Secret of the Wings (2012)

I loved this movie. I don't have kids, but I love so many movies for kids because many of them are safe for viewing and they hold a magic absent from adult movies. I didn't find this one to have those ever increasing double entendre jokes that are meant to entertain adults with their children. I also like that there wasn't a villain, unless you would consider the quickly approaching freeze line a villain.I didn't find the dialogue cheesy like others have mentioned. I found the animation to be spectacular, the story simple and pleasing (who needs complicated stories anyway? We have enough of those in our own world.), and the characters vibrant. I did have two points of contention. First, the first Tinker Bell movie depicts winter fairies when Tinker Bell is born and then chooses her talent. One of them puts a snowflake in the talent circle. They seem to be fine and aren't in danger of their wings wilting. The minister of winter flies with other warm fairies outside of the winter woods and seems fine, too. As a reviewer elsewhere stated, how do they fly to the mainland to bring winter if they can't get warm? Second, there is a character who is a comic relief that seems like he was fashioned after pothead/stoner characters, which I don't like. At one point he is meditating yogi style to bring back the pixie dust. I would rather see a praying character, as they are rare, but as Disney doesn't eliminate them entirely from other movies, I'll hold my peace on this one.Overall, though, I really liked this movie. I can overlook my points of contention because there is enough to redeem the film.

As you'd expect with a Disney movie, this really delivers on beautiful, crisp visuals. The focus on the seasons made for some wonderful scenes with winter and spring landscapes.The plot is straightforward and moves along at a good pace, making it very watchable for its target audience, young children. There's not much here for adults but that's OK!An obvious criticism is that this movies plays very much on the "girls as pretty princesses" stereotype. The male characters are the one's in charge of technology and knowledge, which is too stereotypical and a bit of a disappointment.On the other hand, it's good to see female characters in lead "action" roles. Tinkerbell and Periwinkle aren't exactly deep or complex characters but they are still engaging and make it a magical film for young children.

This is the fourth in the feature-length direct-to-DVD Tinkerbell series.The previous three videos were entertaining and fairly original.This most recent addition is uninspired, unoriginal, and overly simplistic. It lacks the relative depth and richness of its predecessors, and the soundtrack is little more than a lightweight disfigurement of those in the previous videos.A child certainly might like this movie, but it is nevertheless inferior in virtually every way.If you haven't seen the previous three movies, I'd recommend getting one or all of those.If you have seen the previous three movies, I think you'll find that this one adds nothing of value to the experience.

Our family enjoys the Tinker Bell series - I think they are the most beautifully animated movies ever - visually stunning! The plots typically do not grab me that much, but I'll watch them with my girls for the visual "eye candy" of the scenery and setting - the sparkles, the nature, the beautiful animation.Secret of the Wings may have been the prettiest one yet!The story held many surprises for us (we had not watched trailers or read about it, so we went in blind other than having watched the previous 3). The story was funny, warm, adventurous and my personal favorite in the collection. Meeting Tinker Bell's sister, Periwinkle, and watching them bond was fantastic. The Keeper was a very lovable "grandpa" sort of character that added to the show and we enjoyed the back story for Queen Clarion. It is extremely unusual that we enjoy any sequel (x4) as much as the first, but this one surpassed the first by a mile!!! Beautiful!To be clear - when I rate a child's movie, I am comparing it to other animated movies / rated G - not ALL movies of ALL time. Thus, my score may seem too high to some if they think I'm comparing it to Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, and the like. I am comparing it more to other animated features for children.