Ballerina review

It’s Flashdance for the under-8s as a young girl follows her dreams to the big city to become a ballet dancer in this sweet animated tale.

Young, incredibly optimistic Félicie (Fanning) is an orphan who dreams of escaping to the Paris of 1879 to become a ballerina. So with her best friend, wannabe-inventor Victor (DeHaan), that’s exactly what she does, taking on a new identity and learning to twirl with the help of a former dancer in the hope that she can take to the stage in a performance of The Nutcracker.

Prettily animated – 19^th century Paris is a lovely backdrop – this is piled high with clichés (the mean rival, etc), but they won’t be noticed by the young audience this is aimed at, who will adore the dance scenes, the positive story (you can achieve your dreams) and the joyful tone of it all. Sweet stuff.