TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Disney Says Tinker Bell Is Ready For Her Close-Up

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAWN C. CHMIELEWSKI

Los Angeles Times

Published: August 18, 2008

Tinker Bell, after many decades with no lines, is finally getting a starring role.

Long one of the studio's most popular classic characters, but one always consigned to flitting in the background, Tinker Bell is being recast by Walt Disney Co. in the hope of launching a new billion-dollar Fairies franchise aimed at young girls.

"Tink" never spoke in Disney's 1953 "Peter Pan" movie - the few words she utters in creator J.M. Barrie's 1911 novel involve an un-Disneyish expletive. Her elevation to pantheon status, the studio is betting, will lead girls to a new online fairy virtual world in addition to spurring purchases of fairy-themed books, toys, lip gloss and stationery.

It begins, as do many Disney launches, with a movie: The spunky sprite will star in her own film, "Tinker Bell," due out on DVD on Oct. 28. The movie, remade under the supervision of Pixar Animation's creative force, John Lasseter, is the first of four planned home video releases that executives see as appealing to young girls who have outgrown princesses but are too young to be into tween idol Hannah Montana.

"I think Fairies has the potential to be as big as Princesses," said Andrew P. Mooney, chairman of Disney Consumer Products.

The consumer products division had been rummaging through the studio's animation vault, searching for new merchandise possibilities, with an eye to repeating the surprising success of the Disney Princesses franchise. That pink-hued line of toys, clothing and other merchandise featuring eight heroines is expected to generate worldwide retail sales in excess of $4 billion this year.

Tinker Bell's enduring appeal prompted Disney's consumer products unit to place her at the center of its next girls' franchise, in an attempt to capture slightly older girls who are no longer playing dress-up.

One recent survey by Los Angeles marketing agency Davie Brown Entertainment shows Tinker Bell is more popular than Peter Pan and better known than such contemporary Pixar characters as Woody, the cowboy hero from "Toy Story," and the namesake clown fish from "Finding Nemo."

If merchandise sales serve as a barometer of popularity, Tinker Bell's been holding her own in Disney's parks and resorts. Tinker Bell paraphernalia racked up $800 million in retail sales last year as consumers snapped up such items as miniature fairy dolls, bubble bath and bedding.

"We were fundamentally missing an opportunity in terms of getting Tinker Bell out there as a character," Mooney said. "There's clearly latent demand."

Mooney knew that the consumer products unit couldn't just float out Tinker Bell and her new fly pals as a merchandise collection without a new introduction. "We needed a back story," he said.

So Mooney approached Disney Publishing Worldwide in 2004 about taking the creative lead in developing a fresh narrative for Tinker Bell, just as it had provided a literary revival to another classic character, Peter Pan, in "Peter and the Starcatchers," a 2004 "prequel" to Barrie's classic, written by humorist Dave Barry and suspense writer Ridley Pearson.

Jeanne Mosure, who oversees global publishing for the Fairies books, said her group contacted Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine about the project.

Levine's 2005 book, "Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg," tells the story of Tinker Bell and her world of Fairy Haven through the eyes of its newest arrival, Prilla. It spent 20 weeks on the New York Times' bestseller list, beginning in August 2005, and launched a literary franchise that has encompassed 200 titles and sold more than 12 million copies.

Martin Lindstrom, a brand consultant and author of the forthcoming book "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy," said there were risks to updating any classic.

"It's really dangerous," Lindstrom said. "The big challenge Disney has is to change it on one hand, so it becomes more modern and appealing for the next generation, but on the other hand they're almost changing a religion. They can very easily trip and fall down."

Mooney acknowledged the risk but said Levine and Lasseter, a onetime Disney animator, have been respectful of the classic works, even as they updated Tinker Bell's story.

With "Tinker Bell" poised for DVD release, the rest of Disney's franchise machinery is rolling into action.

Disney Interactive Media Group is launching an online community this fall, where the children who have created more than 6 million fairies on DisneyFairies.com can enter a virtual version of Pixie Hollow.

As with Disney's Club Penguin, the virtual world will be free to play in, with the option to upgrade to full access for a monthly subscription. A "Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell" game also goes on sale in the fall for the Nintendo DS hand-held console. At the same time, the consumer products group is ready to unveil an array of licensed products, including a line of Internet-connected toys called Clickables. The electronic jewelry can unlock special clothing or decor in the online world.

A girl also can create a message or a gift for a friend in the virtual world, save it to the eBracelet, then present it electronically by touching the band to a friend's.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT