Ballerina (2016 film)

In the 1880s, eleven-year-old Félicie, a poor orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina, but lacks formal training, runs away from her orphanage in rural Brittany, France, with her best friend, Victor, a young inventor. Together they go to Paris, but they soon become separated, and Victor becomes an office boy in Gustave Eiffel's workshop. Félicie finds her way to the Paris Opera, where the guard catches her trespassing. She is rescued by a mysterious cleaner with a limp, Odette, who agrees to let Félicie stay with her until she gets on her feet. Odette works for both the Opera and for the cruel and imperious Régine Le Haut, a wealthy restaurant owner. While helping Odette clean, Félicie spies Regine's daughter, Camille, practicing ballet. Camille sees Félicie, insults her, and throws Félicie's treasured music box out of the window, breaking it. As Félicie takes it to Victor for repair, she intercepts the postman who brings a letter from the Opera admitting Camille to the celebrated school of the Paris Opera Ballet partly because of her mother's connection. In her anger, Félicie hides the letter and decides to assume Camille's identity to get into the school and pursue her dream.

Odette agrees to mentor Félicie, who later learns that Odette was a former prima ballerina. Félicie finds her training very difficult, but with Camille's letter of acceptance, she manages to take her place at the ballet school. Mérante, the school's exacting choreographer, announces that one of the girls from the class will be chosen to dance the role of Clara in The Nutcracker. He dismisses the worst dancer in class each day. Félicie improves each day and narrowly avoids elimination, but a couple of days before the final elimination, her lie is discovered. Mérante decides to admit Camille into the class, while also letting Félicie stay; although Félicie's infraction was serious, Mérante accidentally saw her dance passionately in a bar that she and Victor visited. The night before the final elimination, Félicie neglects training to go out on a date with Rudi, a handsome boy from the school, which disappoints Odette. Victor sees Félicie with Rudi and becomes jealous; he and Félicie argue. The next day, Félicie is late to the audition and unable to perform well, and so the part of Clara goes to Camille.

Regine sends Félicie back to her orphanage, where she loses her spirit. She has a dream about being an infant in the arms of her late mother, a ballerina, who gave her the music box. She decides to return to Paris to help Odette and apologize to Victor. While cleaning the stage, Félicie encounters Camille, and they engage in a dance battle that is witnessed by all the students, Odette and Mérante. Félicie does a grand jeté over a flight of stairs, while Camille cannot. Mérante approaches the two girls and asks them why they dance, to which Camille admits that she dances only because her mother tells her to, while Félicie speaks stirringly of dance as her inheritance and passion. Camille admits that Félicie should dance the role of Clara.

Near Eiffel's workshop, where the Statue of Liberty is being constructed, Félicie invites Victor to the performance. A furiously deranged Régine arrives and chases Félicie up to the crown of the statue, but Victor saves her with aid from Camille and traps Régine in the scaffolding. Arriving at the Opera just in time, Félicie dons Odette's special pointe shoes. Félicie kisses Victor on the cheek, and she performs in The Nutcracker alongside the principal ballerina.

• Elle Fanning as Félicie[6]
• Dane DeHaan (Nat Wolff in the American version) as Victor[6]
• Carly Rae Jepsen as Odette
• Maddie Ziegler as Camille Le Haut[7]
• Mel Brooks (American version only) as M. Luteau, the supervisor of the orphanage[6]
• Julie Khaner (Kate McKinnon in the American version) as Régine Le Haut, Camille's mother[8]
  • (McKinnon also voiced the Mother Superior and Félicie's mother in the American version)[9]
• Terrence Scammell as Mérante (American version as Janitor as well)
• Bronwen Mantel as the Mother Superior, the head of the orphanage

There is also a French language version of the film, with the voices of Camille Cottin as Félicie and Malik Bentalha as Victor, that premiered in France on December 14, 2016.[10]

The film was produced at L'Atelier Animation in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[11] The filmmakers used key frame animation of Aurélie Dupont and Jérémie Bélingard, two étoiles (star dancers) of the Paris Opera Ballet, to translate realistic dance choreography to the animated film.[12] Dupont became the de facto choreographer of the film's dance sequences.[10]

The soundtrack album was released internationally by Gaumont on December 12, 2016. The album features both the film's original score composed by Klaus Badelt, and songs from other artists that are used in the film.[13] The film also features songs that are not included in the album, such as "Cut to the Feeling" and "Runaways" by Jepsen and "Suitcase" by Sia.[14][9]

The film premiered at the Mon premier Festival on October 19, 2016,[15] and it was released in France and the UK in December 2016.[16][17] Numerous releases followed around the world.[18] Entertainment One Films Canada distributed the film in Canada, with the theatrical release beginning on February 24, 2017 in Quebec[19] and March 3, 2017 elsewhere in Canada.[20][21]

In May 2016, The Weinstein Company acquired distribution rights to the film in the United States.[11] A US release was first scheduled for March 3, 2017, under the title Leap![22] The release was subsequently pushed back to April 21, 2017,[23] followed by additional casting announcements of Wolff, Brooks, and McKinnon.[6][9] It was then pushed back to August 30 and later moved up to August 25, 2017.[24]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Ballerina (2016 film).

• Ballerina at IMDb
• Ballerina at Library and Archives Canada