Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review

( Max score: 100 )

90

Film Synopsis:

What would you do if you met a fairy? Witness the historic moment when Tinker Bell first meets a human being...and it's not who you think. In this fun family adventure Tinker Bell meets Lizzy, a little girl with a big heart and steadfast belief in fairies. During the fairies' summer visit to the flowering meadows of England, two very different worlds unite for the first time and Tink develops a special bond with a curious child in need of a friend.

My Take:

Before she was ever introduced to Wendy and the Lost Boys, Tinker Bell met Lizzy, a lonely young girl who lives with her father in the English countryside. Ever since she was little, Lizzy has been fascinated by fairies and believed in their magical power. Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue begins during the fairies’ summer visit to the flowering meadows of England. While exploring the countryside, Tink and Vidia happen across a small fairy sized house with a sign out front that reads “fairie’s welcome”. Despite Vidia’s protests Tinker Bell goes inside and accidentally gets locked in. Lizzy returns to play and finds Tinker Bell. She is captivated and takes the house with Tink inside back to her nearby cottage. Vidia rushes to the other fairies to tell of what has happened. They formulate a rescue plan and head back to the cottage to free Tink from the “humans”. Meanwhile Lizzy having gained Tink’s trust has begun asking many questions about fairies. An enchanting encounter unfolds as their different worlds unite while they learn about one another. Tink sees that Lizzy is lonely because her father’s work keeps him busy. As only Tinker Bell can she works all night and devises a system that frees up time for Lizzy to spend with her father. The outcome doesn’t go quite as planned though. As her fellow fairies attempt a daring rescue, Tinker Bell takes a huge risk, putting her own safety and the future of the fairies in jeopardy.

I have now seen all three of the Disney Fairies stories on Blu-ray and have enjoyed them all. The Great Fairy Rescue is special in that it brings together the world of fairies and humans for the first time. The wholesome story about a lonely young girl in need of a friend is heartwarming as it presents Tinker Bell with an unusual challenge unlike any she has faced before. The story is wonderfully balanced and Joel McNeely’s beautiful music score provides an excellent backdrop for the film. Voiced by a great cast it brings back the charming characters from the first two films and is positively reinforced family friendly entertainment that can be enjoyed by young viewers and their parents. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am sure that your family will as well.

Parental Guide:

This is a Disney film that the whole family can watch.

Audio: 86

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Video: 94

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Tinker Bell and the great fairy rescue comes to Blu-ray from Disney featuring 1080p AVC encoded video that has an average bitrate of 31 Mbps and lossless DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio sound that has an average bitrate of 4.4 Mbps.

The first two Tinker Bell films look beautiful on Blu-ray Disc and this presentation has similar attributes. Images are awash with lustrous and vibrant hues that are wonderfully diverse and make for visually engaging eye candy. Greens are particularly vivid with visible gradational stages that bring out subtle degrees of separation. Each of the characters has distinctive physical qualities that are attributable to the color of their clothing, hair, eyes, or skin. The video is immaculately resolved with pristine quality and fine minutia that shows strict attention to detail. Examples of this can be seen in the animated design of the interior of Lizzy’s room and intricacy of the engine’s components in Lizzy’s father’s car (while Tink and Vidia are hiding underneath it). The facial features of the various characters have lifelike quality that allows them to display a varied range of emotions. Contrast and black levels strike a great balance as whites are bright, detailed and punchy while blacks are deep, dynamic and exhibit appreciable delineation. This is a resplendent, polished, and beautifully rendered Blu-ray presentation that looks fabulous on my large front projection display.

The soundtrack for this film is not the type that contains powerful low frequency transients or extended dynamics. Its strengths lie in its attention to detail and beautifully crafted music and the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio handles it superbly. Joel McNeely’s music is the centerpiece of the surround mix and features well articulated instrumentation that doesn’t rely on the power of the bass drum or timpani. It relies on the subtle delicacy of strings and brass which is mixed with the variety of nature’s sound effects to create an involving surround experience. Dialogue is definitively authoritative with excellent clarity and room penetration through the center channel. Off camera directional cues and panning sequences are spot on which help create a believable and stable sound stage. The surrounds are actively engaged either in support of the music or to handle the films associated sound effects. Low frequency effects are not in your face but there is ample bass present where appropriate. I was impressed with the amount of subtle nuance that is clearly audible even during busier sequences. I found this to be a well balanced and pleasing surround mix that accented this wonderful animated family film.

Bonus Features:

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• (HD) Tangled: Exclusive sneak peek – 3 minutes
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• (HD) 4 deleted scenes with intros by director Brad Raymond and producer Helen Kalafatic
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• (HD) “How to believe” music video (presented in Dolby Digital 5.1) by Bridgit Mendler
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• (HD) Fairy field guide builder – interactive design/learning feature
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• (HD) Design a fairy house – Learn how at Epcot’s flower and garden festival – 2 minute featurette
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• Bonus DVD of Tinker Bell and the great fairy rescue

Tinker Bell and the great fairy rescue is the third installment in Disney’s Fairy Series and is an endearing animated film that makes for wholesome family entertainment. Disney’s consistency in turning out strong high definition audio/video presentations on their animated Blu-ray Disc titles continues with this release as it offers exquisite visuals and excellent lossless sound. The bonus supplements are rather light and other than the interactive Fairy Guide builder offer little enticement for young viewers. Regardless this is worthwhile family film experience that looks and sounds terrific on Blu-ray Disc from Disney.