The movie Happiness Charge Precure Ningyou no Kuni no Ballerina is the second feature film related to the Happiness Charge series. I didnt dislike it at all although there have been several better films among those in the Precure franchise. From a technical standpoint its very engaging and even features minimal use of CGI unlike New Stage 3. The overall presentation is very smooth and there are excellent choreographies even during the fight scenes. The only real flaw I found lies in the excessive use of stock footage both for the transformations and individual attacks. The basic plot follows the same framework as the Precure films of that era which unfortunately gives a sense of dj vu: theres an initial battle then a new character appears and presents themselves as a friend to the protagonists. This is followed by a betrayal but later its understood that they too were deceived. The true enemy is then defeated through an exclusive form obtained thanks to the Miracle Light and finally theres a happy ending. Now Id like to analyze in more detail the characters introduced in the film. The antagonist is named Black Fang and he is one of the generals of the Phantom Empire which makes sense considering there are canonically many of them worldwide even though in the series aside from Japan only Madame Momiere is shown. I appreciate him from the perspective of character design and characterization. He certainly doesnt shine for originality one could say hes a simple enemy and this contributes to making him effective: hes simply a wicked individual with no chance of redemption. Hes a manipulator capable of targeting a fragile subject like a child and stripping her of her dream just to harvest enough despair Im not sure how much sense it makes that this allows him to surpass Mirage but oh well. The fact that he is responsible for the disability strengthens him as a villain but weakens the films message. Why? Lets talk about Tsumugi. She is an aspiring dancer but suddenly she loses the use of her legs. Doctors cant understand the cause. Even her relationship with her classmates deteriorates as they initially visited her in the hospital but then probably also due to the wall Tsumugi built between herself and others stopped coming. All of this leaves her deeply desperate to the point where the only support she still considers is her dolls. However Black Fang suddenly appears and takes her to a place where she regains mobility and where the dolls have come to life. She is however required to deceive the Precures and defeat them so she can maintain this realm otherwise it will eventually collapse as its generated by Black Fangs power. Throughout the film Tsumugi follows a journey thanks to the Precures that helps her realize that escaping reality forever is not the right choice and that even if one has lost their dream and connections its possible to start again. Clearly the way she arrives at this conclusion a speech and the power of friendship is not particularly mature as the film is aimed at a young audience. Yet I didnt like the choice to have Tsumugi regain mobility in her legs: she decided to side with the Precures without knowing she would regain it and having her start anew despite her disability would have sent a great message to children in similar situations. Its a shame it ended with a resolution where theres no permanent damage. Finally theres Zeke a doll brought to life by Black Fangs powers. Hes very cool aesthetically and I liked how he was practically the spokesperson being the only one with a human form for the love the dolls feel for Tsumugi helping her make her choice. I also liked that he contributed to the fight by freeing the Precures and hoping they would find a way to save Tsumugi. His relationship with Hime was also nice. Regarding the characters already known Iona and Yuuko fight but dont do much else its worth noting that they are the ones who harbor suspicions about this realm. Ribbon and Glasan have some funny scenes while Seiji and Blue are completely useless until the final part where the god appearing in mirrors that materialize out of nowhere in Earths sky manages to convince people to wave the Miracle Lights in the real world such a request coming from an individual in that manner would only trigger general panic. Hime is the second Precure in terms of screen time thanks to her falling in love with Zeke referring to how in her childish way her ideal man is a kind prince on a white horse. Its amusing to see her fantasize about their future only to experience a strong disappointment when she discovers hes a doll. As for Megumi shes the one given the most screen time and the only one with an exclusive form reminding me of the final arc as well as the person who with her speech manages to save Tsumugi. It was at the very least very emotional and portrayed as coming from an ordinary fragile person as at first she doesnt know what to say to help her. Last thing: I dont understand why they never use the Innocent Forms except in the final dance.