Pirates, mermaids and princesses have dominated toddler culture over the last year. Do the wee ones still want to race around the house wearing their fairy wings and waving wands? Seeing how kids change their minds about what’s hot to them in a matter of days, fairies are never completely out of vogue. Winx Club keeps up the fairy action with animation from Italy. After the third season of the series, the producers made a theatrical film. Unlike other TV shows that have “movies” that are really double length episodes, Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom is 86 minutes long. It’s a real movie length movie. Don’t hit play before bedtime thinking it’s only 42 minutes long. They also wanted the kids to know that the movie was special. Instead of the limited animation of the TV show, the producers reworked the characters and Winx world into CGI.
Bloom isn’t merely a fairy. She’s also a princess. She has to locate her lost parents with the help of her fellow Winx fairies. Rumor has it that they’re long gone, but she won’t give up hope. They all go on a great journey to find stuff to assist in the big paternal revelation. What really matters is that the CGI short film seems to dazzle the toddler’s eyes. Adults will get a thrill with David Faustino (Married…with Children) as the voice of Helia. If the magical fairy world wasn’t enough, the princess talk made it a must watch event. There’s quite a few musical numbers to let them sing along with the replays. Pixie dust and royalty should restore your kid’s faith in fairies.
The video is 2.35:1 letterboxed on a 1.33:1 frame. The image looks from for a CGI film that was originally released in Italy back in 2007.
Seven episodes are included as a bonus. The extra episodes include “The Wizards of Black Circle,” “Magic Pets,” “Fear in Pixie Village,” “Winx on Earth,” “Ogron’s Spell,” “A Fairy Found” and “I Believe in You.” These are normal 2-D animation.
Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom is a CGI extension of the Nickelodeon series about a fairy and her family. This is for the kids.
Nickelodeon and Paramount Home Video presents Winx Club: The Secret of the Lost Kingdom. Starring: Molly C. Quinn, Amy Gross, Romi Dames and David Faustino. Running Time: 86 minutes. Released: August 7, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.
