic story. Tinker Bell feels like part of a shift in the philosophy of at least one floor of the mouse house, putting the emphasis on beautiful high-definition, CGI creations. The kids won't mind but I hope they still go back to those classics (like the perfection of the recent Sleeping Beauty release) and just use movies like Tinker Bell as a diversion. As long as Tinker Bell is treated as an appetizer or desert for true Disney masterpieces like Peter Pan or Sleeping Beauty, it's better than average. But it's not a complete meal.

Tinker Bell is, technically, a prequel to Peter Pan, as it tells the story of the creation of the classic fairy. Every time a baby laughs for the first time, a fairy is created in Pixie Hollow, a magical place that helps create nature and the seasons. So, Tinker Bell is an origin story, where our heroine learns about her role in fairy culture and the rest of society. With the help of a classically fat-and-thin pair of friends for comic relief and her new fairy friends, Tinker Bell learns about nature and the importance of being true to yourself. Naturally, with a plot that focuses on rainbows and the changing seasons, the chance for beautiful, HD imagery is high. Tinker Bell is a G-rated film that is meant to be a visual diversion for very young children. If they learn a lesson about girl power, mother nature, or anything else important, that's just a bonus.

As I noted in my review for Sleeping Beauty, easily one of the best Blu-Ray releases of all time, Disney is changing the game in the format. Their animated picture quality in 1080p High Definition is shockingly beautiful and Tinker Bell is no exception. The colors are so well-defined and perfectly calibrated that it can freeze someone in their tracks. Honestly, Best Buy would sell thousands more TVs this holiday season if they used solely Disney DVDs to show off the true potential of HD TVs. The special features on Tinker Bell follow the focus of the film and skew more towards games, music videos, and other extras meant to entertain the demographic that watches The Disney Channel. There is an informative behind-the-scenes featurette called "Creating Pixie Hollow" for older fans interested in the production of Tinker Bell and the truly excellent Disney BD-Live feature, which allows viewers to chat and share clips with friends and family around the world.

The straight-to-DVD Disney movie is not new. There has been everything from The Hunchback of Notre Dame II to The Lion King 1 1/2 but Tinker Bell feels like a step forward in the sub-genre. It's the first one to be released on Blu-Ray and it looks and sounds spectacular. Disney collectors who might have skipped the straight-to-DVD Disney releases in the past should check it out and for families with kids elementary school age and lower, it's a must-own this holiday season.