A Tooth Fairy Tale Film Analysis: Animated Journey with a Touch of Family-Friendly Preteen Love Story
In this animated adventure for preteens, the world of fairies focuses on gathering baby teeth of slumbering youngsters and leaving gold under their pillows. Skateboarding 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 entirely reasonable. He’s only slightly more interested in the underlying economics 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 (voiced by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be not at all the ugly gnome he had imagined.
A Forbidden Bond and Shared Threat
The stage is set for an exciting quest with a gentle touch of young love (even though it remains very much suitable for children). The goblin and fairy communities are separated from each other, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to bring people together. The two species portrayed in the film are remarkably alike, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. The fairies are supposed to be entitled sorts, prone to stealing whatever they fancy, while goblins are reportedly dim-witted, smelly, and primitive, but are actually bright and technologically advanced.
Of course, such a setup needs a shared foe to unite against, and this is duly provided in the form of some nasty spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. They make no secret with these guys: they aim to devour the fairies and goblins, and they make for fairly bloodthirsty, though not especially competent, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
You won’t find all that many children’s animations targeting the viewer group that is beginning to have first crushes, but aren’t yet old enough for the content teenagers view these days instead of Twilight. Should your youngster is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to become their new all-time fave, but it’s a decent choice.
A Tooth Fairy Tale arrives in Scottish cinemas starting October 10 and the rest of the UK beginning October 24.