Not long ago, I paid tribute to one of my favourite Disney characters of all time, Jiminy Cricket. Starting out as a main character in Disney’s Pinocchio, he grew to become one of the faces of the company and has remained a staple part of how the world views the company. Another character outside of Mickey Mouse that has become synonymous with the Disney name is Tinker Bell, a sassy yet likable fairy. Ever since the release of Peter Pan in 1953, Tink has graced the screens of millions of kids over several generations, constantly evolving as well. Let’s look at Tinker Bell’s history with the company.

Tinker Bell. Image from: https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Tinker_Bell

Tinker Bell in J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan (1904)

In 1902, James Matthew Barrie wrote a book called The Little White Bird, where a little week-old boy named Peter would never grow up, and he would eventually find that his mother was no longer waiting for him when he returned home from being with the fairies and birds in Kensington Gardens. In 1904, the story became a play called Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. This version would feature Peter in Neverland as opposed to the gardens, and would introduce characters such as Captain Hook and Tinker Bell to the story. The play first opened on December 27, 1904 in London, and was brought to New York City in 1905 with star Maude Adams as Peter.

Tinker Bell was not a part of The Little White Bird book, but there were mentions of fairies several times throughout the original story. When Peter flies away from home at just a week old in his nightgown, he encounters the birds and fairies who live together in Kensington Gardens. When he feels like he needs his mother to help him blow his nose, he decides to turn to the fairies for help, who in turn, fly away in fear of him.

“What he wanted so much was his mother to blow his nose, but that never struck him, so he decided to appeal to the fairies for enlightenment. They are reputed to know a good deal.”

— The Little White Bird

As mentioned above, the character of Tinker Bell makes her grand entrance in the 1904 play, opening at the Duke of York’s Theatre. Unlike performances of Peter Pan today where Tink is personified, the fairy was merely just a beam of light that would move around when Peter addressed her. In the program for the play, “Miss Jane Wren” is credited for portraying the very first version of Tinker Bell on stage, though Jane Wren never existed. It was a name made up for the program to continue the mystique and magic of this little beam of light. The first visual appearance of Tinker Bell was in the 1924 film by Paramount Pictures, where Tink is played by Virginia Browne Faire.

The program for the 1904 play Peter Pan. Image from: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/12/27/today-history-december-27-1904-james-barries-peter-pan-opened-london/2741470001/

Tinker Bell eventually appeared in chapter 3 of Barrie’s book in 1911, titled Peter and Wendy, which more closely replicated the play rather than his first Peter story. Her name is explained in this book as well, while Peter and Wendy exchange words in the nursery; “she is called Tinker Bell because she mends the pots and kettles.”

“A moment after the fairy’s entrance the window was blown open by the breathing of the little stars, and Peter dropped in. He had carried Tinker Bell part of the way, and his hand was still messy with the fairy dust.”

— Peter and Wendy

Tinker Bell in Disney’s Peter Pan (1953)

Walt had considered making Peter Pan his second film following Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the 1930s. That idea didn’t end up going to plan because Disney wasn’t able to get the rights to the story until 1939, and by then other films like Pinocchio were underway. Peter Pan would be revisited in 1940, with writers putting together a storyboard and molding the characters into who they needed to be for the Disney film. There were several parts of the play and the books that didn’t make it into the Disney film, including Tinker Bell almost dying by Captain Hook’s poison, and her snitching to Hook the whereabouts of Peter when she becomes angry with him. Though she kept her petty and jealous spirit, she was still meant to be on the good side, and Walt wanted to preserve that.

Tinker Bell. Image from: https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/disneys-peter-pan/images/36193907/title/tinkerbell-screencap-photo

Tinker Bell of course didn’t have any speaking lines in the film, but she did have a reference model much like Peter and Wendy did. Bobby Driscoll was Peter’s reference model and voice, and Kathryn Beaumont was Wendy’s. Tinker Bell was portrayed by Margaret Kerry, a dancer and actress featured in films and sitcoms. She went to audition for the part of Tink at the studios, and landed the role, embracing the movements of a fairy for the next few months. The sessions would be filmed and then recreated by animators to get the expressions for the character just right. Tink’s supervising animator was Marc Davis, who is also known for animating Cruella, Aurora, Maleficent, Cinderella, and many more iconic female leads.

“Everybody here was studying constantly. We had models at the Studio and we’d go over and draw every night. We weren’t making much, because the Studio didn’t have much, but it was a perfect time of many things coming together into one orbit. Walt was the lodestone.”

— Marc Davis

Margaret Kerry as Tinker Bell. Image from: https://www.lamag.com/article/tinker-bell-love-story/

Tinker Bell Becomes a Mascot

After the release of Peter Pan and before the grand opening of Disneyland, Walt and his team worked on a television series called Walt Disney’s Disneyland, which was later renamed to Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. This is the very first time we see Tinker Bell in the intro, appearing after a firework explosion and tapping her pixie dust onto Walt’s name. Each land in Disneyland was given a part in the intro, with Tink dressing up in the appropriate attire for each. She continued to appear in the different variations of the intro, but eventually being sized down into a beam of light that guided your way through the outside of the castle. In 2014, The Wonderful World of Disney brought her back to her original form as the opener of the intro.

Walt Disney’s Disneyland intro. Image from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2NCv5_qvu8

In 1973, Disney celebrated their 50th anniversary, since it had been 50 years of Mickey Mouse. This is the first time we see Tinker Bell in the Disney film intro, flying around a bold “Happy 50 Years” and tapping her pixie dust onto it. Almost all Disney film intros before that one only included the “Distributed by Buena Vista” messaging. After that, Disney reverted to their blue background and white castle logo, which held up for decades. There was always a beam that shot across the top of the castle in every version even now, which could be theorized to represent Tink.

There was a mandela effect theory going around that said people recalled seeing Tinker Bell in an intro dot the “I” in Disney and fly off the screen. There was also a version where people remembered her tapping the top of the castle and flying off. There is footage from a Walt Disney Home Video intro of Tink tapping the top of the castle like in the theory, which is what people may be remembering. Though, looking at different forums and comments, people believe they saw differently as a child.

Tinker Bell in the Wonderful World of Disney intro. Image from: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/disneys_wonderful_world

Tinker Bell in the Disney Parks

Tinker Bell was never featured as a walking character or meet and greet character in the parks until later in 2005. However, the first appearance of her was her moment in the fireworks night show in 1961, where she would be harnessed and flown around the castle in Disneyland. The very first Tinker Bell to do this was Tiny Kline, whom was a circus performer and 70 years old! She was a professional though, and played that role for nearly 3 years before passing away due to stomach cancer. Gina Rock succeeded her, and flew as Tink for 21 years.

In Walt Disney World in Florida, the infamous fairy took flight in 1985 during the Fantasy in the Sky show.

Tinker Bell’s Own Animated Movies

In 2008, Tinker Bell was given her very own computer animated movie, which centered around her creation and time before Peter Pan. It was produced by Disneytoon Studios, who at the time were primarily producing direct-to-video Disney films. They went in a new direction for the character, and for the first time ever, gave her a voice. She was voiced by Mae Whitman, with costars such as Kristin Chenowith, Raven Symone, and Lucy Liu. The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in September 2008. It was well received, becoming a phenomenon with children all across America, and developing the Disney Fairies franchise. Following the release of the film, Disneyland replaced Ariel’s Grotto with Pixie Hollow, a meet and greet area for Tinker Bell and her friends.

With the success of the first film and the Peter Pan brand overall, Disney released 6 sequels to the original, including: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure (2009), Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010), Pixie Hollow Games (2011), Secret of the Wings (2012), The Pirate Fairy (2014) and Legend of the NeverBeast (2015).

Tinker Bell and friends. Image from: https://screenrant.com/tinker-bell-movies-ranked-best-worst/

Tink was Walt’s right hand fairy and she will continue to symbolize the magic and mystery that Disney universes hold. It is a wonderful time to be alive where Tinker Bell is still celebrated.