Ballet Shoes (2007) (TV)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Sandra Goldbacher

Writers:

Noel Streatfeild (novel)
Heidi Thomas (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 December 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Family

Tagline:

Dreams do come true...

Plot:

The story of three orphan girls (Pauline, Petrova, and Posy), adopted by an eccentric explorer, Great Uncle Matthew, and his niece Sylvia, in 1930s London.

Plot Keywords:

Dance | Talent | 1930s | Teenage Girl In Ballet Suit | London England

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Emilia Fox	...	Sylvia Brown
Victoria Wood	...	Nana
Emma Watson	...	Pauline Fossil
Yasmin Paige	...	Petrova Fossil
Lucy Boynton	...	Posy Fossil
Richard Griffiths	...	Great Uncle Matthew
Marc Warren	...	Mr. Simpson
Lucy Cohu	...	Theo Dane
Gemma Jones	...	Dr. Jakes
Harriet Walter	...	Dr. Smith
Eileen Atkins	...	Madame Fidolia
Heather Nicol	...	Winifred
Mary Stockley	...	Miss Jay
Teresa Churcher	...	Clara
Skye Bennett	...	Young Sylvia

MPAA:

Rated PG for smoking.

Runtime:

90 min | UK:180 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG | Australia:G | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Bloomsbury, London, England, UK

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Emilia Fox plays the part of Sylvia Brown in this adaptation. Emilia's mother, Joanna David, played the part of Theo Danes in the 1975 BBC adaptation of the same story.

Quotes:

[Miss Jay meets Pauline and Winifred after their Alice auditions]
Miss Jay: Well done, you two. Right, Pauline is to play Alice
[pauses as girls gasp]
Miss Jay: and Winifred is to be engaged as understudy.
Pauline Fossil: [starts to say] What?
Winifred: [interrupts] When I finished my dance, people clapped! Nobody clapped her, there was just silence!
Miss Jay: Dance is important, but Pauline looks right for Alice.
Winifred: She looks right for everything, she always will!
[looks at Pauline and murmurs]
Winifred: Pretty face... blonde hair...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Remake of "Ballet Shoes" (1975)

TV films like this should really be more well-known.

This is a TV film based on the book Ballet Shoes. It is about three adopted girls just after the First World War who all have different ambitions for the future.

This may come as a shocking statement to some, but I think this deserved to be in the cinemas just as much as Spiderman 3, Enchanted and that sort of thing. I like those films as well of course, but this is really something.

I like this for the brilliant acting from Emma Watson etc, the similarity to the Noel Streatfield book, a lot of the humour and the end of the story, it is one of my favourite parts of the film. It may miss bits out from the book, but those bits are the unnecessary parts and the parts left in are well-chosen. I cannot properly explain how and why I like this (the previous part of the paragraph was not totally what I meant), but I just recommend it to anyone who likes the book and people who like Emma Watson.

At the very beginning of the film, a young girl with no surviving relatives other than her uncle, goes to live with him in his huge house of fossils. Her life becomes happier, but it soon turns out to be hard work again when on his travels around the world, the uncle sends her three baby girls. These girls grow up to have bright personalities and mixed interests and talents.

Enjoy "Ballet Shoes"! :-)