It's known to go back to this one fairy series, I forget the exact name, <Something> the Fairy. It was clearly full of metaphors adults of the time would understand, effectively saying to parents, "If you let your children hang out with just anyone, bad things can happen to them." I'm phrasing it a bit lightly here. Hollywood execs looked at its popularity and the fact that it featured kind-of useless parents, and decided useless adults were what they wanted in everything.
But on the other hand, this guy should not be underestimated either...
All I can say is: Yes, she will play a role in stopping him.
But: Mark the exact wording of the previous sentence... ;-)