Tinkerbell
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Tinkerbell or Tinker Bell is a fictional character in J.M. Barrie's play and subsequent novel Peter Pan. She is a sometimes ill-behaved and vindictive, but loyal fairy who is Peter Pan's companion. In one famous scene, Tinkerbell will die if not enough people believe in fairies. The resultant plea to the children watching the play or movie is an example of "breaking the fourth wall"; in the novel and the 2003 movie, Peter calls out to dreaming children within the storytelling universe to sustain her. In the end of the novelization, when Peter returns to Wendy after a year, it is revealed that Tinkerbell "is no more" since "fairies don't live long, but they are so little 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.
After Disney's 1953 animated film version, their version of Tinkerbell became something of a mascot for The Walt Disney Company, appearing in commercials and program openings to spread fairy dust from her magic wand. She appeared in the Kingdom Hearts video game series as a friend whom Sora can summon in his fights. Despite an urban legend that Disney modeled the animated character after then-budding starlet Marilyn Monroe, actress Margaret Kerry actually served as the animators' reference for the character.
In stage presentations, the character is typically represented by a tightly focused spotlight or other lighting effect. On screen, the character has been played by Julia Roberts (Steven Spielberg's 1994 film Hook) and Ludivine Sagnier (P. J. Hogan's 2003 film Peter Pan).