The fourth entry to the Disney Fairies franchise, Secret of the Wings, for some may not match the standard of the first three films in terms of quality, but it’s still definitely better than middling, which in itself puts it at a higher place than most direct-to-video Disney animated films. It’s definitely better than mediocre, and something one would not definitely recommend.
How to Stream or Download Secret of the Wings
You can stream the film using the Disney+ app or You can stream it or you can download it from a digital store of your choice, To begin, click on the Download button at the end of the review. Check out also our reviews of the first three films from the Disney Fairies universe – Tinker Bell (2008), Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009), and Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010).
The Movie Review
The film is set in a time with winter right around the corner. The fairies prepare for it, and Tinker Bell assists her friend Fawn in taking the animals to the Winter Woods so that they could prepare for hibernation. Fawn reveals to Tinker Bell that the fairies that come from warmer areas are forbidden to cross the border because if they do so, they’d end up losing their wings.
Tinker Bell, who’s been more curious since the previous film, ends up ignoring Fawn’s warnings and crosses the border, but surprisingly, her wings begin to sparkle rather than getting damaged. Fawn tries to get her back, but Tink’s curiosity is raised even further.
She reads a book about sparkling wings, which happens to e missing a bunch of pages, and is told by another fairy that the author, who’s called The Keeper, lives in the Winter Woods.
Bell protects her wings in a coat, but the book falls from her bag and is delivered to The Keeper by Lord Milori. Tink follows the book throughout, and somewhere along the lines, meets a fairy named Periwinkle, a winter fairy who was born alongside Tink herself.
Then begins a journey the distant twins share, with many truths unraveling, especially about why the two different types of fairies are forbidden to cross each other’s territories.
Greater truths are revealed about the fairy universe than in any of the previous three films, but it, unfortunately, loses a tiny bit of quality in comparison to them, more so due to the dialogue being less engaging.
The animation seems quite better than all three of its predecessors combined, but it’s still not a very beautiful film to look at.
The premise is probably the least minimalistic in the entire franchise, but it could’ve used the writing magic of any of its three predecessors, especially regarding how the film is paced. It is regardless, an above-average film, with a slight majority of things going in favor of it, even though there are moments when there’s a lot of repetition.
The screenplay by Bobs Gannaway, Peggy Holmes, Ryan Rowe, and Tom Rogers is above average, and something that does get you interested in the movie for a good part of it, just that it suffers from a bunch of pacing issues.
Peggy Holmes’ direction tries to rely fairly on all the things that have worked for the franchise in past, but while doing so, it doesn’t find a good deal of its own identity. The animation and the music are as good as they were in the rest of the franchise too.
The Bottom Line
Secret of the Wings packs an interesting premise and reveals many truths about the franchise, but it’s nothing to recommend explicitly, with the only reason for watching it being the revelation of the franchise’s truths.
