HCC Media Group, Nutcracker Holdings, Russian Roulette Ltd.
Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, John Turturro, Frances de la Tour, Richard E. Grant, Yuliya Vysotskaya, Shirley Henderson, Aaron Michael Drozin, Charlie Rowe, Peter Elliott
Note: This film in theaters was called “The Nutcracker in 3D” and is often referenced by that title. When it was released on DVD, it was NOT a 3D movie, so the title was changed to “The Nutcracker the Untold Story”. If you seek the DVD look for the alternate title although both are often referenced.
This is a very fanciful telling of the “story” of The Nutcracker without the ballet part. It’s fanciful and very imaginative, but it it is NOT the ballet. Let’s start with that upfront. This is the story of Mary (Elle Fanning) in a wonderful house with a bratty little brother Max (Aaron Michael Drozin) who drives her nuts, and two loving parents who are so distracted by their own lives that she is mostly lonely and neglected. On a big night out, Uncle Albert (Nathan Lane) arrives to babysit bringing a wonderful mechanical doll house filled with amazing dolls, and of course, a nutcracker which Max breaks almost immediately. Mary’s imagination takes off and brings the Nutcracker to life and all the other characters from the doll house. However, the Rat King (John Turturro) wants to take over the world of humans and turn it into a rat kingdom. He’s a bad guy, so Mary and NC (which the Nutcracker Prince prefers to be called) have to fight with all their might to turn back the Rat King’s plans.
This is a very bizarre story, and one that a lot of people hated. First, it’s a little bit dark and scary as the rat people look like evil “Whovians” from The Grinch! They’re a bit nasty toward the end, and act like Nazi’s, which might scare the under 10 crowd a little bit. Also, it’s not very believable. How many fantasy dream sequences are though? I’ve dreamed I can fly before, and it’s not very believable when you wake up. It’s also got the music of Tchaikovsky filled with lyrics which are a little bit strange to hear. But the thing is that this is a work of art. I wish I had seen it in 3D. It had it’s share of magical moments. I didn’t like the rats very much, but I guess that’s the point. The first part of the movie was certainly better than the latter part with the War of the Rats, but it had to go somewhere.
Don’t expect a traditional Nutcracker performance, and go into this with an open mind expecting that anything can happen, and you will probably not be disappointed. It’s out there, for sure, but it was fun to watch. I think they did a good job on it, and I liked it.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
