Tinker Bell And The Secret Of The Wings Review

There were many highlights on my trip to LA last month including walking the white carpet for Frankenweenie, but if you ask my daughter about my trip she will tell you that I went to LA to screen TINKER BELL (caps to emphasize her excitement and accompanying squeals of delight). Never mind all of the cool people I met or the four other movies I screened, in her world there was only one movie and one reason to fly across country – fairies.

I have to admit, as I walked into DisneyToon Studios I was giddy. I love Tinkerbell and her fairy friends almost as much as my daughter, plus I spent the entire day thinking about how excited my daughter will be when she gets to see the movie.

The day just kept getting better and better, before the movie started I met John Lasseter. Yes, I met John Lasseter. In all fairness, he didn’t exactly meet me. He introduced himself to our group of 25 and chatted candidly about Tink for a few minutes before heading off to a meeting (which was about something uber cool I am sure), but I stood less than 2 feet away, and it was way cool.

In Tinker Bell And The Secret Of The Wings fans of the series are introduced to the “missing” season – winter. Do to its harsh cold,  the Winter Woods remains a mysterious and forbidden place for Tinker Bell and the other warm season fairies. Of course, the curious Tink cannot help but to be drawn into beautiful world beyond the border and slyly ventures into the cold – just for a peak.

Experiencing the chill of winter for the first time, Tink notices something amazing – her wings sparkle. Positive that sparkling wings must mean something wonderful, she sets off in search of the Keeper to discover what it means. Her journey leads her to discover something truly wonderful, Tinker Bell has a sister.

Born from the same laugh (remember, when a baby laughs for the first time a fairy gets its wings), Tinker Bell and Periwinkle delight in the many ways they are similar from identical wings to a love for pom-poms. As the two learn more about one another, they can’t imagine living apart again, so they set forth a plan to convince Queen Clarion and Lord Milori that border between the world should be open. When things go terribly wrong, the winter fairies come to the rescue of the warm fairies and everyone realizes that the worlds need each other.

I won’t spoil the ending, but it is a Disney happy ending.

The Secret Of The Wings is a beautiful addition to the Tinker Bell series both visually and emotionally. I believe it even surpasses The Great Fairy Rescue as my new favorite Tinker Bell story. I love the colors and the introduction into another fairy world, and most of all I love that Tink has a sister who is just as adorable and loving as Tinker Bell.

While I watched the movie in DisneyToon Studio’s screening room (awesome BTW), I thought about my daughter as I was swept away by the story. As concern for the fairies’ precious tree grew, I knew that the climax of the movie would be worrisome for my daughter. Like her mother, she tends to become very emotionally involved in movies and truly frets over the safety of her friends on-screen. Prepared for that moment when our own copy of the movie arrived, I was right there for an extra snuggle as she gasped aloud and worried about the fairies. Her distress was short as Disney was quick to bring about the solution to the problem and thus the happy ending. Moments later, she was up and dancing to the credits.

Did she love it? You bet! She’s ready to watch it again tonight.

Speaking of dancing to the credits, I have to mention that I love the choice of the McClain Sisters to perform the title tracks. Not only do their voices lend perfectly to the songs, but the additional dept of sisters singing together makes me smile. Great job girls!

When the credits roll the first name that appears is Peggy Holmes, and at the conclusion of our screening we had a chance to meet Peggy and hear more about the process of developing The Secret Of The Wings. Have you ever met someone and instantly realized how perfect they are for their job? That’s Peggy. I just loved listening to her talk with pure excitement about the process of developing this new Tinker Bell story. It was infectious.

The most remarkable thing she talked about was the use of experts who were brought in to consult on factual details for the film. It’s an animated, fiction movie, and yet experts were consulted for everything to make the story as believable as possible. From a twin expert to a doctor in snow and even a hair expert to shed some light on how hair should move on the screen to make it look realistic in both 2D and 3D, Disney did its homework. And the end result is a beautiful classic for families to enjoy.

I couldn’t get Peggy to give any clues about the next chapter in Tink’s story, but she assured me that there is more to come for the fairies. (Pssst – there is a sneak peek of the new Tinker Bell movie, Spring 2014, on the Blu-Ray. Sqeee!)

Tinker Bell And The Secret Of The Wings will be released on DVD / Blu-Ray and 3D on October 23, 2012 and now available for pre-order on Amazon the DVD is $19.96, $24.99 for the 2-disk DVD / Blu-Ray and $29.66 for the 3-Disc Blu-Ray / DVD / 3D version. (Remember Amazon’s pre-order guarantee – if the price drops before release, you will get the lowest price. You can also take advantage of Amazon’s offer for $10 off a Disney Princess: My Fairytale Adventure video game when purchased with the Blu-Ray / DVD / 3D version.

Disclosure – I was invited to attend this premiere as part of a blogger weekend. All air fair and lodging was provided, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own.