Dreams do come true... Emma Watson (Hermione from Harry Potter) stars in Ballet Shoes, a heartwarming and uplifting film based on the beloved, best-selling novel by Noel Streatfeild and featuring an award-winning cast that includes Emilia Fox, Victoria Wood, Richard Griffiths and Eileen Atkins.
"We three Fossils vow to put our name in the history book, because it is ours, and ours alone..." With these words, three orphans, raised as sisters, leave their sheltered lives and embark on an exhilarating journey that takes them to the heights of the stage, screen and sky!
DVD EXTRAS: Exclusive 20-Minute Interview with Emma Watson Deleted Scenes, Ballet Shoes Audiobook Excerpt
Based on the Noel Streatfeild novel Ballet Shoes, this is not the 1976 film starring Angela Thorne and Barbara Lott, but a 2007 BBC Northern Ireland production starring Eileen Atkins, Peter Bowles, Richard Griffiths, Gemma Jones, and Harriet Walter. The Fossils are an unconventional British family living in 1930's London. Orphans Pauline (Emma Watson), Petrova (Yasmin Paige), and Posy (Lucy Boynton) are being raised by an elder sister Sylvia (Emilia Fox) and her Nana (Victoria Wood) in the absence of their eccentric great uncle Matthew (Richard Griffiths). As Sylvia struggles to educate and support her three charges on very limited funds, she is forced to let rooms and enroll the girls in the Academy of Dance and Stage Training in hopes of furthering their education and preparing them to earn a comfortable living. While at the academy, each of the three ambitious girls discovers her own personal calling and labors intensively to achieve her dreams: Pauline studies to become a star on the stage, Petrova gravitates toward a career in aviation, and Posy trains to become a great classical ballerina. Their paths are difficult and full of adversity, but the sisters' steadfast support of one another and common resolve to earn a place in the history books based on their own merits propels each of them toward individual success. A compelling and inspirational film that encourages young women to strive for their dreams, Ballet Shoes is most appealing to ages 9 and older. --Tami Horiuchi
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
A delightful film from a beloved book:
This is a delightful film. The book was written in the 1930's, but its expression of young girls' hopes and dreams is timeless. The film is true to the book, with a few bizarre exceptions--what on earth was going on with Nana's hair, and where did the romance and all that smoking come from, and why? However, these anomalies are easily overlooked because the rest of the film really captures the look and feel of the book--the way I always pictured it in my mind. I only wish it could have been longer, so that... more info
Absolutely Darling:
Oh my gosh, could this movie be any cuter? I don't mean that in a sickeningly sweet way. This movie is just a good story about women trying to make it on their own after the war in London. The Fossil sisters were all foundlings of a collector of all things paleontology. They grew up in a big old grand London house alongside trilobites and T Rex until those treasures had to go to make room for the growing girls. Petrova wants to be like Amy Johnson when she grows up. I think Amy Johnson must've been the... more info
Not for children, not much like the book:
My daughter and I bought this DVD because we both loved the book by Noel Streatfeild. But the movie is missing all the aspects that made the book so interesting. The movie leaves out almost everything about the Academy of Dancing and Stage Training and the girls' daily lives. It adds unnecessary romances between adult characters. There is a lot of cigarette smoking and drinking in the movie, making it unsuitable for children. There is almost no dancing shown. The actors who play the three girls are *way*... more info
Dissapointed:
I was dissapointed in this movie. There is not anything terribly inappropriate, although several comments are made about the girls' bust sizes and one of the characters wears low cut blouses. There wasn't much of a plot somehow and many dead ends. The youngest girl, Posey, turns into a brat and winds up getting her way in the end. There isn't much ballet in it at all and the title itself has nothing to do with the movie. If you're a ballet fan, you will only be dissapointed. It's really not a children's... more info
