The Tooth Fairy Story Review: Animated Journey with a Touch of Kid-Appropriate Tween Romance
Throughout this animated adventure for preteens, the world of fairies is dedicated to gathering baby teeth of sleeping children and placing gold beneath where they sleep. Board-riding teenage rebel fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about devoting his life to collecting baby teeth—a feeling that’s completely understandable. He is just a bit more curious about the financial workings behind it all: the fairies deliver the teeth to unseen goblins, who supply gold as payment. But Van’s curiosity grows when he spots a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who proves to be not at all the ugly gnome he had imagined.
An Unlikely Connection and Common Enemy
The stage is set for an exciting quest with a gentle touch of young love (though it’s perfectly appropriate for children). The goblin and fairy groups are estranged from one another, and nothing fuels the excitement of secrecy to bring people together. Both groups portrayed in the film are remarkably alike, yet each holds biased views about the opposite side. The fairies are said to be entitled sorts, prone to taking anything they want, while the goblins are allegedly stupid, smelly, and primitive, but are in fact intelligent and advanced in technology.
Of course, such a setup needs a shared foe to join forces against, and this is duly provided in the form of a group of vicious spiders, voiced by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. They make no secret about their intentions: they want to eat the fairies and goblins, and they serve as quite savage, if not particularly skilled, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
There aren’t all that many children’s animations targeting the viewer group that is beginning to have first crushes, but aren’t yet old enough for whatever teenagers view these days in lieu of popular teen sagas. If your child is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to be their next all-time fave, but you could do worse.
A Tooth Fairy Tale releases in movie theaters in Scotland starting October 10 and across the United Kingdom beginning October 24.
