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Ever since the direct-to-video release of Disney’s Tinker Bell in 2008, little girls have eagerly followed along with headstrong Tink and her fairy friends as they learned valuable lessons about friendship, family, and being true to yourself. But in The Pirate Fairy, the fairies take on a bigger, badder, more dangerous challenge.
Disney’s latest fairy adventure introduces Zarina (voiced by Christina Hendricks), a dust-keeper fairy who wants to learn more about pixie dust and how it works. When she goes a little overboard with her secret experiments and gets fired from her job, she decides to leave Pixie Hollow.
When Zarina returns, it’s to steal the powerful blue pixie dust that keeps everything in Pixie Hollow running. Tinker Bell (Mae Whitman) and her friends follow Zarina, only to discover that she’s become the captain of a pirate ship. And it’s up to them to stop Zarina and the pirates and return the blue pixie dust to Pixie Hollow.
It may be a straight-to-video release, but Disney’s latest fairy adventure is actually better than some other studios’ major theatrical releases. The animation is vibrant and beautiful and imaginative, whether the characters are at home in Pixie Hollow, venturing inside Skull Rock, or sailing the high seas on a pirate ship.
The characters, too, are fun and unique—each with her own talents, interests, and personality. Every young viewer will be able to relate to one of the characters—whether it’s Tinker Bell, who likes to build things, Rosetta, who loves plants, or Fawn, who cares for the animals. And Zarina makes a great new addition to the cast. She’s inquisitive and resourceful—and even though her failure to play by the rules causes a whole lot of trouble for everyone, her curiosity and creativity are still admirable qualities.
Unfortunately, though, the story loses its focus a bit in the middle. The idea of the fairies taking on a band of pirates is a clever one, allowing the franchise to branch out into other parts of Never Land while offering back story on some familiar characters. And, as an added bonus, the sword-fighting scalawags also make the movie more little-brother-friendly. But the pirates’ part of the movie doesn’t fit as neatly into the fairies’ adventure as it could, and it often feels more like a lengthy aside than an important part of the story.
Still, the pirates (led by the wonderfully villainous voice of Tom Hiddleston) add some thrills to the story, making The Pirate Fairy more action-packed than the average fairy adventure. And the mix of pirates and swashbuckling fairies makes it a movie that both the girls and the boys in your family can enjoy together.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of The Pirate Fairy also offers a variety of extras. For kids, there are two additional pirate-themed fairy shorts, two sing-along songs, and Croc-u-mentary, a documentary that offers a brief look at real-life crocodiles.
For those who are more interested in a behind-the-scenes look at animation, meanwhile, there are four deleted scenes with commentary and two making-of features. Second Star to the Right: The Legacy of Never Land shows how filmmakers used the existing world of Peter Pan to create the latest fairy adventure. And The Making of “The Frigate that Flies” talks to Tom Hiddleston about his experiences in lending his voice to James the pirate.
As is often the case with Disney releases, the special features offer a little bit of something for every interest. If you’ve got the time to check out a few of the extras, I recommend starting with the shorts for kids or The Making of “The Frigate that Flies” for grown-ups (especially if you happen to be a fan of Tom Hiddleston).
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