The Nutcracker is another Christmas story I love besides L. Frank Baum's "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus." This film, which is based on the story by German author E. T. A. Hoffman, was straight out of my childhood.
The story starts on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum household, where Karl and Ingrid Stahlbaum are enjoying the new tree with their three children, Louise, Clara, and Fritz. After opening their presents, guests start to arrive for the Christmas party. One guest in particular is Uncle Drosselmeir, who gives the family an intricate toy castle and gives Clara a Nutcracker. Uncle Drosselmeir warns her that this is no ordinary Nutcracker. Uncle Drosselmeir tells her that the Nutcracker used to be a human boy, and his nephew was named Hans; but after Hans broke a spell the Mouse Queen had placed over a princess, he had been cursed by the Mouse Queen to become a Nutcracker Prince. At first, it all seems like just another fairy tale to Clara. And though she does enjoy a good fairy tale, they are just that-stories. That night, after everyone has gone to bed, Clara steals downstairs to dance with her new Nutcracker. But suddenly the Mouse King appears, intent on extracting revenge on the Nutcracker Hans for toppling a statue on his tail when Hans was turned into a nutcracker and collapsed. And right then, before Clara's eyes, the Nutcracker comes to life, thus starting a strange, dream-like war between dolls and mice. And that's all I could tell you, folks; you will have to see the film for yourself to see how it ends.
My family used to rent the film on video for Christmas. I had watched it, and I loved it. Of course, years later, I was lucky to find (and buy) a copy of the film at a used video/audio shop. I still watch the film near Christmas, and I still love this wonderfully animated film after all these years. As I've said many times, I don't have a favorite scene because I love the whole film, from beginning to end. I love Clara, her kitten Pavlova, and the budding romance between her and her Nutcracker Prince. I also love the music from Tchaikovsky's ballet rendition that is used throughout the film as the main instrumental soundtrack, and as I always say, I love a film with a good soundtrack.
The story starts on Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum household, where Karl and Ingrid Stahlbaum are enjoying the new tree with their three children, Louise, Clara, and Fritz. After opening their presents, guests start to arrive for the Christmas party. One guest in particular is Uncle Drosselmeir, who gives the family an intricate toy castle and gives Clara a Nutcracker. Uncle Drosselmeir warns her that this is no ordinary Nutcracker. Uncle Drosselmeir tells her that the Nutcracker used to be a human boy, and his nephew was named Hans; but after Hans broke a spell the Mouse Queen had placed over a princess, he had been cursed by the Mouse Queen to become a Nutcracker Prince. At first, it all seems like just another fairy tale to Clara. And though she does enjoy a good fairy tale, they are just that-stories. That night, after everyone has gone to bed, Clara steals downstairs to dance with her new Nutcracker. But suddenly the Mouse King appears, intent on extracting revenge on the Nutcracker Hans for toppling a statue on his tail when Hans was turned into a nutcracker and collapsed. And right then, before Clara's eyes, the Nutcracker comes to life, thus starting a strange, dream-like war between dolls and mice. And that's all I could tell you, folks; you will have to see the film for yourself to see how it ends.
My family used to rent the film on video for Christmas. I had watched it, and I loved it. Of course, years later, I was lucky to find (and buy) a copy of the film at a used video/audio shop. I still watch the film near Christmas, and I still love this wonderfully animated film after all these years. As I've said many times, I don't have a favorite scene because I love the whole film, from beginning to end. I love Clara, her kitten Pavlova, and the budding romance between her and her Nutcracker Prince. I also love the music from Tchaikovsky's ballet rendition that is used throughout the film as the main instrumental soundtrack, and as I always say, I love a film with a good soundtrack.