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Throughout this animated adventure aimed at tweens, the world of fairies is dedicated to gathering baby teeth of slumbering youngsters and placing gold beneath where they sleep. Skateboarding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about spending his future to gathering baby teeth—a sentiment that’s completely understandable. He’s only slightly more interested in the underlying economics of the situation: the fairies deliver the teeth to unseen goblins, who supply gold as payment. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he spots a goblin (voiced by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the hideous gnome he had imagined.

A Forbidden Connection and Shared Threat

Everything is prepared for an adventure with a gentle touch of young love (though it’s very much suitable for younger kids). The goblin and fairy communities are estranged from each other, and nothing fuels the thrill of the forbidden to bring people together. The two species portrayed in the film are remarkably alike, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. The fairies are said to be self-centered types, prone to stealing whatever they fancy, while goblins are allegedly dim-witted, smelly, and backward, but are in fact intelligent and technologically advanced.

Of course, such a setup needs a shared foe to join forces against, and this is duly provided in the form of some nasty spiders, with voices by Jon Lovitz and Fran Drescher. There’s no beating about the bush with these guys: they want to eat the goblins and fairies, and they serve as quite savage, if not particularly skilled, villains.

Target Audience and Final Thoughts

You won’t find very many children’s animations aimed at the kind of audience that is starting to experience first crushes, but aren’t yet mature enough for whatever teenagers are watching in lieu of Twilight. If your child is in the right age bracket, it probably won’t to be their next favorite movie, but it’s a decent choice.

The Tooth Fairy Story arrives in movie theaters in Scotland from 10 October and across the United Kingdom from 24 October.