Tink Big

As the ubiquitous ads enthusiastically state, the �world�s most famous fairy� returns to DVD and Blu-ray this week with Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure. Following last year�s debut movie, this is the second installment of a planned multi-part series starring Peter Pan�s beloved right-hand pixie, Tinker Bell.

Tink�s latest adventure finds her setting off on her own to save Pixie Hollow in a story seemingly geared to increase her appeal to the boys in the audience. In addition to spending most of the movie in boyish garb reminiscent of her future friend Peter�s, her four ethnically diverse girlfriend fairies are relegated to mere cameos, while guy pal (and future boyfriend?) Terence gets a stronger role this go round.

The fall-themed plot is set in motion when Tinker Bell (voiced again by Mae Whitman) is selected to create a scepter for the upcoming autumn festival. And not just any scepter, this one will bare a rare moonstone that will �recharge� the Pixie Dust Tree, insuring that all the pixies in Pixie Hollow will have plenty of the magical substance for seasons to come.

A great honor for the novice �tinker fairy�, Tink gets right to work, enlisting the help of her favorite �duster fairy� Terence (Jesse McCartney). But a misunderstanding between the two friends leads to the destruction of the precious orb, and there�s only a few days left to the big fall event.

Learning about the ancient fairy legend of the wish-granting Mirror of Incanta, Tink is determined to find it to repair the moonstone, and builds a pixie dusted cotton ball balloon to travel north of Never Land to find it. Once on her secret mission, Tinker Bell is soon joined by a friendly, puppy-like firefly named Blaze, who helps her along her journey.

After outsmarting a pair of grumpy tree trolls, the new friends find the magic mirror in the ruins of a sunken pirate ship. Will Tink be able to use it to fix the moonstone, and if so, can she make it back to Pixie Hollow in time for the autumn festival?

As it takes awhile to get the action going, Lost Treasure is a little less enchanting than the first Tinker Bell movie. Plus, there are some big holes in the plot if you look too closely. Nevertheless, there is much to enjoy, chiefly the beautiful Celtic score by Joel McNeeley and the richly detailed animation, a step up from the previous film.