Angelina Ballerina (TV series)

Angelina Ballerina is a British animated children's television series, based on the Angelina Ballerina series of children's books by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig. The series is about Angelina Mouseling, a young mouse who loves to dance ballet, and her family and classmates. Finty Williams performed the voice of Angelina, and her real-life mother Judi Dench performed the voice of Miss Lilly, her old ballet teacher.[1]

Angelina Ballerina
GenreChildren's television series
Based onAngelina Ballerina book series
written by Katharine Holabird
illustrated by Helen Craig
Directed by
  • Roger McIntosh
  • Kitty Taylor
Voices of
ComposerColin Towns
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes20 (39 segments)
+3 specials (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerKate Fawkes
ProducerGinger Gibbons
Running time15 minutes (series)
50 minutes (specials)
5 minutes (Little Stars)
Production companiesGrand Slamm Children's Films
HIT Entertainment
DistributorHIT Entertainment
Release
Original networkCITV
Original releaseMay 4, 2002 (2002-05-04) –
September 9, 2006 (2006-09-09)
Chronology
Related showsAngelina Ballerina: The Next Steps
External links
Website

The show had 40 15-minute-long episodes, as well as three longer specials, which first aired from 2002 to 2006.[2] The series was produced by HIT Entertainment and Grand Slamm Children’s Films. It aired on PBS and PBS Kids Sprout in the United States, where it was presented by Connecticut Public Television, and CITV in the United Kingdom.

SD Entertainment and HIT Entertainment produced a CGI revival, Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps, which aired from 2009 to 2010. A second revival, co-produced by Mattel and 9 Story Media Group, was going to premiere in 2017 alongside the revival of Barney & Friends, but neither Mattel nor 9 Story Media Group have provided any further information since then.

Episodes
Main article: List of Angelina Ballerina episodes

Characters and Voice Cast
  • Angelina Jeanette Mouseling (voiced by Finty Williams) – A feisty, quiet and soft-voiced little white dancing mouse who loves to dance and always dreams of becoming a famous prima ballerina. She often wears a pink leotard top, tutu, vest, hair ribbon, and ballet slippers.
  • Miss Lilly (voiced by Judi Dench) – Angelina's ballet teacher. She grew up in Dacovia, which is a faraway land from Mouseland. She speaks with a Russian accent.
  • Alice Bridgette Nimbletoes (voiced by Jo Wyatt) – Angelina's soft-voiced best friend, who is very skilled at gymnastics. She is brown and often wears a green leotard top, tutu, vest, hair ribbon, and ballet slippers. She has a very big appetite and also appears slightly lighter in colour in Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps.
  • William John Longtail (voiced by Keith Wickham) – One of two boys in Miss Lilly's ballet class. In one of the episodes, it’s shown that he has a crush on Angelina.
  • Mr. Roger Longtail (voiced by Keith Wickham) – William's father who works as a Station Porter and praises his son for any efforts he tries to make, especially if it is his first time.
  • Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws (voiced by Jo Wyatt and Jonell Elliott) – 2 twin sisters who tease and belittle nearly everyone, including each other. They are particularly jealous of Angelina for her dancing talent. Priscilla wears lilac leotard tops, tutus, lilac ballet slippers, and wears a purple hair ribbon. Penelope wears a purple leotard top, tutu, purple ballet slippers, and wears a lilac hair ribbon. They also have a baby brother in the episodes Angelina's Surprise and The Ballet Tickets.
  • Samuel Edmund "Sammy" Watts (voiced by Jo Wyatt) – One of Angelina's classmates in school. Sammy is a bully who often causes trouble for William and Angelina particularly but has a heart of gold. He can often be seen wearing a yellow hat with a red dot in the middle.
  • Mr. Watts, Sammy's dad who only appeared in a few episodes. His first name is never used.
  • Mr. Maurice Rupert Mouseling (voiced by Keith Wickham) – Angelina and Polly's father and the proprietor of the Mouseland Gazette.
  • Mrs. Matilda Felicity Mouseling (voiced by Jonell Elliott) – Angelina and Polly's mother. Her maiden surname is Fielding. She has a sister Amanda, who has a son.
  • Polly Anne Mouseling – The youngest daughter of Maurice and Matilda and the little sister of Angelina. Polly is an infant with brown fur and often wears a pink dress. In the TV series Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps, Polly is four years old with white fur instead of brown and she wears a blue jumper with a yellow T-shirt.
  • Grandma Sophia Mouseling and Grandpa Jeffrey Mouseling (voiced by Adrienne Posta and Keith Wickham) – Angelina, Polly, and Henry's grandparents and Maurice and Louis's parents. They are sometimes mentioned in Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps.
  • Uncle Louis Mouseling (voiced by Rob Rackstraw) – Maurice's brother, Angelina and Polly's uncle, Matilda's brother-in-law and Henry's father.
  • Aunt Lavender Mouseling (voiced by Finty Williams) – Louis's wife, Angelina and Polly's aunt, Maurice's sister-in-law and Henry's mother.
  • Henry Mouseling (voiced by Jo Wyatt) – Angelina and Polly's soft-voiced cousin, Lavender and Louis's son, Grandma and Grandpa's grandson, and Matilda and Maurice's nephew.
  • Mrs. Harriet Faith Hodgepodge (voiced by Finty Williams) – Angelina and Polly's next-door neighbor who does not like dancing. She always appears grumpy and is viewed with fear by most of the Chipping Cheddar mouselings, but occasionally helps the mouselings often when they least expect it.
  • Dr. Lawrence Tuttle (voiced by Keith Wickham) – The doctor in the town of Chipping Cheddar.
  • Miss Andrea Quaver (voiced by Finty Williams) Miss Lilly's nervous pianist, who plays the piano during dance classes.
  • Mr. Ivor Operatski (voiced by Derek Jacobi) – An old friend of Miss Lilly's and a stern choreographer. Angelina is convinced (wrongly, as it turns out) that he hates mouselings.
  • Queen Seraphina (voiced by Adrienne Posta with an Victorian accent) - A childhood friend of Miss Lilly's and the present Queen of Mouseland. She speaks with an Victorian accent.
  • King George - (voiced by Keith Wickham with an English accent) - Queen Seraphina's husband and the King of Mouseland. He speaks with an English accent.
  • Princess Valentine – Queen Seraphina's middle daughter. (Voiced by Megg Nicol in the US)
  • Anya Mousezauski – A shy mouse who comes to Chipping Cheddar as part of a migrant family from Dacovia working through the harvest season. She has an ear with a black patch that Sammy and the Pinkpaws twins make fun of. She befriends Angelina and Alice and later joins Miss Lilly's ballet class when she returns to Chipping Cheddar for a visit.
  • Mrs. Cecily Pinkpaws is the mother of the twins Priscilla and Penelope and their baby brother. She appears in a couple of episodes. She has an Southern accent and wears a lot of jewellery.
  • Ms. Elise Chalk – A teacher in Angelina's class at school and can be both strict and fair to her pupils.
  • Mrs. Harriet Cecily Thimble – The elderly kind-hearted store owner.
  • Mr. Armand Ratchett – A builder and crane driver.
  • Miss Elaina Twitchett – A gentle old lady who loves wrapping things up.

Release

Broadcast

This series is also aired on CITV in UK, Teletoon in Canada, PBS and PBS Kids Sprout (now Universal Kids) in the US, and Arutz HaYeladim in Israel.

Other premieres were:

Hit Entertainment UK/US DVD and VHS releases
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Gift and Other Stories (2001, UK/2003, US) (The Gift, Angelina in the Wings, Arthur the Butterfly, The Costume Ball, Miss Lilly is Leaving)
  • Meet Angelina Ballerina (2004) (The Ballet Tickets, Two Mice in a Boat)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Rose Fairy Princess (2002, UK/2004, US) (The Rose Fairy Princess, Two Mice in a Boat, Angelina at the Fair, The Ballet Tickets)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Angelina's Baby Sister (2002, UK/2004, US) (Promotional VHS)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Friends Forever (2002, UK/2004, US) (Ballerina Rag Doll, Angelina's Surprise, Treasure Tandems, Alice's Present)
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Magic of Dance (William the Conjurer, Angelina and Grandma, Miss Lilly Comes to Dinner)
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Lucky Penny (2005)
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Dance Of Friendship (2005) (Angelina and Anya, Alice's Present)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Lights, Camera, Action! (2005)
  • Angelina Ballerina: All Dancers on Deck / Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Sets Sail (2006)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Angelina And The Sleeping Beauties / Angelina Ballerina: Princess Dance (2006)
  • Angelina Ballerina: The Big Performance (2006) (The Royal Banquet, Angelina the Mouse Detective, Angelina's Baby Sister, The Costume Ball)
  • Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Follows Her Dreams (2008)

Reception

At Indie Awards in 2004, the first episode in season 2 "The Proposal" was named the winner of Best Animation category.[3]

Other media

Merchandise

Toys and books were released.

Revivals

In August 2009, SD Entertainment and HIT Entertainment announced that they were working on a new CGI series called Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps which ran from September 5, 2009, to November 13, 2010.[4] The series is about Angelina going to a performing arts school. The series was criticized by fans of the original for the redesigns or removals of several characters and the change in setting and format, among other things.[5]

In October 6, 2015, during the MIPCOM, Mattel and 9 Story Media Group announced a long-term business alliance for a second revival of Angelina Ballerina, scheduled to air in 2017 alongside the revival of fellow HIT Entertainment program Barney & Friends.[6] However, neither Mattel nor 9 Story Media Group have provided any further information since the announcement. The reboots were eventually cancelled and/or scrapped in 2017.

References
  1. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 83. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  2. Crump, William D. (2019). Happy Holidays—Animated! A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's Cartoons on Television and Film. McFarland & Co. p. 12. ISBN 9781476672939.
  3. Jan Page (January 26, 2015). "Angelina Ballerina - Indie Awards 2004" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  4. "All-New CG Animated Series For Angelina Ballerina". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2020-12-13.
  5. Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps (TV Series 2008–2010) - IMDb, retrieved 2020-12-13
  6. Vlessing, Etan (October 6, 2015). "MIPCOM: 'Barney & Friends' Set for Relaunch by Mattel, 9 Story". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
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