Everything Wrong with Ballerina (2016)/Leap! (2017)
Now if you love this movie like I and a few others do, that’s awesome! However, this list (that can/will definitely be added onto by other fans), is dedicated to all of the weird inaccuracies, story choices, and other assorted faults that have left us fans scratching our heads and critiquing this movie inside and out.
1. POP SONGS, POP SONGS, POP SONGS
In this lighthearted film about a couple of orphans who escape their home in 19th Century Brittany, France, one might think that the soundtrack for this film would include some instrumentals that sound a bit like a ballet or opera’s performance music. While some pieces from the soundtrack, like ‘The Liberty Chase’ or 'Escaping the Orphanage’ pull this off as well as they can, this movie makes the risky decision of using pop songs like 'Rainbow’ by Liz Huett, 'You Know Its About You’ by Magical Thinker, and 'Confident’ by Demi Lovato. Even Sia gets a song in there!
Most of these songs were written for the film specifically and while they match the optimistic themes of achieving one’s dreams, they don’t really fit in terms of the time period. For example, during Felicie and Camille’s Dance Battle, it might have serviced it better to have a symphony of violins, violas, and a piano playing as they danced, instead of Demi Lovato singing about confidence. They more intense the fight gets, the harsher the strings and keys of the instruments could get for instance, to build tension.
Using more instrumental music made just for this film might’ve helped Ballerina gather more of its own original identity, outside of 'cute little film for kids, but maybe not for adults’, which film audiences get ALOT of these days anyway. One can still have 'Cut to the Feeling’ by Carly Rae Jepsen as the end credits theme, but music plays a HUGE role in films and should be able to match whatever aesthetic you’re going for.
Kids and teen movies typically have that one popular girl who’s usually an irredeemable brat who never learns, never tries to show any kind of compassion, and does little to nothing to change (think teen movies like 'Mean Girls 2’, 'Taking 5’ or 'Bring It On: Fight to the Finish’). Thankfully, every now and then, we get characters like Pacifica Northwest from Gravity Falls and Camille Le Haut from Ballerina, in which we see that they’re not too far gone. Unlike the downright nasty brats one might find in other movies for younger people, Camille does have a heart. She just needs that special moment in which she can show it.
Unfortunately, we don’t see her as much as we could have. After her initial meeting with Felicie, in which she comes off as high and mighty as most popular girl characters often do, we don’t see her again until she and her mother, Regine, confront Felicie later. By that point, Felicie has already trained quite a bit with her custodian, Odette (who also cleans the Opera), but not once do we ever see Camille. Why can’t we see her be suspicious like what we see with Regine when she asks about the mail? Not once did she ever pop her head out of her studio and think that there was something weird going on with her new servant girl? Not once did she ever notice her dancing and wonder 'hmm, why is she dancing so well alongside my other cleaning lady?’
It’s not hard to understand why she’d be feel such ill will towards Felicie, especially since her identity theft was going on right under her nose! Thankfully, both girls had apologized and made up by the end. But still, if I were Camille, I know I’D be at least a little suspicious…
3. Felicie’s Denim Shorts
Why is it that every single character in this movie has a (kind of) historical costume…
…except Felicie? Granted her knee length civilian skirt looks alright, but why do we have blue shorts in a film set in the 1870’s/80’s?
Did the animators think animating a dancing skirt was too much work? This film was made by L'atelier Animation. This was technically the first film project they ever completed, and while no first try is without its faults, blue shorts don’t have a place in 19th century France.
One of denim’s first appearances as clothing was as pants on those who traveled to California in 1849 and 1850 for the California Gold Rush. However, this did not necessarily change the societal norm of women and girls wearing dresses and long skirts during this specific century.
In fact, most, if not, every time period, including the 19th century, has had some kind of dress code that was to be followed and taken seriously. In a movie like Ballerina, we have men wearing trousers, top hats, walking canes, cravats, etc. In turn, women like Odette and Regine wear long skirts, done up hair, and some kind of corset (except Odette’s is over her top and Regine is probably wearing one because of how thin and proper she is), etc. Historically, both sexes would’ve stood out like sore thumbs if they didn’t dress for the appropriate occasion or time of day. If Felicie had been in any other 19th century animated film, like The Boxtrolls, An American Tail, etc, she would’ve stood out like a sore thumb herself, just with her shorts alone.
