The Tooth Fairy Story Film Analysis: Cartoon Adventure with a Touch of Family-Friendly Preteen Romance
Throughout this cartoon journey aimed at tweens, the world of fairies is dedicated to collecting teeth from sleeping children and leaving treasure beneath where they sleep. Board-riding teenage rebel fairy Van (voiced by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about spending his future to gathering baby teeth—a sentiment that’s entirely reasonable. He’s only slightly more interested in the underlying economics of the situation: the fairies hand over the molars to unseen goblins, who supply gold as payment. However, Van’s interest is piqued when he catches sight of a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be not at all the hideous creature he expected.
An Unlikely Bond and Shared Threat
The stage is set for an adventure with a gentle touch of teen romance (even though it remains very much suitable for children). The fairy and goblin groups are separated from each other, and there’s nothing like the thrill of the forbidden to bring people as one. Both groups as seen here are incredibly similar, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. Fairies are supposed to be entitled sorts, prone to stealing anything they want, while the goblins are allegedly stupid, smelly, and primitive, but are actually bright and technologically advanced.
Of course, this scenario needs a common enemy to unite against, and this is duly provided in the form of some nasty spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. There’s no beating about the bush about their intentions: they aim to devour the goblins and fairies, and they make for quite savage, if not especially competent, villains.
Target Audience and Final Thoughts
There aren’t all that many animated films aimed at 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 Twilight. If your child is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to become their new favorite movie, but you could do worse.
The Tooth Fairy Story arrives in movie theaters in Scotland starting October 10 and the rest of the UK beginning October 24.
