Ballet Shoes (film) - Differences From The Book

Differences From The Book

• In the film, Winifred Bagnall appears to be quite arrogant because she is the "best all-round student" in the academy, and her father's illness as well as her meager financial state is suggested only a few times. In the book, Winifred is far less presumptuous and it is discovered early on that Winifred is ambitious because her father's illness is the cause of her family's financial struggles, leaving her as the eldest of six children to earn a living to help support her family.
• The suggestion in the film is that Winifred replaces Pauline as Alice. In the book it occurs for one night only, Pauline is not being sacked but is simply shown she is not indispensable after her attitude gets out of hand.
• The film has Mr. Simpson a widower who falls in love with Garnie. In the book his wife is alive and there is no romance with Garnie.
• Posy is made more unsympathetic in the film, she knows Madame is paralyzed but she still only cares for herself. In the book she behaves selfishly because those around her have played down madame's illness, leaving Posy to feel abandoned for a trivial illness.
• In the book, Pauline and Petrova star in the academy's musical - while in the movie, they don't.