AllMovie

"A little star with big dreams," Angelina Ballerina was introduced in a series of children's books written by Katharine Holabird and illustrated by Helen Craig. Angelina's real last name was Mouseling, altogether fitting, in that she was a cute little female mouse (albeit one dressed in ballet clothes and slippers). Determined to become a prima ballerina, Angelina studied tirelessly under her idol and mentor, Miss Lilly, along with such fellow dance classmates as Priscilla and Penelope Pinkpaws, and William Longstreet. While Angelina's family and her best friend, Alice, encouraged Angelina to follow her dreams, there were others not so politely inclined. Chief among our heroine's antagonists were crabby next-door neighbor Miss Hodgepodge, who hated all forms of dance, and neighborhood bully Sammy Watts, who thought that ballet was for wimps. After spawning a series of dolls and other ancillary products, the Angelina Ballerina franchise yielded a TV cartoon series, produced in England. Among the actors providing character voices were the illustrious Dame Judi Dench (as Miss Lilly) and her real-life daughter Finty Williams (as Angelina). The 26 fifteen-minute Angelina Ballerina episodes were broadcast in America, courtesy of PBS, beginning May 10, 2002.