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Three out of Five stars
Running time: 76 mins

Likeable, nicely written animated adventure that should play well with its target audience and won't try the patience of any dragged-along adults.

What's it all about?
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is the third in Disney's ongoing series of animated Tinker Bell adventures, following 2008's Tinker Bell and 2009's Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (both of which went straight to DVD). Set in 1920s England (i.e. before she meets Peter Pan), the film begins with Tinker Bell (voiced by Mae Whitman) and her friends (including Kristin Chenoweth as Rosetta and Lucy Liu as Silvermist) attending fairy camp, where they paint butterflies and encourage flowers to bloom.

However, the always-inquisitive Tinker Bell is fascinated by the sight of a 1920s motor car and when she flies off to investigate, she's accidentally trapped in a fairy house made by Lizzy (Lauren Mote), a young human girl who lives with her scientist father (Michael Bloom). While her friends mount a rescue operation, Tinker Bell strikes up a friendship with Lizzy, but things quickly get complicated when Lizzy's father decides to reveal the existence of fairies to the world.

The Good
The voice cast are all excellent (Sheen, as ever, is particularly good) and the songs are fine too, even if they're not up to the usual big budget Disney standard. The animation is colourful and appealing and it seems that the animators have also made concessions towards giving the fairies realistic-looking figures, as opposed to, say, stick-thin Barbie in Toy Story 3.

Setting the film in the 1920s has the added advantage of giving it an old-fashioned feel while avoiding turning the film into something resembling Bratz – there are no modern-day references to things like mobile phones, for example. On top of that, Tinker Bell is an excellent role model – she's fascinated with machinery and the plot hinges on her figuring out how the car's engine works – and there are some delightfully charming sequences, particularly when the Pixie Dust comes out.

The Bad
If there's a problem with the film it's only that it isn't quite as funny as it could have been, while the rescue itself isn't quite as spectacular as the title suggests.

Worth seeing?
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is an entertaining, nicely animated children's adventure that should play well with its target audience. Note: Tinker Bell will return in Tinker Bell: A Winter Story.