A co-production between Canadian and French companies, the film takes place in 1880s France and follows an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina and gets a chance to audition for the celebrated school of the Paris Opera Ballet.

Ballerina stars the voices of Elle Fanning, Dane DeHaan, Maddie Ziegler and Carly Rae Jepsen.

The film was released in the United States on 25 August 2017, with the voices of Nat Wolff (who replaced DeHaan), Kate McKinnon and Mel Brooks added.

[4][5] In the 1880s, eleven-year-old Félicie, an orphan girl who dreams of becoming a ballerina, but lacks formal training, runs away from her orphanage in rural Brittany, France, with her best friend, Victor, a young inventor, who has a crush on her.

Odette works for both the Opera and for the cruel and imperious Régine Le Haut, a wealthy restaurant owner.

In her anger, Félicie hides the letter and decides to assume Camille's identity to get into the school and pursue her dream.

Félicie finds her training very difficult, but with Camille's letter of acceptance, she manages to take her place at the ballet school.

Mérante, the school's exacting choreographer, announces that one of the girls from the class will be chosen to dance the role of Clara in The Nutcracker.

The night before the final elimination, Félicie neglects training to go out on a date with Rudi, a handsome boy from the school, which disappoints Odette.

While cleaning the stage, Félicie encounters Camille, and they engage in a dance battle that is witnessed by all the students, Odette and Mérante.

There is also a French language version of the film, with the voices of Camille Cottin as Félicie and Malik Bentalha as Victor, that premiered in France on December 14, 2016.

[13] The film also features songs that are not included in the album, such as "Cut to the Feeling" and "Runaways" by Jepsen and "Suitcase" by Sia.

The critical consensus reads, "Ballerina's rich setting and beautifully animated dance sequences elevate a solidly crafted all-ages adventure with a surprising amount of colorful flair.

"[37] Mike McCahill of The Guardian wrote: "It's attentively, attractively designed – with a real eye for the light hitting the buildings of a city under construction – but a shade more Black Swan in its DNA might have made the happy ending less inevitable and its pep less repetitive.

"[38] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film one and a half out of four stars, criticizing its numerous "3-D animation clichés" which he said spoil the potential of its original premise, stating that "The best thing about [Leap!]