A Tooth Fairy Tale Film Analysis: Cartoon Journey with a Touch of Kid-Appropriate Preteen Romance

In this animated journey for preteens, the fairy community is dedicated to collecting baby teeth of slumbering children and placing treasure beneath where they sleep. Skateboarding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about spending his future to collecting baby teeth—a sentiment that’s completely understandable. He’s only slightly more interested in the underlying economics of the situation: the fairies hand over the molars to mysterious goblins, who provide metal as payment. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he catches sight of a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who proves to be not at all the hideous creature he expected.

A Forbidden Bond and Shared Threat

Everything is prepared for an exciting quest with a gentle touch of teen romance (though it’s perfectly appropriate for children). The goblin and fairy groups are estranged from each other, and there’s nothing like the thrill of the forbidden to unite beings together. The two species as seen here are remarkably alike, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the other. Fairies are said to be self-centered sorts, given to stealing whatever they fancy, while goblins are allegedly stupid, foul-smelling, and backward, but are in fact bright and technologically advanced.

Naturally, such a setup needs a shared foe 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 goblins and fairies, and they serve as fairly bloodthirsty, though not particularly skilled, villains.

Target Audience and Final Thoughts

You won’t find all that many animated films aimed at the kind of audience that is beginning to have early romances, but are not mature enough for whatever 14-year-olds are watching instead of Twilight. If your child falls into this age group, this is unlikely to be their next all-time fave, but you could do worse.

The Tooth Fairy Story releases in Scottish cinemas starting October 10 and across the United Kingdom beginning October 24.