The Movie
The second movie in a proposed quadrilogy of direct-to-video splendor, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is clearly aimed at the young female demographic, recounting as it does the ongoing adventures of the plucky, golly-gee-whiz heroine. She still has a lot to learn about life, but then so do the other nature-fairy denizens of her Pixie Hollow home. (Except for the elders. They know everything.)
Each of the four is/will be themed around one of the seasons, and in Lost Treasure it's autumn, with Tink being tasked with the creation of a ceremonial scepter to hold The Moon Stone. Said stone is essential to the survival of a life-giving tree at this critical time of year, but wouldn't you know, it shatters while in Tink's possession, forcing her to undergo a perilous journey in the hopes of righting her clumsy mistake. New friends and old come to her aid, and while I won't give away the ending... did I mention that there are going to be two more movies?
The Picture
This is truly feature film-quality digital animation, well served by this high-definition 1.78:1 presentation. If we freeze-frame, often individual specks of Pixie Dust can have unique shapes, and the fairies' wings are translucent, rendered with a barely-there audacity that never would have flown in the standard-def era. Ringing can taint some of the softer glows of light, and at least one character's face, but the overall clarity and the strong colors in their distinctive autumnal range make this one of the first direct-to-video titles I've reviewed that could be called "reference-quality."
The Sound
While it might not pack the same punch as some of the big action flicks I've written about recently, Lost Treasure clearly flaunts its 5.1 status, in DTS-HD Master Audio, yet. There's a nice surround bit when a hot ember bounces all around Tink's teapot house, and later when she drifts through an oncoming swarm of crazed fireflies. The rears are well-utilized for subtle environmental cues in a variety of locales, and to enhance the music, which is surprisingly good. Leaves can rustle delicately all around us, front-to-back directionality is exercised for skipping stones, back-to-front for a catapult, while a touch of bass helps make the gags that much funnier. This is a solid if not spectacular track.
The Extras
The bonus five-minute short, "Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow," takes us through the autumn section of Tinker Bell's community, in a more stripped-down animation style. "Outtakes & Bloopers" includes two sections, "Scenes You Never Saw" (amusing make-believe bloopers in full, finished video quality, four minutes) and deleted scenes with director/producer introductions; 16 minutes, eight scenes in all. "Backstage Disney: Pixie Hollow Comes to Walt Disney World" talks up a new attraction in Orlando (eight minutes), and "The Gift of a Friend" music video by Demi Lovato runs about 3 minutes, encoded as a high-bitrate MPEG-2, with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio.
Disc One is also BD-Live-enabled, albeit with no title-specific content available two weeks after street date. Disc Two is a DVD version of Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, a found treasure for any parent who doesn't want the young'uns monopolizing the home theater when they want to watch Tink. Again.
Final Thoughts
I was dreading this one frankly, worried that the Hollywood (okay, Burbank) sweetness would necessitate an insulin shot by the time the end credits rolled. But Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is more engaging than some of the branded movies my daughters are drawn to, with some twists and timeless lessons. And I might even consider leaving it playing--muted--just to show off my HDTV.
Product Details
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