Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Nutcracker

  • 19931993
  • GG
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
19,565
4,449
Kevin Kline, Helene Alexopoulos, Lindsay Fischer, Lauren Hauser, Kipling Houston, Peter Naumann, Alexandre Proia, Melinda Roy, Stephanie Saland, Simone Schumacher, Deborah Wingert, and Eriends Zieminch in The Nutcracker (1993)
Home Video Trailer from Warner Home Video
Play trailer1:10
2 Videos
99+ Photos
FamilyFantasyMusic
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie (Cohen) falls asleep after a party at her home and dreams herself (or does she?) into a fantastic world where toys become larger than life. Her be... Read allOn Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie (Cohen) falls asleep after a party at her home and dreams herself (or does she?) into a fantastic world where toys become larger than life. Her beloved Nutcracker (Culkin) comes to life and defends her from the Mouse King, then is turne... Read allOn Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie (Cohen) falls asleep after a party at her home and dreams herself (or does she?) into a fantastic world where toys become larger than life. Her beloved Nutcracker (Culkin) comes to life and defends her from the Mouse King, then is turned into a Prince after Marie saves his life.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
19,565
4,449
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Emile Ardolino
    • Writer
      • Susan Cooper(narration)
    • Stars
      • Darci Kistler
      • Damian Woetzel
      • Kyra Nichols
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Emile Ardolino
    • Writer
      • Susan Cooper(narration)
    • Stars
      • Darci Kistler
      • Damian Woetzel
      • Kyra Nichols
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 22User reviews
    • 14Critic reviews

    Videos2

    The Nutcracker
    Trailer 1:10
    The Nutcracker
    The Nutcracker
    Clip 1:11
    The Nutcracker

    Photos106

    The Nutcracker (1993)
    Macaulay Culkin and Jessica Lynn Cohen in The Nutcracker (1993)
    Macaulay Culkin, Bart Robinson Cook, and Jessica Lynn Cohen in The Nutcracker (1993)
    The Nutcracker (1993)
    Darci Kistler in The Nutcracker (1993)
    Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, and Robert D. Lyon in The Nutcracker (1993)
    1 sheet movie poster
    The Nutcracker (1993)
    The Nutcracker (1993)
    The Nutcracker (1993)
    The Nutcracker (1993)
    The Nutcracker (1993)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Darci Kistler
    Darci Kistler
    • The Sugarplum Fairy
    Damian Woetzel
    • The Sugarplum Fairy's Cavalier
    Kyra Nichols
    Kyra Nichols
    • Dewdrop
    Wendy Whelan
    Wendy Whelan
    • Coffee
    Margaret Tracey
    Margaret Tracey
    • Marzipan
    Gen Horiuchi
    Gen Horiuchi
    • Tea
    Tom Gold
    Tom Gold
    • Candy Cane
    Lourdes López
    • Hot Chocolate
    Nilas Martins
    • Hot Chocolate
    William Otto
    William Otto
    • Mother Ginger
    Peter Reznick
    Peter Reznick
    • Fritz
    Karin von Aroldingen
    • Grandparent
    Edward Bigelow
    • Grandparent
    Heather Watts
    • Frau Stahlbaum
    Robert LaFosse
    • Dr. Stahlbaum
    Bart Robinson Cook
    Bart Robinson Cook
    • Drosselmeier
    Jessica Lynn Cohen
    Jessica Lynn Cohen
    • Marie Stahlbaum
    Macaulay Culkin
    Macaulay Culkin
    • The Nutcracker…
    • Director
      • Emile Ardolino
    • Writer
      • Susan Cooper(narration)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Getting Even with Dad
    4.8
    Getting Even with Dad
    The Nutcracker Prince
    6.7
    The Nutcracker Prince
    Nutcracker
    6.8
    Nutcracker
    The Pagemaster
    6.1
    The Pagemaster
    Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
    7.4
    Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
    Richie Rich
    5.4
    Richie Rich
    The Nutcracker: The Untold Story
    4.1
    The Nutcracker: The Untold Story
    The Nutcracker
    6.4
    The Nutcracker
    Babe
    6.9
    Babe
    Blank Check
    5.2
    Blank Check
    He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'
    6.4
    He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'
    Sister Act
    6.5
    Sister Act

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Narration recorded by Kevin Kline was a last-minute addition that was heavily protested by Macaulay Culkin's father, Kit Culkin, who vowed that his son would do no publicity for the movie until the narration was dropped. Reluctantly, producer Arnon Milchan dropped the narration to appease the Culkins. Kit Culkin then returned with a list of other demands which so incensed Milchan that he reinstated Kline's narration, losing the use of the Culkins' publicity.
    • Quotes

      [first lines]

      Narrator: This is the Stahlbaums' house. These are their children, Marie and Fritz. It was Christmas Eve, when there was always a big family party. The children had been waiting and waiting for their guests to arrive. The house was full of rich, wonderful smells of baking, chocolate, and peppermint sticks.

    • Crazy credits
      In the opening credits, Macaulay Culkin is listed as playing Drosselmeier's nephew, but he is not listed as playing either The Nutcracker or The Prince.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: A Perfect World/We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story/Mrs. Doubtfire/The Nutcracker/A Dangerous Woman (1993)
    • Soundtracks
      The Nutcracker: Overture
      (uncredited)

      Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

      The New York City Ballet Orchestra (with chorus) conducted by David Zinman

    User reviews22

    Review
    Top review
    The HORROR...
    To begin with, let me first say for the record that I understand that this film was made with the non-Ballet-going public in mind, much as 'E.R.' is made for the non-medical public. This may explain how so many people I have spoken to really loved this film. I, however, must protest. As a professional dancer for many years and, now, a choreographer and director of Ballet, I can not add my voice to the choir of approval that this film has received. Indeed, I have found the production, from front to back with rare exception, to be an ineffectual copy of a classic ballet. The Horror that is Macauly Culkin (who was obviouly cast to bring the film "star-power" rather than talent) aside, the wrongs against Ballet abound aplenty in this film. The choreography is tipical Latter Balanchine (for the un-trained; make it fast, make it sharp and remove any and all elements of Emotion, the core of dance, in favor of a technicality that will highlight the flaws of even the best dancers), the score (considered by many to be their favorite Tchaikovsky piece) is so badly edited and re-arranged that I doubt if the composer would regognize it, leading to the re-arrangement of the staging into a non-linear hodge-podge of dances that tells no deffinite story, but simply ambles through the remains of a once-great narrative and the camera work, while professional and clean, is more distracting than helpful, always cutting away at inopportune moments in favor of another vantage point. One of the wonderful things about watching ballet on tape is being able to see a variation continualy without edits, there-by showing our hero or heroine actually completing a difficult step or combonation, there-by showing off their talent. When one cuts away from a dancer after three fuete turns and then shows them from another angle doing another three fuetes, how are we, as the viewers, to know if the dancer completed all six in one attempt or did she simply do three and WE saw them twice? With the continuity cut from the dancing, much of the magic of ballet (&/or dance in general) gets lost in the mix. And then, there is the Culkin child. Now, I understand that Young Mr. Culkin is rumored to have grown into a very respectable and nice young man. And I also understand (although reports are sketchy) that he received instruction from the School of American Ballet (SAB), the accademy arm of the New York City Ballet (NYCB), for a short time. But does this really qualify him to play the Nutcracker? His obviouly lack of balletic talent or grace and the ham-handed choreography imposed on the child makes his scenes painful to watch and an embarrassment to not only Mr Culkin and the NYCB, but to the entire dancing world. Would it have not made better sense to have cast an actual dancer in the role and let the art form speak for itself rather than trying to "glam" it up with a familar face?

    The one shining moment in other-wise waste of video tape is the Soldier Doll Variation performed in the first act Party Scene. Brilliant and incredible!

    Needless to say, however, I was disappointed the first time I saw this film and continue to be so now, years later. If you are interested in seeing a quality production of "the Nutcracker", I would like to recomend either the classical and technically perfect Royal Ballet's version or the more visially oppulant Pacific Northwest Ballet's production, both available on video.
    helpful•10
    16
    • kylebengel
    • Jul 26, 2003

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 24, 1993 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
    • Filming locations
      • New York City, New York, USA
    • Production companies
      • Krasnow Productions
      • Arnon Milchan Productions
      • Elektra Entertainment Group
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $19,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $2,119,994
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $783,721
      • Nov 28, 1993
    • Gross worldwide
      • $2,119,994
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Kevin Kline, Helene Alexopoulos, Lindsay Fischer, Lauren Hauser, Kipling Houston, Peter Naumann, Alexandre Proia, Melinda Roy, Stephanie Saland, Simone Schumacher, Deborah Wingert, and Eriends Zieminch in The Nutcracker (1993)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for The Nutcracker (1993)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    These Stars Are on the Rise
    See the gallery

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Back to top
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.