Tinker Bell is an obvious draw for all fairy-obsessed little kids everywhere! It took until 2008 for Disney to get clued in and give the capricious little fairy her own movie. Obviously, because fairies are wildly and consistently popular with the pre-teen set, the movie immediately acquired a dedicated fandom so large that they went on to make five more films, a video game, and a tv series. A far cry from the source material, where Tinker Bell never steps out of the role of Peter Pan’s slightly obsessive sidekick, the Tinker Bell movies switch the focus to her entirely; allowing her to develop as a character while filling in all sorts of creative details about the fairy society in Neverland’s Pixie Hollow.
Maybe you were a little too old to be part of the target audience when the films first came out, but now you’re tired and sad and want some comforting nostalgia-flavored media to get you through. Maybe your kids have just discovered Peter Pan and came out of it with Tinker Bell fever and you’re trying to figure out what order to watch the films in to make them happy. Don’t worry, we here at The Mary Sue have you covered, here’s the best way to watch all the Tinker Bell movies in order.
Tinker Bell (2008)
Tinker Bell is the first of the Tinker Bell-centric properties. The movie gives her an origin story and features the original J. M Barrie lore of fairies being born from a baby’s first laugh. The plot sees the newborn, but fully grown, Tinker Bell arrive in Fairy Hollow, where she learns her fairy talent is to Tinker! She meets other fairies and learns that only the nature fairies get to visit the mainland because they have jobs to do there. She decides that she wants to change her talent so she can go with them–kicking off a story about collaboration, friendship, and learning to accept yourself for who you are and embracing your own unique talents.
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009)
This time in Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Tinker Bell has been given the job of crafting a ceremonial scepter to hold a special moonstone when the blue harvest moon appears in the sky. This ritual creates more blue pixie dust, which rejuvenates the pixie dust tree—which is very important for Pixie Hollow. Unfortunately, while working on the scepter, the moonstone gets broken by accident! With messages about patience and kindness, the movie teaches children not to give up even if things seem impossible.
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010)
Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is a little different from the others because instead of being set in Pixie Hollow most of the action takes place on the mainland where Tink and friends are attending a summer camp for fairies. Tinker Bell and Vidia enter a human house where they find a hand-crafted fairy house, with Vidia accidentally trapping Tink inside during an argument. Discovered by Lizzie–the little girl who made the fairy house–they bond over her love of fairies, with Lizzie writing notes in the field journal her entomologist father gave her. Unfortunately, Tink frees the prize butterfly he’s planning to take to his colleagues in London, and when Lizzy gets the blame for it Tink ends up showing herself to him to defend Lizzy just as the other fairies arrive to rescue her from the humans.
Secret of the Wings (2012)
Secret of the Wings takes on a strangely serious topic given the age range the movies are aimed at. We learn that the fairy society, and Pixie Hollow itself, is divided into warm and cold weather communities that are forbidden by fairy law to mix. The law started after a pair of lovers from across the divide tried to make it work, and one of them ended up losing a wing. Complicating matters is the discovery that Tinker Bell actually has a sister living on the cold weather side—they were born from the same laugh making them twins—but the nature of their abilities means they can’t safely inhabit the same environment. The two fairies aren’t having that though and try to find a way around it, inadvertently causing a natural disaster that forces the two fairy groups to work together.
The Pirate Fairy (2014)
The Pirate Fairy introduces pirates, but not just any pirates, because this is Pixie Hollow, after all, pirates led by a pirate fairy captain! Honestly just as a concept that’s so cool and I’d have been all over it as a child. Zarina, the titular pirate fairy, was a bit of a mad scientist. After being banned from ever working with pixie dust again because one of her experiments went wrong, she took off to become a pirate. Now she’s back, but only to steal pixie dust—and she wants to take Pixie Hollow’s whole supply.
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (2014)
The final movie, Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast, is all about not judging based on appearances and rumors. Fawn, the animal fairy, finds a strange-looking creature that needs help in a cave in the forest. After taking the thorn out of his paw he goes back to building funny stone structures and Fawn decides to help him. However, Nyx—a scout fairy—finds a picture of him in a book that tells her he’s going to turn into a terrifying monster and cause a deadly storm that will destroy Pixie Hollow.
(featured image: Disney)
