Primarily a children's movie, this cartoon is unusually set in St. Petersburg, Russia, and bears the hallmark of less westernised tastes, something which is evident the quality of the animation in the final scenes - everything's hand-drawn, little evidence of computerised animation.
The fairytale story revolves around a young prince who - along with his entourage - is turned into a nutcracker through his own ungrateful and selfish behaviour, and awaits a kindly soul who'll release him from the spell. The mouse-king seeks the magic that made this happen so that he can become all-powerful. The prince (now a nutcracker) finds hope in the form of a girl who risks everything to help him become real again, while the mouse-king and his armies do everything they can to steal the magic for themselves.
This is a delightful story with an excellent song soundtrack and some clever animation, especially more so when you see that it's all hand-rendered. The storyline is distinctly more eastern in flavour than your normal Hollywood fare, but that makes for a refreshing change rather than a disadvantage.
The fairytale story revolves around a young prince who - along with his entourage - is turned into a nutcracker through his own ungrateful and selfish behaviour, and awaits a kindly soul who'll release him from the spell. The mouse-king seeks the magic that made this happen so that he can become all-powerful. The prince (now a nutcracker) finds hope in the form of a girl who risks everything to help him become real again, while the mouse-king and his armies do everything they can to steal the magic for themselves.
This is a delightful story with an excellent song soundtrack and some clever animation, especially more so when you see that it's all hand-rendered. The storyline is distinctly more eastern in flavour than your normal Hollywood fare, but that makes for a refreshing change rather than a disadvantage.