Ballerina (2017)

I was told that this movie had a rating of only 30% on RottenTomatoes, but last time I checked it was a massive 74%! I enjoyed this movie, although I will admit it was clichéd at times. It tells the story of a girl who escapes from an orphanage to become a ballerina in Paris. The characters are quite likeable and the animation is very nice. What I like the most is how realistic this film is. It's rare that you see an animated film that's completely normal.It turns out the rich bully is only that way because of her mother. Dang, I've seen this happen in "Gravity Falls" and "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic", so it must be a trope by now. Minor character Nora steals every scene she's in with funny dialogue. I'm glad I know my history because the movie got a lot of things wrong about the year 1879. It's still a beautiful film that really is pretty unique. Not one of the best movies ever made, but definitely good. ***

It could just be me, but i don't understand why people liek thsi movie so much. From the miscast voice actors, to the cheesy dialogue and typical plotline, this movie was just plain bad. The characters were flat and boring, starting off with Felicie who had no concern for her friends, and Victor who was just labeled as the possible love interest but was pushed to the side to being made as the "lovable" sidekick with all lf his antics and fart jokes, to the typical mysterious old lady who decides to mentor the young student because they see "potential". And by the way, Rudi, the actual love interest is introduced, and then forgotten for the rest of the movie. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes, and the only thing that was nice and that I liked about this movie was it's gorgeous visuals. Otherwise, the dialogue was terrible and the voice actors were terribly casted ( no disrespect, rather they just didn't fit their roles, save for the director and Rudi ) and the music choices were poor. The plot was terrible, and teaching children that you should do anything - literally anything, even if that means lying and cheating your way into achieving your goals is terrible. Not to mention that this movie also shats on ballet itself. Ballet is a difficult thing to do, and it takes literal years for dancers to earn pointe shoes. A lot don't even get them. How long did it take this young girl who has never had training to get them? A few weeks to months, which by the way, if you are unaware, at the least, a young dancer should be dancing for two years before even attempting pointe. I understand this is a kid's movie, but it should also be realistic if it's going to say to be passionate about your dreams, because quite frankly, passion is great and beautiful, but it won't get you anywehere if you don't have the patience to nurture it.

Just because a theme is timeless doesn't mean you should expect it to work every time. "Ballerina" (or "Leap!" for the English title) is another Cinderella story crossed with a sports/competition-themed narrative, delivering the oh-so cherished message that a passion is worth fighting for no matter what, and that all it takes is to put your heart in it. Fine, tell me something I didn't know.At first, it looked like something I could really enjoy, Felicie, the 11-year old orphan girl dreams to become a ballerina then thanks to a strike of luck (of the sneaky sort but I liked it) , she finds a way to the Opera, then a mysterious cleaner with the grace of a ballet dancer but a limp that screams "failed dream" puts her up, and trains her.And then, well, I quickly realized that there was nothing in the film, I hadn't seen before. Except maybe for the superb rendition of a 3D Paris circa 1880's (when the Eiffel Tower was in construction) and a magnificent use of lighting during the dance sequences. Let's make it clear, the animation is top notch and has nothing to envy from a Pixar movie. But a lesser look with a better story would have been better, Felicie's journey doesn't do justice to its mesmerizing visuals and can only offer a series of predictable plot elements where the heroine will learn about losing and falling at least ten times before making a climactic grand jeté or spinning on a roof. It doesn't even do justice to the character of Felicie who seems to have a certain edge over the usual heroines, she's not perfect, she lies, she might even sound too "modern" for the film, but overall, her actions are only commanded by the usual script requirements whose purpose is to postpone the inevitable triumph, much to our frustration.We know there will be a final showdown between Felicie and her nemesis, rich blonde girl who's pushed by her tyrannical mother, we know that it will all be a matter of "heart" rather than technical or physical training, and there will also be a moment where Felicie will say one word too many (to hurt Odette) and get punished by Karma. I expected better than refusing to practice the night before the final test just because the Russian jock told her she was "unique" and wanted to go out for the night, and of course, she had to tell her Odette that she wasn't her mother. Still, it took was to say "I'm sorry" but this film is as dully predicable as Rocky sequel. They have to make the right mistakes at the right moments."Ballerina" features other clichés such as the good-looking boyfriend, of course the fat insecure sidekick (with glasses) and the villainous mother who goes literally over the top once the film had founded a rather good resolution. I was wondering whether they needed some extra time or if the directors felt the film lacked action but they didn't even try to be innovative by keeping focused on the dance. No, had to be a " Fatal Attraction" confrontation with a Deus Ex Machina last-minute rescue from Felicie's best friend. Did the mother really think she could kill Felicie and get away with it? It's a real shame that a movie that could have encouraged vocations and provide many lessons about life had to be so formulaic to the point of emulating action movies.I don't mean it had to be like "Black Swan" either but a better effort on the writing could have really helped it. And another aspect that bothered me, I don't know if it's also the case for the English version but the French version used an adult voice that was too low-pitched for a little girl, not to mention that she was talking like a 2000's teenager even saying such expressions as OK that could have been said by a girl in the 1880's Paris. Well, maybe that anachronism was deliberate and I'm looking too far but that's because I really wanted to enjoy it. The film successes in the most difficult part, it looked great but it should have embraced its own message about discipline and write more extra drafts to add some density to the story and makes the characters or the situations a little less two dimensional.

A cliché and corny plot collection story that a messing around girl ends up to be a winner. What a terrible leading character! She is a runaway troublemaker, a false identity user, a liar and a thief. She stole the letter from her employer and used others recommendation letter to replace her identity. These are the serious crime. Besides, she is bad mannered, no appreciation to the cleaning lady who taught her dancing skills, and blindly proud of her strength, turned out she failed the audition. No idea why this kind of character will success at the end. This is a bad influence to watch. 2 terrible issues in real life 1)teenage runaway, 2)false id use.