Tinker Bell, Disney's most beloved fairy, returns to the big screen in this magical new installment of the Tinker Bell films, featuring the voice talents of Mae Whitman, Christina Hendricks, and Tom Hiddleston.
When Zarina (Hendricks), a former Dust Keeper fairy, steals Pixie Hollows blue pixie dust, Tinker Bell (Mae Whitman) and her friends set out to reclaim it from her. They soon find that Zarina has joined forces with the pirates of Neverland, and that getting the dust back might not be all that easy!
Compared to the other films in the series, "The Pirate Fairy" is considerably more action-packed, with plenty of swashbuckling sword fights against menacing pirates, including Captain Hook himself, (voiced by Tom Hiddleston). One of the best things about "The Pirate Fairy" is the references it makes to the original Peter Pan film (Hook is still insisting that he is not a codfish). This makes it feel a lot like a prequel in nature, as it ties in with the Disney Classic, and makes the Disney Fairies franchise seem more like a part of the Neverland that we were introduced to in the original film. It even goes as far as to make use of old characters such as Captain Hook (though considerably younger) and Mr Smee makes a short appearance at the very end of the film.
Whilst the plot can sometimes be painfully predictable, the film provides amusing, fun and lighthearted entertainment that the whole family will enjoy. During the course of the film, Tink and her friends run into trouble when they all accidentally switch talents. This causes mayhem as none of them know how to control their new talents. This causes some amusing situations. For instance, Rosetta runs into a baby crocodile that instantly takes a liking to her and will not leave her alone. This, unfortunately, is one of the moments where anyone could guess the plot without even trying. There are quite a few of these.
As good as the film is, it does in some ways disappoint, and doesn't live up to some of the previous films in the series. There are many colourful characters who inhabit Pixie Hollow, and yet Disney doesn't make use of many of them in "The Pirate Fairy". For example, Periwinkle, Tinker Bell's sister who was introduced in the last film,only made a minor appearance in this installment. If some of these newer characters were more involved in this film, then it would have been much more entertaining and interesting.
Whilst being very predictable, Tinker Bell and the Pirate Fairy provides fun and lighthearted entertainment, just what we've come to expect from Disney. 4/5
