The Nutcracker in 3D (2009)

Set in 1920's Vienna, this a tale of a little girl, whose godfather gives her a special doll one Christmas Eve.

Director:

Andrey Konchalovskiy

Writers:

Andrey Konchalovskiy (screenplay), Chris Solimine (screenplay)

Stars:

Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, John Turturro

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elle Fanning	...	Mary
Nathan Lane	...	Uncle Albert
John Turturro	...	The Rat King
Frances de la Tour	...	The Rat Queen / Frau Eva
Aaron Michael Drozin	...	Max
Richard E. Grant	...	Father
Yuliya Vysotskaya	...	The Snow Fairy (as Yulia Visotskaya)
Shirley Henderson	...	The Nutcracker (voice)
Charlie Rowe	...	The Prince
Peter Elliott	...	Gielgud
Daniel Peacock	...	Gielgud
Alan Cox	...	Gielgud (voice)
Hugh Sachs	...	Tinker
Africa Nile	...	Sticks
Jonny Coyne	...	Gnomad (as Jonathan Coyne)

Storyline

1920s Vienna. Nine-year-old Mary lives in a home filled with lovely things and loneliness. Bothered by bratty brother Max and neglected by well intentioned, but distracted, parents, she yearns for companionship and adventure. On Christmas Eve, Mary's beloved Uncle Albert arrives with the gift of a wooden nutcracker doll. Later that night, Mary's imagination brings the doll to life. Introducing himself as "NC," he takes her on a wondrous journey through a stunning dimension where toys assume human form and everything appears ten times larger. But danger lurks. An army of toothy rat creatures, led by the flamboyant Rat King and his devious mother, has unleashed a plot to overthrow humanity. When NC is captured and placed under a paralytic spell, Mary, Max and a spirited band of toy sidekicks must rescue him from the Rat King's clutches and thwart his wicked plans to 'ratify' the world.

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | christmas eve | critically bashed | 3 dimensional | 3d in title | 

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Genres:

Action | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic material, scary images, action and brief smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Freestyle Releasing [us] Official site

Country:

UK Hungary

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 2011 (Hungary)

Also Known As:

The Nutcracker: The Untold Story

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$65,894 (USA) (26 November 2010)

Gross:

$190,562 (USA) (10 December 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vnesheconombank, Nutcracker Holdings, HCC Media Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The music for the songs in this film is adapted from the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who composed the music for the ballet "The Nutcracker".

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Goofs

As Uncle Albert sings the song about the pebble to Father and Mother in the study and the camera moves back and forth the ink smudge on Father's right ring finger changes in size and colour.

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Connections

Version of Jackanory: Ballet Stories: The Nutcracker (1970)

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Soundtracks

"The Nutcracker"
(excerpts)
Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

User Reviews

A waste of time

Disappointing in most respects. Inconsistent plot, poor lyrics, poor music adaptation, unconvincing acting for most of the movie. Like most reviewers will probably acknowledge, the visual effects are OK, but have no cause to serve. The film is a waste of nice animation, exactly what I wouldn't have expected from Koncealovski. And now, for a few upsetting details...

It is very difficult to become attached to any of the characters, because they are so superficially introduced. I don't get the real feeling of a backstory, which actually damages the whole universe of the film. Mary is the only character which seems alive, for better or worse. Otherwise, they are all pale and unconvincing.

The techno-fairy tale / political satire mix doesn't help either. I'm thinking of loads of splices you'd be able to make, starting from an original fairy tale, and I can't understand why you'd combine a Disney style dramatization with an oppressed-toys(and humans)-against-evil-nazi-rats uprising. It's not fun enough for adults, it's not simple and clear enough for children. And it doesn't have so much to do with the original...

And talking about the original, the use of Tchaikovsky's music is uninspired, to say the least. The adaptation sounds simplistic, and voices may not have been a good idea. First of all, because it used to be a ballet and, call me a rigid type, but I'd have loved to see it developed on this line. Second, because the lyrics are dull, and the actors' voices sound really bad at times (ok, try to make it sound natural but do follow the notes!). Third, because the modern orchestration further reduces the charm of the original, turning it into a sort of kindergarten party song. As far as the musical part goes, I'm taking Sweeney Todd as a reference. And, compared to this, Nutcracker is way below.

Bottom line? Don't see it, even if the other guy is paying. It's plain loss of time and a poor reference about the classics, if you have any children.