The Tooth Fairy Story Film Analysis: Cartoon Adventure with a Sprinkling of Kid-Appropriate Preteen Love Story
In this cartoon journey for preteens, the world of fairies focuses on gathering teeth from slumbering children and leaving treasure beneath where they sleep. Board-riding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) is less than thrilled about devoting his life to collecting baby teeth—a feeling that’s completely understandable. He is just a bit more curious about the underlying economics behind it all: the fairies deliver the teeth to mysterious goblins, who provide metal as payment. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he spots a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the ugly creature he expected.
An Unlikely Connection and Shared Threat
The stage is set for an adventure with a light sprinkling of teen romance (though it’s very much suitable for younger kids). The goblin and fairy groups are estranged from one another, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to unite beings as one. The two species portrayed in the film are remarkably alike, yet both maintain prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. The fairies are said to be self-centered sorts, prone to stealing whatever they fancy, while goblins are reportedly dim-witted, foul-smelling, and primitive, but are in fact intelligent and advanced in technology.
Of course, this scenario needs a common enemy to join forces against, and this is duly provided by some nasty spiders, voiced by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. There’s no beating about the bush with these guys: they want to eat the goblins and fairies, and they make for quite savage, though not particularly skilled, villains.
Target Audience and Overall Impression
You won’t find very many children’s animations targeting the viewer group that is starting to experience first crushes, but aren’t yet mature enough for the content 14-year-olds view these days instead of popular teen sagas. If your child is in the right age bracket, this is unlikely to become their new favorite movie, but it’s a decent choice.
The Tooth Fairy Story arrives in movie theaters in Scotland from 10 October and the rest of the UK from 24 October.
