Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell is a fictional character in J.M. Barrie's play and subsequent novel Peter Pan, and various adaptations of them. She is described as a common fairy who mends pots and kettles, i.e. a tinker, and is often referred to simply as Tink. Though sometimes ill-behaved and vindictive, at other times she is helpful and kind to Peter (for whom she apparently has romantic feelings). The extremes in her personality are explained by the fact that a fairy's size prevents her from holding more than one feeling at a time.
In one famous scene, she is dying, but will survive if enough people believe in fairies. In the play the characters make a plea to the children watching to sustain her by shouting out "I believe in fairies," an example of "breaking the fourth wall." In the novel and the 2003 film, Peter calls out to dreaming children within the storytelling universe. At the end of the novel, when Peter returns to the Darling home after a year, it is revealed that Tinker Bell "is no more" since "fairies don't live long, but they are so small that a short time seems a good while to them." Like nearly everything that has happened in the story, Peter has forgotten her; real death and sadness cannot exist in his everlasting childhood.
Representations in Media
In stage presentations, she is typically represented by a tightly focused spotlight or other lighting effect (in a London staging of it, the lights failed and they had to use a matchstick fastened to an ice cube to give a strange light effect). In the book, she is described as "a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage. She was slightly inclined to embonpoint."
On screen, she has been played by Virginia Browne Faire (Herbert Brenon's 1924 silent movie Peter Pan), Julia Roberts (Steven Spielberg's 1991 film Hook), and Ludivine Sagnier (P. J. Hogan's 2003 film Peter Pan). Despite an urban legend that Disney modeled the character in the 1953 animated film version after actress Marilyn Monroe, Margaret Kerry actually served as the animators' reference.
A bronze statue by London born sculptor Diarmuid Byron O'Connor was commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital — to whom Barrie bequeathed the copyright to the character — to be added to his four foot statue of Peter Pan, wresting a thimble from Peter's hand. The figure has a 9.5 inch wingspan and is 7 inches high, said to be the smallest statue in London. It was unveiled on September 29, 2005 by Sophie Countess of Wessex.
In addition to Arthur Rackham's original illustrations, Tinker Bell has also been portrayed by Brian Froud and Myrea Pettit.
In the anime series Peter Pan no Boken, Tinkerbell is voiced by Sumi Shimamoto.
Disney
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Disney's version of the fairy (whom they sometimes call a pixie), clad in a lime-green, hip-length dress with a rigid trim,and green-slippers, became a mascot for The Walt Disney Company, appearing in commercials and program openings to spread fairy dust. She was also among the numerous Disney characters to appear in the television series House of Mouse, and appeared in the Kingdom Hearts video game series. She has also made appearances in the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection by waving her wand the text turns into the logo.
She is part of both the Disney Princesses & Disney Fairies.
Tinker Bell now has her own book series. Written by Ella Enchanted author Gail Carson Levine, Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg is the first entry in the Disney Fairies series. In it, Tinker Bell and three fairy friends are faced with the task of protecting the egg responsible for keeping Neverland's inhabitants young.
Tinker Bell has never had a voice in most Disney films. However, Brittany Murphy will be providing the character's voice in the forthcoming film Tinker Bell based on the Disney Fairies franchise. Other Hollywood actresses will be the voices of Tinker Bell's friends (Rosetta will be voiced by Kristen Chenoweth while Iridessa, Fawn and Silvermist have no specific actresses named yet for the other fairies.)
Tinker Bell has had a few boyfriends over the years: in Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, she shared mutual affection with the sparrow man Terence. In the official sequel to Barrie's novel, Tinker Bell falls in love with the fairy Fireflyer. After Fireflyer commits a heroic act, she and Fireflyer are married. They spend the rest of their lives performing the dangerous job of catching dreams with a tripwire and selling them to pirates and Roarers.
Today, Tinker Bell is displayed on posters, clocks, bedroom doors, hats, shirts, umbrellas, and even rings and necklaces. She has her own line of merchandise and has become an icon for many young girls. Tinker Bell is unlike other popular Disney characters, in that she is a fairy rather than a princess (however she was included in the Disney Princess line at one point). Disney has released previews of a new movie starring Tinker Bell. It is set in the secret world of "Pixie Hollow" and introduces various new fairies that form part of Tinker Bell's world.
She was also the very last character seen in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, as she made Porky Pig disappear with her wand as the pig uttered his famous "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" line.