Film

Ballerina

Name: Ballerina
Genre: Animation, Family, Comedy, Music
Released: 2016
Cast: Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Nat Wolff, Carly Rae Jepsen, Maddie Ziegler

Other titles called Ballerina: the 2006 film.

Animated musical
Light-hearted

A gorgeously animated French film about an orphan girl who sneaks into the Paris Opera Ballet in 1879, determined to become a dancer. It's a fairy tale that moves like a ballet itself—fluid, joyful, and unironically romantic about passion and perseverance. For viewers who love underdog stories, beautiful animation, and the kind of earnest emotion that doesn't wink at the camera.

TMDb rating

3.6

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love bouncy, old-fashioned caper comedies with big sight gags and sudden musical numbers, and you don't mind a heroine who is scrappy, cheeky and a little reckless.

Skip it if you need a story with real emotional weight, since its stakes stay light and its jokes arrive fast and rarely let up.

What it asks of you: Eighty-nine minutes of brisk, cheerful energy, with little room for lingering quiet moments and a readiness to keep pace with its songs and quick gags.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Cinderella2015

A live-action fairy tale remake that shares Ballerina's commitment to lush visuals and moral clarity. Like Felicie, Cinderella is propelled by grace and determination rather than cynicism, and the film trusts its own sincerity.

But If you find earnest fairy tales saccharine rather than moving, this will feel slow and precious. The pacing favours beauty over momentum.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West1991

Another animated orphan overcoming impossible odds with charm and courage. It has the same warmth, the same faith in dreams, and gorgeously detailed animation that rewards close watching. Utterly unashamed about being tender.

But It's from 1991, so the animation will look dated if you've only seen modern CGI. Some sequences drag; the story beats are predictable.

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West poster

Anastasia1997

A Fox Animation film with the same spirit: a girl with nothing becomes extraordinary through will and talent. The animation is sumptuous, the music memorable, and it plays the fairy-tale logic straight without irony or meta-commentary.

But The 90s animation style may feel stiff compared to modern work. Some plot elements—particularly around the villain—haven't aged gracefully by today's standards.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Ballerina

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Dancer in the Dark2000

Both centre a female protagonist whose gift for dance is inseparable from her identity and hope. One is a fairy tale about dreams coming true; the other asks what happens when they can't.

A live-action musical about a woman for whom dance and song are survival. It's Ballerina's nightmare mirror: taking the same passion for performance and showing what happens when circumstance and society crush it. Devastating and unforgettable.

But This is Lars von Trier—it's bleak, slow, and emotionally punishing in ways animated children's films never are. The ending will destroy you. Not escapism; examination.

The Swan Princess1994

A ballet-adjacent animated fantasy about transformation, magic, and a heroine who saves herself. Like Ballerina, it's earnest, musically driven, and visually ambitious in ways that feel personal rather than corporate.

But The animation is visibly low-budget in places. Some voice acting is wooden, and the romance subplot competes with the stronger story about female agency.

Moana2016

A modern animated film that captures Ballerina's themes: a young person discovering their calling, beautiful hand-drawn-influenced animation, and genuine stakes underneath the adventure. The character work is phenomenal.

But It's a massive studio production with a different sensibility—more high-energy pop than ballet. If you want French charm and period detail, Moana's Polynesian setting is a complete tonal shift.

Coco2017

Pixar at its most emotionally intelligent, about a girl who follows her passion into a world her family doesn't understand. It has Ballerina's sincerity about ambition and belonging, wrapped in stunning visual design.

But The emotional crescendo is devastating in ways Ballerina isn't. If you want lightness and charm, Coco will wring you out by the end.

The NeverEnding Story1984

A fantasy about belief and imagination that takes its own world seriously. Like Ballerina, it trusts that wonder and earnestness aren't things to be embarrassed about, and it's visually arresting in practical ways.

But It's a 1984 film with dated special effects and some genuinely disturbing moments (the child's depression, the Swamp of Sadness). The pacing is deliberate, not brisk.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron2002

DreamWorks animation about freedom and independence, told without dialogue from the human characters. The visual storytelling is sophisticated, the Hans Zimmer score is transcendent, and it shares Ballerina's lyrical quality.

But The minimalist approach to dialogue means the emotional beats are conveyed through expression and music alone. If you need plot exposition and character banter, it can feel sparse and slow.

Ballets Russes2005

Ballerina is set in 1879 Paris, the birthplace of the world the Ballets Russes would later revolutionize. This documentary shows the real human cost and glory of the world Felicie dreams of entering.

A documentary about the Ballets Russes company, featuring interviews with living dancers and archival footage. If Ballerina sparked curiosity about real ballet history and the obsession that drives dancers, this is the genuine article—stories of art, ambition, and survival.

But It's a documentary without narrative shortcuts. It requires patience and some prior interest in dance history. The archival footage is sometimes grainy; the pacing is academic rather than cinematic.

Your Name.2016

Both are animated films that use movement itself as the primary storytelling language. Where Ballerina expresses emotion through choreography and dance, Your Name does so through animation that captures yearning as physical sensation. Both are unabashedly about transcendence through beauty.

A Japanese animated film about two teenagers whose lives mysteriously intertwine across space and time. Like Ballerina, it's a love letter to visual beauty, movement, and yearning. The animation is extraordinary—fluid, expressive, alive in ways that transcend dialogue.

But It's anime, so if you're not accustomed to that visual language, it may feel unfamiliar. The plot hinges on Japanese cultural specifics that Western viewers may need to research. Some may find it overly romantic.