Like the Harry Potter book series, the DVD based Tinker Bell stories set in the world of Pixie Hollow start simple, easy to get into, and then progress into more and more complex stories and issues. DVD number 3, “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue,” follows that tradition presenting a rich story with many more characters and emotions involved.
As the name implies this film features a rescue which implies some action and the directors aim to deliver. It also delivers some important moments in the mythos of the Peter Pan world. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but in the clips I saw, I spent a lot of time going “oh, that’s cool.”
The third film really shows a progression in quality film making that has occurred since the Pixar brain trust arrived after merging with Disney. The art direction and character animation continue to improve. They’ve moved the characters away from the cartoony feel. The set design is fully realized with lots of rich detail.
Earlier today, I was priviledged to participate in a roundtable Q&A session with Helen Kalafatic and Bradley Raymond, Producer and Director respectively, follow below the jump for the transcript.
The winner is brought on stage as part of the ceremony where she endured jokes about her height with dignity.
Saturday was another beautiful day at the International EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival, almost like any other. But Tinker Bell and her Pixie friends brought a little bit of extra magic to the park to help reveal the winning house in a Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow “Design A Fairy House Art Contest.”
The winner and her family was flown out from Frazier Park, CA about 100 miles from Disneyland. The fairy house, inspired by 15-year-old winning designer, Zoe P., was revealed during a special ceremony attended by EPCOT VP Dan Cockerell, and director Brad Raymond and producer Helen Kalafatic of “Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue”, the third film in the recent Tinker Bell DVD series.
With a dash of pixie dust from Tinker Bell, Zoe revealed her winning fairy house.
“Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue” features Tink’s first encounter with humans. Tink is caught inside a Fairy House built by a little girl to provide shelter for the fairies as they work to bring summer to England. The girl and Tink develop a great friendship, while the other fairies attempt a rescue.
“We were thrilled to honor Zoe and her winning design at this very special celebration,” said Jason Everett, Disney Fairies Pixie Hollow product director. “This contest offered the Pixie Hollow community an exciting opportunity to utilize their love for Disney Fairies as inspiration to create their very own fairy house art design. To see that design come to life and be featured in the Epcot® International Flower and Garden Festival is truly a delight for everyone.”
Zoe and her family (click for larger)
Zoe was the perfect choice for this award. She and her family are huge Disney fans and visit Disneyland at least once a month. After seeing the contest on Pixie Hollow, she new she had to make a drawing. They raced to the post office to drop off their application right at the last minute and never expected to win.
Not only did Zoe’s drawing inspire the winning house, she was able to help build it by assisting Disney’s talented team of fairy house architects. The main focus of the house is the copper and brass fixtures on the front, which Zoe figured would confer and exclusive status to the house. In the concept a rubber band would be hooked to the front door and, through a series of clock gears, would generate music on the attached music box, alas that part didn’t make it into the final build.
The winning drawing, now autographed by the movie’s director and producer. She also wrote a backstory for the house.
Of course there are two hidden mickeys in the design. The vinyl record base makes mickey and there is a bottle cap on the roof with the iconic ears. But even more special is the ‘Ellie Badge’ Grape Soda bottle cap, which you can barely see under the flower on the roof. Zoe’s whole family are huge fans of Pixar and particularly the movie “UP”, when I saw Zoe’s mom wearing an Ellie Badge of her own, I knew right away she was one of us, a Disney fan.
It’s clear Zoe has a talent for telling a story through art. That’s one of the main requirements to be an animator, which, as it turns out, is Zoe’s career choice. I hope someone at Disney Studios is able to make her happy again and arrange a tour through their offices and Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Zoe with the plaque that bears her name.
Zoe’s house will spend the rest of the festival as part of the Pixie Hollow playground in a place of honor next to a plaque bearing her name.
More photos from the event, including a close up of the fairy house, below the cut. Video
Sparrowmen now have one of their own to pose for pictures with at Pixie Hollow inside Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom theme park. The world’s most beloved fairy, Tinker Bell, has welcomed her friend Terence to the photo meet & greet area. The pair star… Read More »New Pixie joins Tinker Bell at Magic Kingdom’s Pixie Hollow
This week Tinker Bell was named Honorary UN Ambassador of Green. Disney has released a cute video featuring some of the voice talent and the famous Pixie herself at the United Nations building in New York.
In her second direct-to-DVD animated movie, Tinker Bell, the world’s most famous pixie, sets off on an adventure that takes her away from Pixie Hollow, and toward a new friendship. Along the way she makes mistakes, learns some lessons, and, in the end, saves the… Read More »Tinker Bell And The Lost Treasure Soars into New Adventure
Sorry for the late notice on this, but if you’re in SoCal today. Find your way to Hollywood to meet two of the feature vocal talents from Disney’s new animated film, “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.”
When: TODAY – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17 12-4 PM
Where: DISNEY’S SODA FOUNTAIN & STUDIO STORE IN HOLLYWOOD
Veteran actors Rob Paulsen and Jeff Bennett, two of the featured vocal talents from the new Disney animated film, “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure,” will be on hand to sign books and related merchandise this Saturday afternoon (from noon to 4:00 pm) at Disney’s Soda Fountain & Studio Store. Paulsen (“Pinky” in “Pinky & The Brain”) is heard in Tinker Bell’s latest direct-to-DVD adventure as Bobble, the friendly tinker fairy with dewdrop goggles. Bennett, who voices such popular animated characters as Johnny Bravo, and the voice of Pip in “Enchanted,” provides the voice of a big boisterous lovable fairy inventor named Clank.
Tinker Bell returns this fall in a brand new adventure! Here’s a sneak peak of the first 6 minutes of Tink’s second film “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”. Queen Clarion’s fairies are all aflutter with the preparations for autumn. Tink’s got a new mission… Read More »Sneak Peak: Tinkerbell’s Second Film “Lost Treasure”
One of my little hobbies at Walt Disney World is to find the latest T-shirt designs they’re hoping the public will buy. Today there is a wider selection than ever before even to the point where you can customize your own tee right at Downtow Disney.
Here are a few that stood out to me this Sunday at Downtown Disney:
I like this design a lot. I had a cheesy non-Disney shirt with that saying on it in high school. Mi Casa Es Su Casa. Thanks Mickey!
I’m continually astounded by the drug culture influenced designs they find for Tinker Bell. This isn’t one of the worst, in fact, it’s part of a new line of Tees that are inspirational in nature. But on the other hand this would fit in well in the 70s too.
This is a design from street artist Bloc28. Previously there had been a line of baseball caps from Bloc28, but I never saw those for sale at the parks. There’s a little Steamboat Willy going on (although it should be all black and white). Frankly, I’m amazed that they’re selling this design since it appears to show Mickey Mouse being violently torn in two by a sea creature of some sort. That’s about as off-model as I’ve ever seen.
