A Tooth Fairy Tale Review: Cartoon Journey with a Touch of Kid-Appropriate Preteen Love Story
In this cartoon adventure for preteens, the world of fairies focuses on gathering baby teeth of sleeping children and leaving treasure under their pillows. Skateboarding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) is less than thrilled about devoting his life to gathering baby teeth—a feeling that’s completely understandable. He is just a bit more curious about the financial workings of the situation: the fairies hand over the molars to unseen goblins, who supply gold in exchange. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he catches sight of a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who proves to be far from the ugly creature he expected.
A Forbidden Bond and Shared Threat
The stage is set for an adventure with a gentle touch of young love (though it’s perfectly appropriate for younger kids). The goblin and fairy communities are estranged from each other, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to bring people as one. Both groups as seen here are incredibly similar, yet both maintain prejudiced beliefs about the other. The fairies are said to be entitled sorts, given to stealing anything they want, while the goblins are reportedly stupid, foul-smelling, and backward, but are in fact bright and advanced in technology.
Naturally, this scenario requires a common enemy to unite against, and this is duly provided in the form of a group of vicious spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. They make no secret about their intentions: they aim to devour the fairies and goblins, and they serve as fairly bloodthirsty, if not particularly skilled, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
You won’t find all that many animated films targeting the kind of audience that is starting to experience early romances, but aren’t yet old enough for whatever 14-year-olds view these days in lieu of popular teen sagas. If your child is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to be their next favorite movie, but you could do worse.
A Tooth Fairy Tale releases in Scottish cinemas from 10 October and across the United Kingdom from 24 October.
