The Movie
Disney continues their series of direct-to-video animated adventures starring Peter Pan's favorite pixie with Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue. There will be one movie for each season when they're done, and this is summer edition, so Tink and her friends are off to camp. Far from the safety of Pixie Hollow, in a British meadow, she makes contact with a human for the first time, a lonely young girl named Lizzy who just so happens to dream about fairies.
The two spend a magical rainy day and night together, learning about one another, but when Tink's posse comes to claim her, a rapid series of events leads to the capture of Tink's sister fairy Vidia by Lizzy's father, who just happens to be an expert in little winged creatures. He intends to present her at a scientific conference in London, ending their secret existence forever.
Structurally, this one is a bit hinky, as the "rescue" shown in the trailer is not really undertaken until well into Act Three. I found myself waiting for this one to really begin, and then before I knew it, it was over.
The Picture
From the first frames, the colors and the razor-sharp detail of The Great Fairy Rescue are simply breathtaking. Focus is manipulated deftly, as if to flaunt what's possible with current digital animation. And on that note, when the fairies' translucent, barely-there wings are seen up close and stationary, we can see that there is a distinct pattern within. I doubt that such subtlety could even be rendered a few years ago.
The filmmakers never shy away from brutally difficult textures, even giving us brief scenes viewed through imperfect glass. The quality of some images blurs the line between animation and photo-realism. There's an ever-so-slight streaking in motion, and brights are the tiniest tad harsh, but not so much that I would knock off any stars from the rating.
The Sound
The DTS-HD Master Audio meanwhile is somewhat uneven. At times--and not all that often--the mix can be aggressive, with ample off-camera action behind us. But the more elaborate action sequences are not especially dynamic. Scenes like Tink flying around inside a working car engine could have been stellar, instead they're just okay. Thunder is believable albeit gentle, without much bass, but the frequent rain fills the room at least. Unlike the previous two films, Rescue is set largely indoors, in a mundane setting, with a lot of simple dialogue. So the sound here doesn't measure up to the picture.
The Extras
Five deleted scenes include video introductions by director Bradley Raymond and producer Helen Kalafitic, who provide interesting background for each. All are in various unfinished stages, about 15 minutes total. Rising Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler sings "How to Believe" in a three-minute music video, with 5.1-channel audio. The interactive Fairy Field Guide Builder tests us on our way to assembling a journal sort of like the one in the movie. And "Design a Fairy House" is a two-minute clip about a recent creativity contest. All of these extras are in HD, and my girls couldn't get enough of them. This Blu-ray is also BD-Live-enabled.
Disc Two is a DVD of the movie with the same bonus features (sans the BD-Live of course), all in standard definition.
Final Thoughts
Parents need not lose too much sleep over my modest grumblings about the story and the sound: If my kids were any indication, this latest installment is sure to be another hit.
Product Details
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