TINKER BELL AND THE LOST TREASURE (2009, Blu-ray released October 27, 2009 - MSRP $39.99)
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is the direct-to-video sequel to the popular fairy-grrrl original of last year - a movie that re-imagined Peter Pan’s mute pixie pal as a short-tempered, mechanically adept and quite verbose little sprite who chums around with her gang of winged gal-pals. Like ‘Bratz‘ with wings! These are films made to entertain little girls and to create a new franchise for Disney to exploit so I wasn’t expecting to get much out of this sequel beyond a sales pitch for toys. Imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed the film!
The moment the film began my girlfriend and I were taken aback by the visuals. There were a lot of exclamations of “Wow!” and “Holy Crap!” as it rolled through the opening sequence. Now, to be fair, this is the first film we’ve watched on our new 106″ motorized projection screen. So we were bound to be pleased with whatever we were watching. But I think that Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure was a particularly dazzling choice to inaugurate our PVC display.
Aside from the dazzling visuals, the film actually presents a fun little story. The plot is fairly pedestrian, following Tink on her quest to find the lost, magical treasure of the title - the only force capable of saving her home of Pixie Hollow and replenishing its fairy magic. Nothing we haven’t seen before. It’s the way the film tells the story that makes it feel a bit more fresh. It’s a kids film that doesn’t talk down to its audience. What a rarity! Most of the humour flows naturally from character moments and doesn’t need to be the forced slapstick variety we’re used to seeing in animation of this sort. The pacing of the film feels a bit awkward, with Tink spending a lot of time moping about, doubting herself and searching for a solution to her problem. But once she sets her sights on the quest the film takes off! Filled with slightly more promise than it delivers (Where were the Pirates!?! So many Pirate hints but no pay-off!!) Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is still a fun, if slight ride for adults but will no doubt prove to be an unadulterated crowd pleaser for the under-ten set.
As I mentioned above, this disc looks fabulous. I haven’t seen anything so vibrant coming from my projector in a long time. A completely impressive presentation from design, to animation to Blu-ray transfer. No matter what display you view the Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Disc on, you won’t be disappointed. And the 5.1 DTS -HD Master Audio track won’t disappoint either. It’s fairly front-centric and not as immersive as you might hope, but it’s solid and dynamic across the board.
The Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure Blu-ray Disc has quite a few special features, considering this is a direct to video release aimed at children. There is no content that addresses the film itself or gives any insight into its production but the extras should provide another half-hour or so of entertainment for the kids. Along with the requisite Disney music video, the disc provides a 5 minute tour around Pixie Hollow, a look at building a version of Tink’s home at Disney’s Epcot Center in Florida, a bonus DVD of the film and BD-Live functionality. The longest and most compelling bonus on the disc is the 20 minutes of “Outtakes and Bloopers”. Cut scenes are not fully realized and presented in early “sketch” version, introduced by the filmmakers.
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