A Tooth Fairy Tale Review: Animated Adventure with a Touch of Kid-Appropriate Tween Romance
In this animated adventure for preteens, the fairy community is dedicated to collecting baby teeth of sleeping children and placing treasure under their pillows. Board-riding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) is less than thrilled about spending his future to gathering baby teeth—a sentiment that’s completely understandable. He is just a bit more curious about the underlying economics behind it all: the fairies deliver the teeth to mysterious goblins, who supply gold in exchange. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he spots a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the ugly creature he had imagined.
A Forbidden Bond and Common Enemy
Everything is prepared for an adventure with a light sprinkling of teen romance (even though it remains perfectly appropriate for children). The fairy and goblin groups are estranged from one another, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to bring people as one. The two species as seen here are remarkably alike, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. The fairies are supposed to be self-centered types, given to taking whatever they fancy, while the goblins are reportedly dim-witted, smelly, and backward, but are actually bright and advanced in technology.
Of course, such a setup needs a common enemy to unite against, and that need is met by a group of vicious spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. They make no secret with these guys: they want to eat the fairies and goblins, and they make for quite savage, though not especially competent, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
You won’t find very many animated films targeting the viewer group that is starting to experience early romances, but aren’t yet mature enough for whatever 14-year-olds are watching in lieu of Twilight. Should your youngster falls into this age group, it probably won’t to be their next favorite movie, but it’s a decent choice.
A Tooth Fairy Tale releases in movie theaters in Scotland starting October 10 and the rest of the UK beginning October 24.
