Ballet Shoes ~ The Movie

Last month I read and reviewed Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes. About the same time I discovered the book had been adapted into a made-for-TV film in the UK. Thankfully because one of the actresses in the movie (Emma Watson) is such a big name to Americans (she plays in the Harry Potter movies) it wasn't too difficult to obtain a copy of this movie. My library purchased a copy because of Miss Watson's fame, which resulted in easily finding the DVD to watch... but then having to wait in line behind something like 15 people before I could borrow and watch it myself.

I watched Ballet Shoes the other night and really enjoyed it. The movie adaptation was well made and it didn't have the feel of a made-for-TV movie, which was nice. The cast was stellar (lots of familiar faces from BBC, PBS & A&E films) and the costumes gorgeous.

But while it was well made, the movie wasn't superb. I found the story rather rushed compared to the book. Many of the subplots and details were skimmed over or left out completely. The main plot was still there, but had some alterations. Three changes I noticed included two romances that weren't included in the book (although it wasn't so bad to have these added) and the conversion of one girl, who was kind in the book, but a total brat in the movie. That was disappointing. Also, the sisters are a little older in the movie because of the fact the actresses themselves are older, but this didn't bother me too much.

The ending of the movie felt even more rushed than the book and had a bit of a cheesy ending, but overall, as I said about I really enjoyed the movie. If you've read Ballet Shoes I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of the movie, which aired in 2007 and came out on DVD in 2008.