Ginnifer Goodwin Gets Her Pixie Dust On in Disney's NeverBeast

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Tinker Bell Pixie Hollow NeverBeast Ginnifer Goodwin Mae Whitman Disney

In Pixie Hollow, every fairy has a role. Fawn (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a fairy whose specialty lies with helping animals. But her big heart sometimes has her making dangerous decisions, underscored in the beginning of this film when we find she's been tending an injured baby hawk. Apparently hawks are the natural predators of fairies, and Fawn's attempt to return the baby to the wild results in near-catastrophe. As a result, she makes a promise to Queen Clarion (Anjelica Huston) that she will be more responsible.

Shortly thereafter, a green comet flashes by, one that returns every 900 and some odd years. Its glow awakens a large hibernating animal, who does strange things. When Fawn encounters the beast, there's an "Androcles and the Lion" moment that bonds them, and then she tries to learn everything about the creature's strange activities, which include building rock towers.

Nyx (Rosario Dawson), the head of the fairy scouts, learns of the beasts existence, and ties it to a legend about a NeverBeast that comes with the comet's passing. The legend is all pictorial, and it seems to show the NeverBeast in a stage of advanced evolution, with lightning destroying all of Pixie Hollow. Armed with the legend, Nyx and the rest of the scouts set out to capture the NeverBeast and stop the impending doom.

As the green clouds and devastating lightning begin, Fawn must decide whether she will help the scouts or her new animal friend.

This is, technically, a Tinker Bell movie, but Bell (Mae Whitman) takes a backseat to let Fawn shine in this one. Ginnifer Goodwin is a welcome addition to this voice cast, and really sells Fawn's optimism and caring for animals. Her earnestness in the way she introduces Gruff -- the nickname she has given the NeverBeast -- can be seen in the clip below.

While the feature alone is enough reason to pick this up, for its excellent animation, its engrossing storytelling, its conflict setup and surprising resolution, this Blu-ray release also includes some intriguing bonus features, including (but not limited to):

  • The Five Essential Ingredients to Getting Gruff
  • My Dad's Movies: The True Story of the NeverBeast
  • Jeff Corwin's Guide to Real-World NeverBeasts

  • Deleted Scenes

The latest in the series of Pixie Hollow adventures, TINKER BELL AND THE LEGEND OF THE NEVERBEAST is a delight.

Grade: 
4.5 / 5.0