ANIMATION; 1hr 18min
VOICES BY: Mae Whitman, Christina Hendricks, Tom Hiddleston
Wheely cute: Zarina and James
For a pint-sized sprite who has been around since 1904, J.M. Barrie’s Tinker Bell (perkily voiced by Whitman) is in damn fine shape. Which is more than can be said for Neverland’s Pixie Hollow when meddlesome Pixie Dust-Keeper Zarina (Mad Men’s Hendricks) messes with tradition in a big, bad way by stealing the precious, blue, flight-enabling dust and plunging the bulk of the eensy population into a narcotised sleep. Despite a mix-up of their powers, it falls to Tink and her gal crew to flit off in hot pursuit. It turns out Zarina has a pirate crew of her own (as a nascent Captain Hook, Thor’s Hiddleston is her duplicitous right hand, James) with grand plans of a larcenous, pixie dust-powered flying ship.
Kiddiewinks will be stoked to see that Disney’s fifth Tink outing is big on pep and easy on the eyes. Even 78 minutes can seem like an eternity, but the fairies are a buzzy bunch, the intrigue fizzes and the animation glows. And yes, there’s a moral. (Of course, there is!) Teamwork can move mountains, and villainy seldom prospers. In gravity-defying fairyland, at least.
