Ballet Shoes

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Ballet Shoes is available in the US on Britbox Apple TV Channel and Shout! Factory Amazon Channel right now. It knows exactly what kind of film it is from the opening scene, and never loses that thread. With 276 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Emilia Fox's performance alone is worth the time investment. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Britbox Apple TV Channel .

Ballet Shoes arrived without much fanfare and built its audience the hard way — through word of mouth. The writing in Ballet Shoes treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. An unusual explorer named Gum and his kindly niece adopt three orphans -- Pauline, Petrova and Posy -- and raise them as sisters in 1930s London. But the girls must fend for themselves when Gum doesn't return from one of his adventures. Together, they nurture their passions for acting, aviation and ballet in this charming TV adaptation of Noel Streatfield's novel. Emilia Fox and Victoria Wood lead a cast that treats the material with real seriousness. It hit screens in 2008. Ballet Shoes resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

For anyone looking for storytelling that takes its characters seriously, Ballet Shoes delivers. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Emilia Fox carries the material with a performance that rewards close attention. Worth starting sooner rather than later.

Ballet Shoes was released in 2008, directed by Sandra Goldbacher. The full 85-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.