Secret of the Wings (2012)
By Dave Amesse
Release Date: October 23, 2012
MPAA Rating: G
Runtime: 92 minutes
Director: Roberts Gannaway, Peggy Holmes
Studio: Walt Disney Studios
Genre: Animation | Action | Family
Stars: Timothy Dalton, Lucy Hale and Megan Hilty
Your Rating: 5 stars out of 5 The movie was a lot of fun and kept my whole family entertained.
Once again we’re back following Tinkerbell and her friends on another adventure that leads them to the forbidden world of the mysterious winter woods, where she has an unexpected experience with her wings that leads her on a mission to find out what happened. During that journey she meets some extraordinary fairies along the way, one of which having more in common with Tinkerbell than she ever knew possible.
The film has a good story with great acting that is on par with the other Tinkerbell films. The Majority of the cast has returned, joined by new voice talent for the new characters. By now we’ve come to expect to see flowers, animals, grass, trees, rolling landscapes in the autumn realm full of color, but the new landscapes of the Winter fairies is magical, with its chilly landscapes, snowflakes, and Iced over lakes and ponds. It was great to expand into a new horizon with warm characters and see how it mirror’s the autumn fairies and all the jobs they have to do. We get to meet some new faces and see how they interact with some of our familiar characters. The mythology is expanded to great lengths and opens the door to other possibilities dealing with “other seasons” who knows what they have in store but this was done very well, good story, about love, strength and overcoming obstacles.
Another point that I enjoyed is the overall message in the film. *spoiler territory* but The relationship between Tinkerbell and her sister goes to show how strong family relationships are and how no matter what obstacle comes their way, as long as they work with each other anything is possible. Another point is the love story and how love has to make sacrifice to ensure safety of others but be careful with how you create safety because if it’s too strict of rules it can cause more harm than good. Explanation works best with rules. To me, it’s fantastic they put in underlying meanings in there.
If you liked any of the other Tinkerbell movies then you’ll love this one. It’s a fun adventure that kept my kid enthralled and was a good story that expanded the mythos of these movies to include new environments and adventures. This is the 4th movie in the series and it introduces us to some new faces, the Winter Fairies. The other 3 films only included the autumn fairies. This film hit all the beats, Action, adventure, suspense, joy etc, I can admit I was really caught up in the film and my emotions were all over the place and truly was whisked away on this adventure and enjoyed every minute of it. I’m not trying to over sell it but it resonated with me. Maybe it was the Joy of seeing my daughter light up as Tinkerbell entered the screen. Her commentary of “Wow” and “uh oh” as the movie moved along was surprising to notice her understanding of the beats of the film. To me that is what is magical about movies, you go sit down and you’re taken on a journey that is filled with highs and lows, laughter and sadness and are allowed to sit back and be entertained. This film, kid movie or not, was entertaining and I enjoyed it immensely. I wasn’t alone either the anxious kids awaiting to see the new movie, new parents experiencing a movie theater for the first time with their children, and when the movie was playing the kids were fully entertained.
