| Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast | |
| Director: | Steve Loter |
| Producer: | Makul Wigert |
| Narrator: | Grey Griffin |
| Music: | Joel McNeely[1] |
| Cinematography: | Navneet Verma |
| Editing: | Margaret Hou |
| Studio: | Disneytoon Studios |
| Distributor: | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
| Runtime: | 76 minutes[2] |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Gross: | $31.2 million (non-US box office) |
Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast is a 2015 American animated fantasy film directed by Steve Loter.[3] It is the sixth and final installment in the Tinker Bell film series, based on the character Tinker Bell from J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy. This was also the final feature film to be produced by Disneytoon Studios three years before its closure on June 28, 2018. It is also the last of the direct to video Disney follow-ups after a 21-year-long run.[4]
Mae Whitman, Lucy Liu, Raven-Symoné, Megan Hilty, Pamela Adlon, and Anjelica Huston reprise their roles of Tinker Bell, Silvermist, Iridessa, Rosetta, Vidia and Queen Clarion.[5] Ginnifer Goodwin joins the cast, replacing Angela Bartys as the voice of Fawn in this film,[6] Rosario Dawson joins the cast as new character Nyx. Singer Mel B also joins the cast as new character Fury in the British release while Danai Gurira voices her in the American release.
Fawn, a talented Animal fairy, frequently gets into trouble for harbouring dangerous creatures in Pixie Hollow, such as bats, snakes and, most recently, a baby hawk. She is advised by Queen Clarion to listen to her head, as well as her heart. While teaching bunnies how to hop, Fawn discovers a mysterious creature lying in a cave, which is apparently suffering from a thorn in one of his paws. Fawn tries to help the beast and discovers that it is not vicious. Over time, she forms a bond with the creature, whom she names Gruff, and notices he is building rock towers.
Meanwhile, an ambitious scout fairy named Nyx investigates the situation, researching in the library to find out what she's up against. Using some information gathered from several torn pages of an undisclosed animal book, she discovers that Gruff is actually the NeverBeast, a legendary creature that awakens once every millennium, when he will build and use rock towers to transform into a terrifying beast that could destroy Pixie Hollow. Fawn reassures her friends that Gruff is harmless, but they remain skeptical and Tinker Bell tells her, even if he isn't a threat, Pixie Hollow isn't safe for Gruff.
One day, Gruff disappears and ominous green clouds start forming in the sky. Nyx and the scouts head out to capture Gruff. Realising he is building towers in each season of Pixie Hollow, Fawn searches Summer while Tinker Bell heads to Winter. She encounters Gruff, who is beginning to transform into the beast from Nyx's legend. Tink tries to encourage him to hide, but Gruff slaps her aside with his newly grown tail, knocking her unconscious. Fawn arrives on scene and is shocked to find Tink on the ground. She watches in horror as Gruff sprouts a pair of huge wings, matching his horns and tail. He disappears and Fawn rushes Tinker Bell home.
Heartbroken at the realisation that Gruff is really a monster, Fawn agrees to lure him into Nyx's trap and Gruff is captured. Tinker Bell wakes up and explains that Gruff saved her from getting crushed by a falling tree. Fawn realises she misunderstood the whole thing and flies off to rescue Gruff. She and her friends manage to free him, but his vision is hindered by the knockout Nightshade used during his capture. Fawn finally realises what Gruff is there to do; he absorbs the lightning from the storms using the towers in order to stop it destroying Pixie Hollow. She tells him to follow the glow of her wings and the pair head off to the towers. The plan goes well, until Nyx destroys the final tower, believing Gruff to be a danger. With no time to rebuild it, Fawn leads Gruff into the eye of the storm where he absorbs every single lightning strike. Gruff pulls Fawn out of the way just in time, and the two of them fall to the ground, ending the storm. Gruff's horns and wings are destroyed, but he is saved by Nyx's scouts. Fawn is also caught, but she has seemingly been killed by the power of the storm. As Gruff mourns her, the lightning he absorbed makes a spark which revives Fawn, much to everyone's delight.
For the next few days, Gruff helps rebuild Pixie Hollow until Fawn realises it is time for him to hibernate for another 1000 years, meaning the fairies will never see him again. The fairies sadly guide him back to his cave in a sendoff ceremony and try to make his slumber as comfortable as possible, while Fawn passes on a new legend to future generations of fairies, one where the NeverBeast is not a monster, but the Hero of Pixie Hollow.
The film was released theatrically in selected markets including the United Kingdom on December 12, 2014. In the United States, it had a limited theatrical release, opening on January 30, 2015, at the El Capitan Theatre for a 13-day engagement,[9] and was released direct-to-video on March 3, 2015.
Overseas, the film grossed $31,178,525.[10]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 75%, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.59/10.[11] Metacritic reports a 52 out of 100 rating, based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]
In addition to Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast, Disney also had plans for a seventh and eighth film. In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter stated that the seventh film was cancelled due to story problems. The title of the film and the release date was unknown.[13] In addition, Disneytoon Studios was shut down on June 28, 2018.