Angelina Ballerina (TV series)
Angelina Ballerina is a 2002-2006 British-American 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.
The show had 40 15-minute-long episodes, as well as three longer specials, which first aired from 2002-2006. 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, , 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
Characters and Voice Cast
- Angelina Mouseling – A feisty, quiet and soft-voiced little white mouseling 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 – Angelina's ballet teacher. She grew up in Dacovia, which is a faraway land from Mouseland. She speaks with a Russian accent.
- Alice Nimbletoes – 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 .
- William Longtail – 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 Longtail – William's father who works as a cab driver and praises his son for any efforts he tries to make, especially if it is his first time.
- Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws – 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.
- Sammy Watts – 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 Mouseling – Angelina and Polly's father and the proprietor of the Mouseland Gazette.
- Mrs. Matilda Mouseling – Angelina and Polly's mother. Her maiden surname is Fielding. She has a sister Amanda, who has a son.
- Polly 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 – 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 – Maurice's brother, Angelina and Polly's uncle, Matilda's brother-in-law and Henry's father.
- Aunt Lavender Mouseling – Louis's wife, Angelina and Polly's aunt, Maurice's sister-in-law and Henry's mother.
- Henry Mouseling – Angelina and Polly's soft-voiced cousin, Lavender and Louis's son, Grandma and Grandpa's grandson, and Matilda and Maurice's nephew.
- Mrs. Hodgepodge – 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.
- Doctor Tuttle – The doctor in the town of Chipping Cheddar.
- Miss Quaver Miss Lilly's nervous pianist, who plays the piano during dance classes.
- Mr Ivor Operatski – An old friend of Miss Lilly's and a stern choreographer. Angelina is convinced that he hates mouselings.
- Queen Elizabeth - A childhood friend of Miss Lilly's and the present Queen of Mouseland. She speaks with an Victorian accent.
- King George - - Queen Elizabeth's husband and the King of Mouseland. He speaks with an English accent.
- Princess Valentine – Queen Elizabeth's middle daughter.
- 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. 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. Chalk – A teacher in Angelina's class at school and can be both strict and fair to her pupils.
- Mrs. Thimble – The elderly kind-hearted store owner.
- Mr. Ratchett – A builder and crane driver.
- Miss. Twitchett – A gentle old lady who loves wrapping things up.
Release
Broadcast
This series is also aired on Tiny Pop and CITV in UK, Teletoon in Canada, PBS and PBS Kids Sprout in the US, and Arutz HaYeladim in Israel.Other premieres were:
- Russia: Karusel, Russia 1, 2X2
- Czech Republic: ČT1, TV Barrandov
- South Africa: e.tv and JimJam
- Panama: TVN, FETV
- Brazil: Globo
- Bolivia: Bolivision, Bolivia TV
- Thai: Workpoint TV
- Latin America: Clan,,
- Japan: NHK, WOWOW
PBS Kids Home Video USA [DVD] and [VHS] releases
- Angelina Ballerina: The Gift and Other Stories
- Meet Angelina Ballerina
- Angelina Ballerina: Rose Fairy Princess
- Angelina Ballerina: Angelina's Baby Sister
- Angelina Ballerina: Friends Forever
- Angelina Ballerina: The Magic of Dance
- Angelina Ballerina: The Lucky Penny
- Angelina Ballerina: The Dance Of Friendship
- Angelina Ballerina: Lights, Camera, Action!
- Angelina Ballerina: All Dancers on Deck / Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Sets Sail
- Angelina Ballerina: Angelina And The Sleeping Beauties / Angelina Ballerina: Princess Dance
- Angelina Ballerina: The Big Performance
- Angelina Ballerina: Angelina Follows Her Dreams
Reception
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 . The series is about Angelina going to a performing arts school. The series ran from September 5, 2009, to November 13, 2010. 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.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. 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.