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The Nutcracker Prince More at IMDbPro »

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13 reviews in total

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8 out of 8 people found the following review useful:
Lovely Adaptation, 19 February 2003
Author: Liza-19 from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

It's about time E.T.A. Hoffman's tale of The Nutcracker and The Mouse King got a faithful adaptation. As one of the what, three people that have actually read the story - it's delightful to see the tale faithfully told, and told for children. In keeping with the tradition started with the Tchaikovsky ballet, it keeps the story light and suitable for children, without leaving out the main themes of the tale. The Hoffman story can be pretty gruesome at places, but this film manages to keep all the details (down to the Krakatuk nut!) in place, without taking away from the charm. They've managed to take some of the ugliest parts and present them comically - which is not an easy task. Good for them! A very good script, wonderful voicework (hey, I didn't know Megan Follows can sing) and just an overall sweet movie. Yes the animation isn't the greatest, but oh, who really cares? It's still a great movie.

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
An unjustly ignored gem, 19 January 2004
Author: Ron Broadfoot from Canada

The Nutcracker Prince was the first (and last) big-screen movie that was helmed by Kevin Gillis and Sheldon Wiseman, the creators of the cartoon series The Raccoons. Along with big names like Megan Follows, Kiefer Sutherland and Peter O'Toole, it also featured many of the voice talents of The Raccoons, such as Len Carlson, Susan Roman, Liz Hanna, Noam Zylberman and Keith Hampshire (who sadly passed away in 2000). Unfortunately, it didn't become the box office success everyone hoped for, and it flopped. This is a shame, because The Nutcracker Prince is a movie that should be seen. It wasn't just a good opportunity for the animators to show their talents, but it was also a triumph of Canadian moviemaking. The music of Tchaikovsky was put to very good use here, and the song "I'll Always Come Back To You" should have been nominated for a Genie (Canada's version of the Oscar) for Best Song.

If you can find a copy of it on video (it's hard to find nowadays), see it. You won't be disappointed.

Rating: ***

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A Forgotten Great., 8 December 2002
Author: maxvaughn from Arizona, USA/Hull, England

Okay, even I'll admit that this is not one of the most spectacular animated films even made, but that doesn't take away from how much I love it. The characters are lovable and interesting, even Clara's family keeps our attention. This movie is a wonderful holiday film for all ages, filled with humor, adventure, and a little romance. It was about time the Nutcracker had a back story and a name. And for once he wasn't ten years older than Clara with a beard and cape (a cape that's always there when he's a nutcracker yet rarely there when he comes to life). I enjoyed how Uncle Drosselmeier's story was presented in a more comical style of animation. And it ends the way all children (especially little girls) always wanted it to end.

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Glorious, 18 September 2002
Author: Octavia Gold (octaviagold@hotmail.com) from Canada

The movie is worth seeing simply for the music. Tchaikovsky composed some of the most beautiful pieces I've ever heard. The use of the music in this animated film is gloriously woven into the storyline. The story is captivating with delightful characters. A great film to introduce children to joys of Tchaikovsky's music.

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Unforgettable Christmas Film, 3 December 2000

Author: LT-10 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Wow, this is great. I can't believe that so many official movie critics disliked this film. It is amazing, will work for everyone as a family movie. It doesn't have the bordom involved with watching the same ballet every year, that would turn kids off to this classic story. The movie deserves more recondition, more praise, anything to help get the word out of how good it is.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
A great film, full of emotions, 25 September 2003

Author: romesco from Begues, Spain

It's a pity that this film didn't have the consideration it merites. The plot and the beautiful Tchaicovsky music are so well armonized I found it a piece as enjoyable for adults than for children. It's a nice movie full of sentiments and emotions. It's not the classical adventure movie you forget immediately it ends. This one really makes you feel emotions you keep long ago the movie has ended. I'll give it a 10.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A timeless story, beautiful music and a talented voice cast equals a great underrated film., 28 July 2009

Author: TheLittleSongbird from United Kingdom

When I was a kid, this was one of my childhood favourites, I loved it. Watching it again, I still do, it is a really sweet and charming film, that is perfect for Christmas time.

I have read critical reviews, though not on IMDb, that said that the animation was shoddy, and I wholeheartedly disagree. Sure I have seen better animation, but I do think people need to remember when it was made(1990), and that it is lower in budget to other animated gems like Beauty and the Beast. The colours weren't too bad and the backgrounds were nice to look at.

One of the main things I like about The Nutcracker Prince is the story. The timeless story by ETA Hoffmann is a truly wonderful one, and out of all the adaptations of the story I've seen, including countless productions of the ballet, short cartoons, and the Barbie movie(which I admit I really like, despite the fact I am 17), The Nutcracker Prince is actually the most faithful to the story, having the story of Princess Pirlipat and all that. Yes, there are one or two gruesome scenes, but the story version I have has a very malevolent description of the Mouse King, so that is forgiven. Plus this Mouse King was one I enjoyed watching, funny and scary at the same time, and a character who got so much abuse from his mother.

My favourite aspect of the movie was the music by Tchaikovsky, the sparkling motifs from his beautiful ballet score are bound to stay with you forever. What I liked about it was how they used it in the film, it was very clever, and very appropriate. Tchaikovsky is one of my favourite composers, and a very important one in the development of ballet, but he brought staggering contributions also to symphony, concerto and opera. I am so thankful that they didn't miss out the music entirely, otherwise this gem of a film wouldn't have such an effect on me. Just for the record, this was actually the film, that introduced me to Tchaikovsky's music, and that is the reason why it is so special to me.

The voice cast was terrific, especially Kiefer Sutherland as the Nutcracker Prince, and Megan Follows is lovely beyond words as Clara. Also worth of note is Peter O'Toole as Pantoloon, I thought he was excellent, almost certainly one of the best voice actors involved in the movie. Everyone else was very good too, particularly Peter Beretski in a perfect performance as Drosselmeir and they were further advantaged by a very good script, that is surprisingly faithful to Hoffmann's story.

Overall, a beautiful gem. 10/10 Bethany Cox.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
A sweet Christmas classic..., 25 November 2007

Author: Genevieve (princess-genevieve88@hotmail.com) from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I remember seeing this film only once when I was young on Cartoon Network, and being completely enchanted. And though it was many years later when I saw it again, I immediately remembered its charm and sweetness. It's a fun take on the classic, with an innocence that makes it continue to dazzle me even now.

Now, the animation was not the quality of Disney, but I wouldn't even compare it to Disney. Because one must remember that Canada's animation budget was not very good at the time it was made. However, despite the low budget, it's very nicely done. I especially enjoyed the silly animation during Drosslemyer's story. It was silly and well done. The characters were all enjoyable, and the relationship between Hans(Nutcracker) and Clara was childlike and enchanting. Nothing too forward or out there... simple yet enjoyable. I loved how they matched the lovely Nutcracker music to scenes throughout the film, it made it so enjoyable to watch. This film definitely deserves a chance, and I strongly recommend it to families everywhere.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
Wonderful memories of my childhood, every child should see this, 25 November 2009

Author: jwtrox08706 from Louisville, KY

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It had been a long time since I had seen this film. Actually, the last time I had seen this was when I was a child. This film was essentially my view of how The Nutcracker should be since it was the first adaptation of The Nutcracker I had seen. When I recently watched it, the wonderful memories of childhood and Christmas when I was younger all came flooding back. Now, as a young man with more knowledge of film, it was a true pleasure and treat to go back and watch this and be able to see it from many different perspectives. And from each perspective, this film is very well-done.

First of all, the adaptation of the story is very well-done. The voice acting is superb. Kiefer Sutherland is excellent as Hans/The Nutcracker. Peter O'Toole was excellent as Pantaloon, bringing the voice of a gentleman to the old soldier. Peter Boretski was a perfect choice for Uncle Drosselmeier. I remember liking Drosselmeier, but at the same time being somewhat afraid of him, as a child. Those names I have mentioned are just a few examples of how well the voice acting is done.

The music used, of course, is Tchaikovski's The Nutcracker, and I believe the performance of The Nutcracker used for this film was very well-done. The music and the on screen action intertwine together almost perfectly. I really don't have much to say about it, because there's nothing I can say.

The animation is wonderful. It's all handmade. I do believe there is not a single computer- generated sequence in this film, and that is wonderful. Quality animation done by hand is such a rarity today, and it just has that certain magic about it that computers cannot recreate. When Drosselmeier tells the story of how Hans came to be The Nutcracker, the animation has a certain surrealistic twist to it. It's subtle, but noticeable. It is appropriate since what we are seeing is a story being told by one of the characters in the story. While the surrealism is not as heavy, I can just draw a connection to the film "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" where much of the film is a story being told by one of the main characters, and since it is a story being told, the sets are distorted as only a classic German Expressionist film can. Additionally, the animation toward the end in The Land of the Dolls also has this surrealistic sense to it, but in a different way.

Overall, I must say this film is a definite choice for a family to sit and watch during the Christmas Season. It makes much of the new stuff that is being shown on television today look like crap (and much of it is). There are some moments that I think most of the parents today would say, "children shouldn't see this, that's horribly violent." Well, hey, I saw this film a lot as a kid and I turned out just fine. It's those tastefully done moments of "violence" along with other parts of the film such as Drosselmeier's story that help give this film its wonderful character and flavor. I give it a 10/10.

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A timeless animated gem from the classic 90s, 19 December 2011

Author: gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297 from United States

I will admit, I have seen the Nutcracker adaptations including the Barbie version and the Macaulay Culkin version (in which I did enjoy it really), but I think that this animated gem is the most faithful to the E.T.A. Hoffman story and the ballet in which it was based on. I was disappointed by the mixed reviews from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes (and not this website) who said "the animation was shoddy" and I think that it has some nice background and the colors were so lovely. The character models are fabulous and the Princess Perlipat story was explained quite well in a Looney Tunes-esque style.

The voice acting is incredible. Megan Follows did great as Clara with her lovely voice, Phyllis Diller did a good job as the wicked and creepy Mousequeen, Peter O'Toole did great as Pantaloon who was so funny during the movie, Mike McDonald did a fantastic job portraying the funny and frightening Mouseking. Yes, there are some violence in a kids movie and would frighten those who are 8-12, but the action was very intense (I found that character a perfect description from the book since he was the one who had gotten so much abuse from his mother. In fact, I felt sorry for him). Peter Boretski did very good as Uncle Drosselmeier and let's not forget Kiefer Sutherland's amazing performance as Hans/The Nutcracker with just a right tone for the prince.

The music is the best aspect throughout the entire film. The sparkling motifs from his beautiful ballet score captured the spirit of the story with emotional moments where Clara decides to go back to her home and grow up instead of staying with the Nutcracker which is heartbroken and her final battle with a dying Mouseking.

The Nutcracker Prince is an enjoyable experience for me and I think this would be recommended to Nutcracker fans as not only one of the best Christmas films of all time, but one of the best Nutcracker adaptations to date from the classic 90s.

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