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Ballet Shoes (film)

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Ballet Shoes
Ballet Shoes DVD cover
Written byHeidi Thomas
Noel Streatfeild (novel)
Directed bySandra Goldbacher
StarringEmma Watson
Richard Griffiths
Lucy Boynton
Yasmin Paige
Emilia Fox
Victoria Wood
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
ProducersPiers Wenger
Michele Buck
Damien Timmer
Patrick Spence
Heidi Thomas
Running time85 minutes
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release26 December 2007

Ballet Shoes is a 2007 British television movie, adapted by Heidi Thomas from Noel Streatfeild's 1936 novel Ballet Shoes.[1] It was produced by Granada Productions and premiered on BBC One on 26 December 2007. It is directed by Sandra Goldbacher.

A previous adaptation of Ballet Shoes was produced in serial format by the BBC in 1975 and directed by Timothy Combe.

Plot synopsis

The story revolves around three adopted sisters, Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil, who live in near poverty with Sylvia Brown and Nana. Sylvia is the niece of "Gum" (Great Uncle Matthew), a somewhat wealthy paleontologist who one day leaves for an expedition and does not return, leaving the girls to fend for themselves. They have to sell some of his skeletons in order to clear rooms for boarders (these later include the friendly, learned Dr. Jakes and Dr. Smith, the helpful dance instructor Theo Danes, and John Simpson, whose family tragically passed away. The story eventually focuses on the various talents of the girls, namely acting, machinery and, of course, ballet.

Pauline has a talent for acting and auditions for the role of Alice in 'Alice in Wonderland'. After getting the part, she lets her growing accomplishments go to her head and begins acting rudely and bossing her sisters around. Finally, her pride and constant rule-breaking lead to her losing the part to her jealous but slighted rival Winifred, thus learning an important lesson in humility. She tries film acting and finds it very difficult, exasperating the well-meaning director Mr Sholsky. At the end of the movie she is offered a contract from a studio in the United States, but only decides to go after realizing how the extra money could benefit her family.

Posy dreams about becoming a ballet dancer. After showcasing her natural talent for ballet to one of the boarders, also a dancer, she begins attending an art school in order to be taught ballet. The ballet school's mistress, Madame Fidolia, is able to see instantly that Posy possesses considerable talent, and begins to tutor her privately so that she may learn a more advanced technique. When Madame Fidolia suddenly suffers a stroke while watching a ballet with Posy, Posy is more upset over her own lost career opportunities than in the welfare of her beloved teacher. Deciding that she cannot give up on her abilities, she sneaks into a practice of a famous Russian ballet. After being caught, and after the initial dislike from the teacher for not being Russian herself, she impresses him with her ability to dance and is offered a part in the company, though she is required to move to Prague.

Petrova is Russian, though she does not speak any Russian, having been brought up in England. She wants to work with mechanisms, such as cars and motors. Her biggest wish is to fly, but Pauline convinces her to join a stage production; Petrova later warns her sister to cease prolonging this ordeal. At the end of the movie the other sisters (Pauline and Posy) promise to make their sister go down in history, and not themselves, since they have already got what they dreamed of. At the end of the film Petrova flies off in an airplane above the place of Sylvia's wedding. Earlier, Sylvia had had feelings for John Simpson. John had worried about the amount Sylvia stress was under, but had seemed to be falling for Theo Dane. Later it is revealed that Theo was only teaching him to dance in order to help him woo Sylvia.

Cast

Casting notes

A July 2007 report from Digital Spy written by Kimberley Dadds announced the involvement of Woods, Griffiths and Warren;[3] the BBC announced that open casting for the roles of the sisters would be a week later.[4] Emilia Fox plays the part of Sylvia Brown in this adaptation; her mother, Joanna David, played the part of Theo Dane in the 1975 BBC adaptation of the same story.[5] Emma Watson, Richard Griffiths and Gemma Jones have all starred in films in the Harry Potter franchise, playing Hermione Granger, Uncle Vernon Dursley and Madam Poppy Pomfrey respectively. Louise Keller of Urban Cinefile notes that this is Emma Watson's first role other than that of Hermione,[6] though her voice would later be heard in The Tale of Despereaux. Identical twin girls Lucy and Nina Watson, who take turns playing a younger Pauline in this film, are Emma Watson's younger half-sisters and only appear in the uncut DVD version of the film.[7]

Production

In a press release dated July 2007 it was announced that the film would begin shooting that August.[4] Screenwriter and producer Heidi Thomas called the schedule "murderous".[5]

Both Victoria Wood and Thomas described Streatfeild's novel as a book they have long treasured.[5] Producer Piers Wenger, who said the film has a "strong rites-of-passage story", related the film to the current "cult of the TV talent shows, and said that it "is also a great antidote to the notion of fame for fame's sake".[5]

Broadcast and commercial releases

The film was released on DVD in Europe in Region 2 on 7 January 2008.[8] The film had a limited release in U.S. theaters on 26 August 2008;[9] this can be seen as part of Screenvision's initiative to expand its venue.[10] Ballet Shoes was released on DVD in North America, Region 1, on 2 September 2008. [11]The film premiered on Christmas Eve on TV ONE in New Zealand. It will be broadcast in Canada on CBC.[12]

Reception

Wayne Myers of The Oneida Daily Dispatch called it an "embraceable film of the sort that emerges more frequently from elsewhere nowadays than Hollywood", and praised the performances of Paige, Watson, Boynton and Nicol.[13] Brian Orndorf writes that Emilia Fox as Sylvia "forms the spine of the story" and that Goldbacher "is cautious to silently weave the performance throughout the film to undercut any saccharine temptations."[14] Betty Joe Tucker of ReelTalk Movie Reviews praised the the way film evokes the 1930s.[15] Gina Catanzarite, in a review for Parents' Choice, suggested that there may be too much plot material for the film's relatively short running time.[16]

Notes

  1. ^ The Stage / News / Wood to star in a BBC1 adaptation of Ballet Shoes
  2. ^ the uk tv guide: BALLET SHOES
  3. ^ Dadds, Kimberley (2007-07-20). "BBC announces 'Ballet Shoes' drama". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  4. ^ a b "Ballet Shoes dances onto BBC One". BBC Press Office. BBC. 2007-07-20. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ballet Shoes: Interviews: Behind the Scenes/A Tale of Our Times". BBC Northern Ireland. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  6. ^ Keller, Louise (2008-12-18). "BALLET SHOES: DVD". Urban Cinefile. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  7. ^ Emma Watson Official Website - Appearance of sisters in film
  8. ^ Emma Watson Official Website - Release in Europe on DVD
  9. ^ "Ballet Shoes (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes. IGN Entertainment, Inc. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  10. ^ Thielman, Sam (2008-08-20). "BBC's 'Ballet Shoes' takes U.S. spin: Film reunites three 'Harry Potter' thesps". Variety. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  11. ^ Emma Watson Official Website - Ballet Shoes USA
  12. ^ Emma Watson Official Website - TV One and CBC broadcasts Ballet Shoes
  13. ^ Myers, Wayne (2008-09-10). "On DVD: Excellent 'Ballet Shoes' makes its 'pointe'". The Onieda Daily Dispatch. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  14. ^ Orndorf, Brian (2008-08-30). "Ballet Shoes". DVDTalk.com. Retrieved 2009-11-30.
  15. ^ Tucker, Betty Joe. "Those Fabulous Fossils". ReelTalk Movie Reviews. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
  16. ^ Catanzarite, Gina (2008). "Ballet Shoes". Parents' Choice. Retrieved 2009-12-06.

Ballet Shoes has also been aired in Australia, 7th June, 2009.

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