Wonderful 1990s short film about the tooth fairy
When I was young, our elementary school offered every semester catalogues from Scholastic, the North American Book publisher which sold books and other items (short films, T-Shirts, and tie-in products). In one of these catalogues, they offered one day a videocassette of a short film called Tooth Fairy, Where Are You?. A cartoon story that was shown on CTV in 1991, though I never got to see it until it came out on tape.
In its story, we have a apprentice tooth fairy named Dottie, who plans to pass her exams very soon, but still struggles with her lessons and magical skills. Especially as she tends to arrive late for her classes and because she has sight problems, which require her to wear glasses. One night, a week before her final exams, she learns that a little girl named Lori, still hasn’t had her tooth collected by the tooth fairies, all busy with their missions. Seeing that this kid risks to stop believing in fairies, Dottie flies straight at her home. But as she still struggles with her powers, she inadvertently awakes Lori, who sees before her a tooth fairy that slowly becomes her friend. Through the week, Dottie and Lori help each other develop the self-confidence they need to get past their personal problems. For Lori, it is to deal with a class bully named Gordon and to not being afraid of wearing glasses. Latter problem which Dottie shares as well while also revising her lessons for her final exams. But more than that, they develop a friendship that connects them forever.
So overall, Tooth Fairy, Where Are You? is a wonderful cartoon short film that will delight families who want to enjoy stories that can connect parents and kids together. Here, a beautiful story about friendship and the strength one gains from interacting with others. A story for all ages, very well written and directed by Paul Schibli, who did the popular cartoon series The Racoons. So any fans of that show will know how this short film will be as good as Burt Racoon’s stories which I remember seeing on Radio-Canada, but also on Canal Famille.
For its voice cast, as I listened to both the English and French Canadian versions, I was delighted by the performances. With the excellent English cast, Dottie is played by Lenore Zann, whom many know as Rogue in the cult classic show The X-Men; while for the French version, done by the dubbing studio Cinélume and which I purchased on another video cassette, we have Johanne Léveillé as Dottie and Lisette Dufour as Lori (Laura in the dub). Two actresses who dub the Simpsons; Johanne for Bart Simpson and Lisette for Lisa. So if you are fan of the Simpsons and listen to the French dub, you will recognize their voices right away.
As for the animation, the quality is excellent. The movements are fluid, the story-boards are clearly constructed and presented, the camera work is wonderful, and the color palettes are well chosen. Through the entire film, we really feel like we are in a Canadian city where in its parks hide a colony of tooth fairies, ready to take care of children and their tooths. Which makes you realize that there might be other magical creatures co-existing in that world which the humans, like those in Harry Potter, are unaware of.
About the music, Victor Davies composed a beautiful partition. Orchestral tunes involving instruments such as violins and bells. Musical tracks that enhance well the story and the friendship between Dottie and Lori.
In terms of nostalgia, this cartoon brings back many things to me. First, the culture of cell animation, which has been replaced nowadays by digital 2D animation and CGI productions. Secondly, it reminded me of a time period in my youth where I was bullied at school and cartoons like these helped me get through those years. Thirdly, a chance to see further what productions the Canadian animation industry did back then, even though I did not know the show was Canadian. Fourthly, another exploration of Paul Schibli’s storytelling I knew from his Racoons series and his Nutcracker movie.
But more than all, this movie is another example of a production that still awaits a proper DVD or Blu-Ray release. Or even an official streaming release on YouTube like I have seen for other shows like Babar or Les Contes de la Rue Broca. And that it still awaits another chance to be shown again to audiences is really sad as this short movie is a beautiful piece of canadian animation. One that does not infantilizes its audience, nor does it tries to preach any forced or corny lessons.
In sum, Tooth Fairy, Where Are You? is a short film that deserves to be distributed again and to be shown to audiences worldwide again. Whether on DVD, Blu-Ray or on Itunes/YouTube.
