Having been genuinely dismayed and frankly somewhat baffled by the European theatrical releases of such previous Tinker Bell movies as Secret of the Wings and The Pirate Fairy, I am pleased to report that this latest instalment (which, like its predecessors, goes direct-to-home-viewing in the US) marks a creative step in the right direction. When a strange comet awakens the titular monster, Tink’s animal-friendly best friend, Fawn, sees nothing but goodness in the massive green-eyed beast, who instils fear and loathing in the more militaristic residents of Pixie Hollow. As strange weather and storm-clouds gather, Fawn must persuade her fellow sprites that “Gruff” is friend rather than foe, providing plenty of opportunity for benevolent life lessons (beauty is on the inside) and animated pathos. Visually, this is in a different realm to its predecessors, with glowering skies and lightning strikes adding some much-needed spectacle. Shame, then, that this appears to be Tink’s swansong, with DisneyToon (under John Lasseter’s guidance) cancelling a seventh feature in the lucrative “pre-tween” series because of “story problems” – just when I was getting the hang of it!