Tuesday, March 7, 2017

Ballerina

DIRECTORS: Eric Summer, Éric Warin  VOICE CAST:  Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Maddie Ziegler, Carly Rae Jepsen  SCREENPLAY: Carol Noble, Eric Summer, Laurent  Zeitoun  PRODUCERS: Valérie d'Auteuil, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, André Rouleau, Laurent Zeitoun, Yann Zenou  EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: François-Xavier Aubague  ARTISTIC PRODUCER: Guillaume Ivernel  LINE PRODUCER: Laurence Vacher  FILM EDITOR: Yvann Thibaudeau  GENRE: Animation, Adventure  CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jericca Cleland  MUSIC: Klaus Badelt  PRODUCTON COMPANIES: Quad Productions, Caramel Film, Main Journey  DISTRIBUTORS: Gaumont (France), Entertainment One (Canada)  COUNTRIES: Canada, France  LANGUAGE: English  RUNNING TIME: 89 minutes
Technical assessment:  4
Moral assessment:  4
CINEMA rating:  VA (Viewers of All Ages)
Orphan Félicie (voiced by Elle Fanning) dreams of becoming a professional ballerina. Encouraged and accompanied by her best friend and driven by the passion to be a dancer, she flees from the orphanage in rural Brittany and heads for Paris. When she gets to Paris, she befriends a caretaker at the Grand Opera House who offers to train her and give her a place to stay. Félicie manages to secure a place in the Grand Opera House's ballet school, under a false identity. Under Odette's tutelage, Félicie emerges as one of the top ballerinas in the school. With time, however, the truth about her identity must come out. 
Ballerina follows the usual fairy tale formula, where the main character moves from being insignificant to becoming a person whom everyone admires. The way that the story is told, however, gives the movie a fresh appeal to the audience.  While there is not much originality in the figures even if drawn delicately, the animators’ attention to the details regarding ballet techniques is quite commendable.
The movie delivers a heartwarming message to all its viewers that with optimism and determination, one can pursue one’s dream at all cost.  It also highlights the value of helping those in need and of sharing one’s talent with others in order to bring out the best in them.