An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.An orphan girl dreams of becoming a ballerina and flees her rural Brittany for Paris, where she passes for someone else and accedes to the position of pupil at the Grand Opera house.
- Directors
- Eric Summer
- Éric Warin
- Mimi Maynard(voice director)
- Writers
- Eric Summer(original idea)
- Laurent Zeitoun(original story)
- Carol Noble(screenplay)
- Stars
- Elle Fanning(voice)
- Dane DeHaan(voice)
- Carly Rae Jepsen(voice)
- Directors
- Eric Summer
- Éric Warin
- Mimi Maynard(voice director)
- Writers
- Eric Summer(original idea)
- Laurent Zeitoun(original story)
- Carol Noble(screenplay)
- Stars
- Elle Fanning(voice)
- Dane DeHaan(voice)
- Carly Rae Jepsen(voice)
- Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination
Videos13
- Victoras Victor
- (voice)
- Méranteas Mérante
- (voice)
- (as Terence Scammel)
- …
- Rudolphas Rudolph
- (voice)
- …
- Regineas Regine
- (voice)
- Doraas Dora
- (voice)
- (as Elena Dunkleman)
- …
- Noraas Nora
- (voice)
- (as Soshana Sperling)
- Luteauas Luteau
- (US version)
- (voice)
- Postmanas Postman
- (US version)
- (voice)
- (as Ricardo Sanchez)
- Regineas Regine
- (US version)
- (voice)
- …
- Victoras Victor
- (US version)
- (voice)
- Margaretteas Margarette
- (voice)
- (uncredited)
- Briggitteas Briggitte
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Eric Summer
- Éric Warin
- Mimi Maynard(voice director)
- Writers
- Eric Summer(original idea) (original story) (screenplay)
- Laurent Zeitoun(original story) (screenplay)
- Carol Noble(screenplay)
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
- Taglines
- Never give up on your dreams.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG for some impolite humor, and action
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaThe Statue of Liberty is shown light green- it's current oxidized state. During construction and for a few years after it would have been a shiny copperish bronze color.
- GoofsThe Statue of Liberty is shown as being already green when it should be brown. The bronze didn't deteriorate to green until around 1900.
- Quotes
Odette: [places a bell on a tree branch] Jump and ring the bell.
Felicie: Why?
Odette: Just do it.
Felicie: You don't want me to dance?
Odette: No talking. Jump and ring the bell.
[Felicie obeys]
Odette: Again.
Felicie: You said we were going to train.
Odette: This is it. Again.
[Felicie shrugs, then jumps and rings the bell again]
Odette: Felicie, you lack precision and finesse. You have little or no sense of rhythm. You're without balance, grace, and charm.
[as she says this, she pours water around Felicie, creating a puddle]
Felicie: [lightheartedly] Come on! You can't tell all that from one jump! Can you?
[Odette doesn't answer; Felicie hangs her head in shame]
Felicie: You can.
Odette: On the good side, you have the energy of a bullet. But you also have the lightness of a depressed elephant.
Felicie: [surprised] Hey! Mérante used exactly the same phrase!
Odette: After ten years of cleaning, you pick stuff up. Okay, now jump up, ring this bell, land, and do not splash the water.
Felicie: [looking down at her reflection in the puddle] That's impossible.
Odette: [whispers] I thought it was your dream to dance.
- Crazy creditsThe title doesn't appear until the end of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in CTV National News: Episode dated 17 February 2017 (2017)
- SoundtracksYou Know It's About You
Written by Chris Braide and Wrabel (as Stephen Wrabel)
Performed by Chris Braide (as Magical Thinker) featuring Wrabel (as Stephen Wrabel)
String arrangement by Klaus Badelt and Christopher Carmichael
Produced and mixed by Chris Braide (as Christopher Braide)
While not up there with my favourite animated films, or one of my favourite films of 2016, 'Ballerina' is nonetheless charming with a lot of delights. It will delight the younger crowd, but fellow ballet fans will also be charmed and there should be enough for adults to find value. 'Ballerina' is much more than a film for "little girls" or "just for kids" and does a good job telling a type of story that would be relatable to anybody.
Coming from somebody who overcame disabilities and bullying and wanted to sing professionally and get training and experience, it took a long time but I got there and have not looked back, 'Ballerina' clicked with me.
Of course 'Ballerina' isn't immune to flaws. The story is very familiar and does get predictable, while the characters are very likable but slightly skim-surface archetypes. However, this may seem very nit-picky and can easily be ignored by people and only problems for the toughest of critics.
Aside from these, there were also reservations with some of the soundtrack and one voice cast member. The music is often beautiful and infectious, with some genuine enchantment, but could have done with more classical music choices and less pop. A good deal of the pop tunes are very catchy, but more Tchaikovsky would have suited the film better and been more dynamic and a few others grate. Dane DeHaan doesn't sound right as Victor and doesn't fit, sounding too mature for a character clearly intended to be much younger, either he should have tried to sound younger and more boyish or the character should have been voiced by somebody in his late-teens.
However, the animation is very good, often excellent, especially in the beautifully studied and meticulous background details and the intricate and graceful choreography that synchronises with the music very well and shows animators that have clearly done their homework. As said, the soundtrack does mostly work, while the script makes a real attempt to appeal to both children and adults (being a family film) and, with a nice mix of humour, pathos and life values and never being over-complicated or childish, it does succeed.
The story, even with the familiarity and predictability, goes at a neat pace and as well as having a lot of charm and heart the messaging never comes over as preachy and very much valuable. It is also easy to see why anybody would find it inspiring and easy to relate to, as a young adult both were very easy for me. Even though archetypal, the characters are still likable, the title character has her flaws but it is easy to quickly warm to her. The voice acting, DeHaan aside, is strong, with Elle Fanning and Carly Rae Jensen bringing emotion and spirit to their characters and Maddie Ziegler stealing the show.
In summary, a familiar film but a very charming one and one to be seen without prejudice. 7/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jan 5, 2017
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,702,560
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $181,091
- Feb 26, 2017
- Gross worldwide
- $106,127,278
- Runtime1 hour 29 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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