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In this cartoon adventure for preteens, the fairy community is dedicated to gathering teeth from slumbering children and placing gold beneath where they sleep. Board-riding youthful nonconformist fairy Van (brought to life by Booboo Stewart) shows little enthusiasm about devoting his life to collecting baby teeth—a feeling that’s entirely reasonable. He is just slightly more interested in the underlying economics of the situation: the fairies hand over the molars to mysterious goblins, who provide metal as payment. But Van’s curiosity is piqued when he spots a goblin (played by Larkin Bell), who turns out to be far from the hideous creature he had imagined.

An Unlikely Bond and Common Enemy

The stage is set for an exciting quest with a light sprinkling of teen romance (even though it remains very much suitable for children). The goblin and fairy groups are separated from each other, and nothing fuels the excitement of secrecy to bring people together. The two species as seen here are remarkably alike, yet each holds prejudiced beliefs about the opposite side. The fairies are supposed to be entitled types, prone to stealing whatever they fancy, while goblins are allegedly dim-witted, smelly, and backward, but are actually bright and technologically advanced.

Of course, such a setup requires 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 aim to devour the goblins and fairies, and they serve as fairly bloodthirsty, though not particularly skilled, villains.

Ideal Viewers and Overall Impression

You won’t find very many animated films targeting the viewer group that is beginning to have first crushes, but are not old enough for the content 14-year-olds are watching instead of Twilight. Should your youngster is in the right age bracket, it probably won’t to be their next favorite movie, but it’s a decent choice.

A Tooth Fairy Tale releases in Scottish cinemas from 10 October and across the United Kingdom from 24 October.