Secret of the Wings

So far in the Disney Fairies films, we’ve seen spring, summer, and autumn, and with Secret of the Wings, we get winter.

When Tinker Bell helps Fawn take some animals to the Winter Woods, her wings suddenly begin sparkling. To find out why, she has to sneak across the border to find the Keeper of All Fairy Knowledge. There, she meets a winter fairy named Periwinkle (Lucy Hale), and they discover they were born of the same laugh, which makes them sisters. While they vow never to be separated again, their attempts to break the rules could spell danger for themselves and Pixie Hollow.

This movie has a ton of endearing qualities.

Tink and Peri are adorable as they tally things they have in common.
Peri: Favorite drink?
Tink: Hot chamomile tea.
Peri: Iced chamomile tea!

Clank steals the show with his irrational fear of glaciers.
Bobble: He’s never actually seen one.
Clank: You never do.

Fairy Mary has some great one-liners.
To a fairy off-screen: “Lucinda, get off your laurel and get to work.”
To Clank and Bobble about a basket: “Let it go!”

 

The two montages of Tink visiting Winter and Peri visiting the warm seasons are set to the McClain Sisters singing The Great Divide, which makes both sequences even more delightful.

Even though they’ve known each other for a short time, the relationship between Tink and Peri is believable and genuine (unlike another pair of sisters).

The only problems I have with this flick are the continuity issues with the first film.

When the baby laughs at the beginning of Tinker Bell, it hits a dandelion, blowing seeds across the harbor. Only one of those seeds makes it to the Second Star, but in this sequence of events, two seeds are shown arriving in Pixie Hollow.

As the fairies present items for Tink to determine her talent, a winter fairy brings forward a snowflake, which makes it seem like any fairy could be a winter fairy, not just the ones who accidentally blow into the Winter Woods.

Furthermore, when it seems like spring won’t come in time, Queen Clarion discusses things with the Ministers of the Four Seasons (including Winter). However, the Minister of Winter isn’t in this movie. She’s replaced by the Lord Milori (Timothy Dalton).

This is also the first time we see the idea of romantic love in these movies, which made me wonder if that was intended to reach a broader audience, or if it’s a social commentary. Since new fairies aren’t created from reproduction, love in Pixie Hollow is just love. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but it’s an interesting thought.

Bottom Line: Regardless of the canon problems, I definitely recommend this movie for family viewing. The messages of sisterhood and female empowerment are solid, but men aren’t treated as afterthoughts. It’s a fun movie for the whole family.

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