Ballet Shoes – DVD Review

By June L. Sep 10, 2008, 18:04 GMT

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, ...more

In past reviews and articles I have written about movies inspired by novels, productions that have become treasured in their own right.  Here is a new one to add to the list of excellent literary movies!  BBC One presents a new film version of Ballet Shoes which is a treasure for the whole family to enjoy.

The novel Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield is a book beloved by children for seven decades, a story that explores and celebrates the differences among people as well as their ability to love each other and pull together as a family.  Any time a well-known story is produced as a film, there is the possibility of letting down readers.  This is NOT the case with the new version of Ballet Shoes! 

This production starring Emilia Fox ( Sylvia “Garnie),  Victoria Wood (Nana), Marc Warren (Mr. Simpson), Richard Griffiths (Great Uncle Matthew), Eileen Atkins (Madame Fidolia), Lucy Cohu (Miss Theo Dane), and the three talented young ladies Emma Watson (Pauline), Yasmin Paige (Petrova) and Lucy Boynton (Posey), takes a few liberties in the story, but overall maintains the feel and (best of all) the impact of the original book. 

Written in 1936 the novel was the first children’s story to tell of children training for careers in the performing arts.

In trying to summarize the beginning, those who are not familiar with the story may think it sounds a bit like Little Women as it might have been written by Lemony Snicket, and may be somewhat put off.  Well, it does sound strange, but it is a rewarding story to watch. 

The movie opens in London of the 1920’s with the arrival of recently orphaned Sylvia (Skye Bennett) and her Nana (Victoria Wood) to the home of Great Uncle Matthew (Richard Griffiths.)  Great Uncle Matthew or GUM as he is affectionately called by his niece, is a crusty bachelor and an anthropologist.  He continues to go on two year expeditions, but three times when he returns, he brings back an orphaned baby girl to be a sister to Sylvia. 

The babies are given the names, Pauline, Petrova and Posey and Gum decides their last name should be Fossil.
 
Time passes, Sylvia is a young adult (Emilia Fox) and the girls are in their early teens.  Gum has been away far longer than his expected five year expedition, and the money he left for them to live on has run out.  Sylvia whom the girls call “Garnie” short for Guardian, and Nana decide to take in boarders. 

First to come is a Mr. Simpson (Marc Warren) a young widower who owns an automobile repair garage, followed by two retired academicians (Gemma Jones and Harriet Walters) and finally Miss Theo Dane (Lucy Cohu) a dance instructor at a children’s school for the performing arts.  Rather than boarders these people become surrogate family to Sylvia and the girls, and Miss Dane helps the girls get into the school so that they can train for their careers.

Ballet Shoes is presented on single disc, with a running time of 84 minutes.  It has been given a PG rating for smoking, but as it is set in the 1930’s I would not hesitate to allow children of any age to watch.  Specials included on the disc are a wonderful interview with Emma Watson about the production, and an excerpt from the Ballet Shoes audio book. 

This is a beautifully staged production, hair and costumes perfect for the time period, as well as automobiles and household furnishings.  One of the treats among treats is hearing and watching Emma Watson as Pauline deliver a speech made by Puck in Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.  She is perfection!

This DVD belongs in everyone’s collection as a story that will be viewed multiple times both for its genuine feeling and for superb acting by all the cast members.

Ballet Shoes is now available at Amazon and AmazonUK. Visit the DVD database for more information.