The Original ‘Tinker Bell’ Returns to Neverland

If there’s one thing that Disney fans always love, it’s a classic Disney icon like Roy Disney or a Disney Legend like Jodi Benson.

Many Disney fans want to feel a stronger connection to the Walt Disney Company and its history, as if they were able to speak directly to Walt Disney himself — but there are still some people alive today who did work on the classic Disney films of old, and one of them just made an appearance in Disneyland!

Margaret Kerry, the iconic actress who portrayed Tinker Bell as a live-action reference model during the making of the 1953 Disney movie Peter Pan, just appeared in Disneyland for her 94th birthday!

While visiting Disneyland, Margaret (of course) paid a visit to her friend Peter Pan and her own alter ego, the mischievous Pixie Hollow fairy named Tinker Bell (Tink for short). 

Margaret Kerry also served as the reference model for animators (and did the voice acting) when it came to another Peter Pan character: the red-haired mermaid!

Margaret Kerry actually has her own book, entitled “Tinker Bell Talks: Tales of a Pixie Dusted Life”, and her own website dedicated to her performance as Tinker Bell the Pixie Hollow fairy and Neverland icon.

✨Lots of pixie dust here! Walt Disney's original Tinker Bell model, Miss Margaret Kerry @tinkerbelltalks celebrating her 94th birthday at @Disneyland today! #Disney #animation #history #Disney100 #PeterPan70 pic.twitter.com/OpcUg4To8N

— Rick Law (@observantview) May 11, 2023

 

Margaret Kerry continued to have a very successful career in television and voiceover after her Disney work began, starring in shows like The Charlie Ruggles Show and The Little Rascals.

After her famous role that involved working directly with Walt Disney (who she described as “charming,” “interested,” “complex,” “a good listener,” and “really better looking than his photos”), Kerry confirmed that she continues to love her Disney affiliation.

 

“Year after year, as I go about my business, someone will say, ‘I’ll bet you get tired of the Tinker Bell bit,’” Kerry wrote on her website. “No, I’ll never get tired of the fact that my name along with the name of the beguiling Tinker Bell …Walt Disney, James M. Barrie, Peter Pan, and Disneyland … can be written in the same sentence”.

“It’s a blessing from above,” the renowned actress wrote. “How could anyone ever get tired or become blasé with a gift like that … it is still so … so magical.”