Bio[]
 Christmas can even be a Hanukkah thing...that's what Christmas is for!
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| — Ballerannie, "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas". |
 by Alison Brie. |
"Ballerannie" is the Christmas version of Annie when she's on "Planet Abed," a holiday themed world in Abed's imagination. Her alter ego is a wind up ballerina figurine and its suggested it's meant to be a reflection of her high strung personality. Ballerannie's first appearance was in the Season Two episode "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas". She is voiced by Alison Brie. |
Character history[]
| In the study group's second year at Greendale, Abed has an emotional breakdown imaging the world has become a stop-motion cartoon. Annie and the rest of the study group staged an intervention for Abed led by Professor Ian Duncan. He convinced Abed to undergo hypnosis to find the root of his problem. While he was under, Abed imagined that everyone had been transported to another world called "Planet Abed.” After their arrival, Abed’s friends were transformed into Christmas cartoon versions of themselves. In Abed's mind, Annie became "Ballerannie", a wind-up ballerina toy. Ballerannie and the group joined Abed on a journey to the North Pole where he hoped to find the true meaning of Christmas.
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| Duncan had been reimagined as "The Christmas Wizard" and convinced Abed to take a shortcut through "The Cave of Frozen Memories." Along the way, Ballerannie and Britta (now "Britta Bot") discussed the meaning behind their alter-egos. Annie suggested she's a ballerina because she's thin and graceful, but Britta countered that it was probably because she's fragile and tightly wound. As the journey continued, Shirley (as "Baby Doll Shirley") and Jeff (as Jeff-in-the-box) were both ejected from the therapy session by Duncan. Ballerannie composed a quick ditty to sing Jeff out: ”Bitter, shallow hipster, sweater matching socks...Christmas needs more presents than a haircut in a box.”
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| After going through "Carol Canyon", the remaining group made it to "The Cave of Frozen Memories." It’s there Abed foiled Duncan's attempts at therapy and got the professor to abandon the session by having him recall a painful childhood memory. Abed declared only those willing to help him are allowed to accompany him the rest of the way. Troy (as "Troy Soldier") affirmed his loyalty as did Ballerannie who kissed Abed on the cheek before sliding down a secret exit from the cave. Abed and Pierce (as “Teddy Pierce”) soon followed leaving Britta Bot behind. The escape route led to a train station and they boarded a locomotive headed to the North Pole. Teddy Pierce went to use the bathroom as Ballerannie discussed how tough the holidays were for her as a child.
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| As the daughter of a Jewish mother and Presbyterian father she got caught between two different religious traditions. Abed then brought up a particular Christmas ritual he and his mother observed every year. On December 9th she would visit him and together they would watch Christmas cartoons. Ballerannie and Troy Soldier were worried when Abed refused to acknowledge it was already the ninth of December. They are interrupted by the sudden reappearance of the Christmas Wizard who claimed to have discovered the reason behind Abed’s strange behavior. Abed fled not wanting to hear what he had to say and made his way to the top of the train. While Troy Soldier subdued the Christmas Wizard, Ballerannie unhitched the conductor's cab Abed was on from the rest of the train allowing him and Pierce to escape.
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| Abed eventually made it to the North Pole with Pierce only to be met there by the Christmas Wizard. Duncan forced Abed to face the truth, his mother cancelled their annual tradition to be with her new family. In response to being forced to confront this reality Abed went into a catatonic state. When Teddy Pierce chastised the professor for pushing Abed that far Duncan defended himself by saying that the holiday always caused despair because of people’s unhealthy expectations of it. It’s then that Ballerannie and the rest of the study group reappeared armed with holiday themed weaponry. They refute Duncan’s assertion proclaiming Christmas is the time of the year for hope and they can make that belief a reality by supporting each other. |
| The study group decided to prove their point by attacking Duncan while singing a song. Ballerannie used gingerbread pistols on Duncan and also kicked him in the face twice utilizing a ballerina spin. As his friends fought for him Abed started to thaw. Ballerannie finished off the Christmas Wizard by summoning the "Christmas Pterodactyl" to grab him. As the remote controlled creature flew off with the wizard, Ballerannie activated the self destruct device blowing both of them up. Abed thanked the group for their efforts and they all "returned" to the study room. Annie and the rest of the study group decided to uphold Abed's yearly tradition with his mom and watched Christmas cartoons together in his dorm room ("Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas").
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Trivia[]
Official merchandise[]
| A series of figurines was officially based on the animated characters featured in this episode. The alternate forms of most of the study group members made up the assortment along with The Christmas Wizard. The figurines initially sold for $12.95 at the NBCUniversal Store. They have since been discontinued and are no longer available on the site. |
