A visit to the cinema shouldn't be like a visit to the dentist... but this misfiring kids' adventure fantasy should ensure the little blighters will be flossing regularly.

Tooth (Paige) - a Dental Reimbursement Operative - is fed up retrieving molars from under pillows and replacing them with a shiny coin.

So she engineers the entire cash reserves of Fairytopia - the subterranean base of the tooth fairies - is funneled under the pillow of little Tolly (Maisie Preston).

When Tolly wakes up inches below the ceiling, she looks down to find she's lying on a mound of greenbacks which she and brother Tom (Copus) stash in the garage.

However, deep in the bowels of the Earth panic is raging as Tooth realises the lolly was destined to pay for Santa Claus's presents... and it's two days to Christmas.

Former commercials director Edouard Nammour can't seem to stick with one idea and run with it so we have diversions and switchbacks queuing up like buses.

There's Tooth's nemesis Plug (Harry Enfield in best villainous Terry Thomas mode) and a sub plot involving Tolly's parents (Tim Dutton and a wasted Sally Phillips).

Cameos include Richard E Grant being annoying, Steven Fry for no particular reason, Jerry Hall doing nothing and Vinnie Jones with more lines of dialogue that his entire Hollywood oeuvre so far.

Bearing in mind this is aimed at kids, the narrative often loses momentum and the plot swings around so violently it's got more in common with The Usual Suspects than Harry Potter.

It's all a bit of a shame because there are some good ideas - it looks great in a retro sort of way and the basic premise isn't bad at all.

However, Nammour overcomplicates things - the cast is far too big, decent lines are too few and the whole shebang looks like he's bitten off more than he can chew. Say Aaaaaah.

Tim Evans