Angelina Ballerina: The Show Must Go On

If I can be really honest with all of you, as a kid I loved the Angelina Ballerina books and animated TV series (before both ended up being butchered by the current CGI series) and used to love doing ballet because of it. For those who don't know what it's about, it centres on Angelina Mouseling, a young mouse from the world of Mouseland in a village called Chipping Chedder and loves to do ballet with her best friend Alice and crush William, and also goes on adventures with her family. It starred Judy Dench as Angelina's ballet teacher Miss Lilly and her daughter Finty Williams as the main character. After the series became popular, they released this Christmas special in 2002 as a direct to DVD movie. But will this movie be able to arabesque it's way to the top, or is it as bad as finding mouse droppings on your carpet? Let's find out!

Story: In this special, Angelina's ballet school are doing a Christmas production of Cinderella Mouse for Queen Serafina of Mouseland. Despite Angelina being able to dance the main part, she's given the role of the Wicked Stepmouse because she can't sing as good as her enemy Priscilla Pinkpaws, who's given the part. Angelina, being very dissatisfied (I don't get why, I'd love to play a villain in a production), tries to prove to the director Mr Operatski that she can play Cinderella and make him change his mind, which of course, doesn't work! Angelina, being selfish, leaves the show and accidentally injures Miss Lilly, who was going to replace her, and decides to set things right and put the show back on. There's also a subplot involving Angelina's cousin Henry wanting to meet Father Christmas and obsessing over him as well as Angelina wanting a toy theatre like the Theatre Royal which her dad builds for her as a Christmas present. The story isn't actually that bad, in fact it's pretty good, it's just a bit simple and predictable that stops it from being great.

Animation: I have to say, the animation is really well done. The character designs are cute anthropomorphic mice and each fit well with each character. The character animation is more realistic or akin to people rather than scurrying around on 4 legs, which is good. I love all of the backgrounds, especially the village of Chipping Chedder and the grand Theatre Royal where the ballet is taking place. I like how the world resembles a little British village in the south, kind of like where I live with all of the cottages and little shops making it look pretty. The only problem I have is it's still TV quality and it's obvious when something is in the background or if it's animated. Still besides that, I find the animation rather pretty.

Characters: After rewatching this, I'm glad to see that the characters were how I remembered them! The title character, Angelina can be selfish and mean most of the time, but learns her lesson and sets things right by the end, which is what happens in this! Her ballet teacher, Miss Lilly, is still the kind teacher who has faith in Angelina and cares about all of her mouseling students. Henry, Angelina's cousin, has an obsession with Father Christmas in this and has trouble playing the little beetle since he has little experience in ballet. Mr Operatski is the over the top and hot tempered director of the show who at first looks like the antagonist, but he reveals his kind side after the show is back on. Angelina's best friend, Alice, is still the kind and supportive friend who never stops eating sweets. As for the rest, Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws are still the bitchy mice who are mean to Angelina (Priscilla is the one who plays Cinderella because of her lovely singing), William is still head over heels for Angelina and her parents are the same loving and supportive parents.

Songs: There are only 2 songs in this movie and they're actually pretty good. They're both written for the Cinderella ballet, with one being for Cinderella Mouse and the other for the Wicked Stepmouse. The first one is about Cinderella lamenting being alone and not being able to go to the ball. This paralells with Angelina being alone after deciding to quit the show because she selfishly wanted to try and get the part of Cinderella while being cast as the Wicked Stepmouse. Anyway, the other one is the Wicked Stepmouse's song for the end of ballet, which is actually pretty fun and is about her continuing to be 'mad, bad and dangerous'. (yes, those are lyrics to the song) I can't say these songs are bad, in fact they're good, the only issue I have is that they're pretty forgettable.

Overall, I was surprised to find I enjoyed this special with a nice story, nice animation, memorable characters and two good songs. I recommend this to Angelina Ballerina fans, no not the CGI series, but fans of the 2D series. I'd also recommend this to former fans of the books and the series if you want to get a nostalgic feel during Christmas, as well as children aged 7 and under.

Story: 7/10

Animation: 7/10

Characters: 8/10

Overall: 7/10