Writers and Directors: Stephen de Beul, Ben Tesseur and Jeff Tudor
Choreographer: Ted Brandsen
The film Coppelia, directed and written by Stephen de Beul, Ben Tesseur and Jeff Tudor, is based on Ted Brandsen’s 2008 production for Dutch National Ballet. It is a mixture of animation and live action dancing, again choreographed by Brandsen, by a small cast of mainly young performers.
The writers have updated the original 1870 ballet so that although it’s still set in a timeless fairy-tale town, the characters belong to a modern-ish world of clean-cut youth and sunny adults. Sinister Dr Coppelius is no longer a toymaker but an evil cosmetic surgeon. A futuristic edifice suddenly appears and is revealed as his headquarters. He starts to promote his mysterious brand and like the Pied Piper, begins to lure the townsfolk into his lair for his evil purposes. The HQ is staffed by an army of identical female robotic dolls, all black-bobbed hair and thrusting bosoms. But the central story remains largely the same. Coppelius wants to bring to life one of his creations, the eponymous Coppelia, but can only do this by stealing the spirit of a human. Franz, who until the arrival of Coppelius has been the devoted boyfriend of heroine Swan, becomes infatuated with Coppelia and Dr Coppelius seizes the change to drug him and transfuse his spirit into his doll. As in the original it is Swan/Swanhilda who goes to his rescue.
The title sequence features a short sequence in which Coppelia and her creator appear as sharply cut silhouettes and briefly the film promises to be in one of the evocative styles of classic Czech animation. But the moment fades and the rest of this film is in the familiar primary and pastel shades of Disney. But the richness of Disney films are about clever layering. In particular, it depends on inventive characterisation and witty dialogue. But in Coppelia there is no dialogue. The characters simply dance and act out emotions. This forces them, both real and animated, to resort to unsophisticatedly exaggerated expressions and gestures. Daniel Camargo as Franz has almost nothing to work with: he must just look opened faced and decent. Coppelius, however, a suitably villainous Vito Mazzeo, must forever leer and squint, rubbing his hands menacingly in the manner of The Simpsons’ Mr Burns.
Swan, well performed by the young ballerina, author and activist, Michaela DePrince, is the one character who given a bit of depth. Her face registers her concerns as well as her naïve happiness. She runs a fairy-tale fruit-juice-serving café in the centre of town, shaped like a juicer. This is where most of the action takes place. It is Swan alone who perceives that something is wrong. When her mother suddenly becomes obsessed with her appearance, endlessly staring into her mirror, it becomes clear to Swan that Coppelius is behind this. He is using a sparkly magic powder to make people become enthralled with the enhanced avatars of themselves he has created. The basic feminist message about rejecting societal norms of beauty is clear.
So although the dancing has charm, the undeveloped characters are a limitation. Darcey Bussell, for instance, playing a Mary Poppins-like mayor, has at best a slender role. The plot is beefed up by a sci-fiction-type dramatic escape from Coppelius’s headquarters by the imprisoned young people which younger viewers may enjoy. The rather traditional film score by Maurizio Malagnini is suitably dramatic here.
Coppelia is billed as a family movie, but it is most likely to appeal to pre-teen dancers.
Coppelia is released in UK cinemas on 1 April 2022.
