Ballerina

★★★☆☆
Ballerina is an animation that’s ideal for junior balletomanes. It’s about an orphan who runs away to learn to dance in Paris. Set in 1879, just as Gustave Eiffel is building his famous tower, it features the voices of Elle Fanning as Félicie, the young dancer, and Dane DeHaan as Victor, a fellow orphan who wants to become an inventor. Félicie manages to steal the identity of another, richer, pupil to join the school at the grand opera house, but the girl’s nasty tiger mother has other ambitions and takes revenge. Swan Lake and The Nutcracker are aired, but this rather sweet film is spoilt by dreadful American pop ballads drowning out the classical soundtrack.
U, 89min