The Tooth Fairy Story Film Analysis: Animated Adventure with a Touch of Kid-Appropriate Tween Romance
In this cartoon journey aimed at tweens, the world of fairies focuses on collecting baby teeth of slumbering children and leaving gold beneath where they sleep. Board-riding teenage rebel fairy Van (voiced by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about devoting his life to collecting baby teeth—a feeling that’s entirely reasonable. He is just a bit more curious about the financial workings of the situation: the fairies deliver the teeth to unseen goblins, who provide metal as payment. But Van’s curiosity grows when he spots a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the ugly gnome he had imagined.
A Forbidden Bond and Common Enemy
Everything is prepared for an exciting quest with a gentle touch of teen romance (though it’s very much suitable for younger kids). The goblin and fairy communities are estranged from one another, and nothing fuels the excitement of secrecy to unite beings together. The two species as seen here are remarkably alike, yet each holds biased views about the opposite side. Fairies are supposed to be self-centered sorts, given to taking anything they want, while the goblins are allegedly stupid, smelly, and primitive, but are in fact bright and technologically advanced.
Of course, this scenario requires a shared foe to join forces against, and that need is met in the form of a group of vicious spiders, voiced by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. There’s no beating about the bush with these guys: they aim to devour the fairies and goblins, and they make for quite savage, if not particularly skilled, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
There aren’t very many children’s animations targeting the kind of audience that is starting to experience early romances, but are not mature enough for the content teenagers view these days instead of Twilight. If your child is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to become their new favorite movie, but it’s a decent choice.
The Tooth Fairy Story arrives in Scottish cinemas starting October 10 and the rest of the UK from 24 October.
