A Tooth Fairy Tale Film Analysis: Animated Journey with a Sprinkling of Family-Friendly Preteen Love Story
In this animated adventure for preteens, the world of fairies focuses on gathering teeth from slumbering children and leaving gold under their pillows. Board-riding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life 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 interested in the financial workings of the situation: the fairies deliver the teeth to mysterious goblins, who provide metal in exchange. However, Van’s interest is piqued when he spots a goblin (voiced by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the ugly gnome he had imagined.
A Forbidden Bond and Shared Threat
The stage is set for an adventure with a light sprinkling of teen romance (even though it remains very much suitable for younger kids). The fairy and goblin communities are separated from each other, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to unite beings as one. The two species as seen here are incredibly similar, yet each holds biased views about the opposite side. The fairies are said to be entitled sorts, given to stealing anything they want, while goblins are allegedly dim-witted, smelly, and primitive, but are in fact bright and advanced in technology.
Of course, such a setup needs a common enemy to join forces against, and that need is met by some nasty spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. They make no secret with these guys: they aim to devour the fairies and goblins, and they serve as fairly bloodthirsty, if not particularly skilled, villains.
Target Audience and Final Thoughts
You won’t find very many animated films targeting the kind of audience that is beginning to have first crushes, but are not mature enough for the content teenagers are watching instead of Twilight. Should your youngster is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to be their next all-time fave, but it’s a decent choice.
The Tooth Fairy Story releases in Scottish cinemas from 10 October and the rest of the UK from 24 October.
