This is one of the most unique films I have ever seen, and unlike any other holiday fare out there. The puppets are magical and lifelike, the music is borderline psychadelic and the film as a whole is completely original (and comes complete with a cameo by Hello Kitty). It is at once both a lovely holiday film and an "Alice In Wonderland"-style fantasy, complete with moments that may be too terrifying for little children. This film needs to be remastered and released to DVD, it deserves to be discovered by today's generations.
13 Reviews
Dark yet haunting, rarely seen (not to mention strange) Japanese stop-motion feature.
JTurner8220 March 2007
Warning: Spoilers
NUTCRACKER FANTASY is weird, but once you realize that this is essentially a Japanese take on the now famous ballet, boy is it fun. This rarely seen Japanese-American co-production eschews sugar plum fairies and candy canes, as well as Christmas trees in favor of a dark, dreamy (and, need I say it, trippy) tone. It's almost strange to believe that this film was made by Sanrio, the folks responsible for the more light-hearted "Hello Kitty" franchise. (Some "Hello Kitty" figures can be seen at one point of the movie!) The plot, very loosely based on both the fabled E.T.A. Hoffman story and, to a lesser extent, Tchaikovsky's now famous ballet (snippets of the composer's famous score can be heard on the soundtrack) goes something like this: Clara (voiced by Melissa Gilbert), a pretty doll face of a girl, receives a mysterious nutcracker from her eccentric Uncle Drosselmeyer (Christopher Lee). Before long, our young heroine finds herself on a STRANGE (consider the emphasis on the word "strange" very closely) fever-induced adventure which defies explanation. The focal point of the film is Clara helping sad King Goodwin of the Dolls (Dick Van Patten) free his daughter from the sleeping spell of a wicked two-headed rodent, Queen Morphia (Jo Anne Worley). In the battle against Morphia and her army of mice, Goodwin's courageous guards-keeper, Franz (Roddy McDowall) is transformed into Clara's nutcracker doll. The last act of the film involves Clara struggling to find a way to break Franz's curse while dealing with Morphia's vengeful royal (b)rat, Gar.
What makes NUTCRACKER FANTASY interesting are its puppet animation visuals. Around the time this movie was made (1979), it was common to see stop-motion animated specials on television, most of which came from Rankin-Bass (RUDOLPH'S SHINY NEW YEAR comes to mind). The stop-motion process is complex: fragile puppets ranging from 6.3 to 11 inches high are shot on a miniature set one frame at a time, with animators adjusting each puppet slightly before the next shot. Director Takeo Nakamura and his team of 150 members total spent four years working on this movie, and their efforts are fully realized with the imaginative, and sometimes strange, results we see on screen. There are no computer-enhanced special effects in this movie; any flashy visuals are produced optically and/or through double or triple exposures. While it looks as cuddly and innocuous as a Rankin-Bass production, young viewers may be surprised to discover that the majority of the movie is photographed in shadowy darkness. There are some sequences, too, that border on the scary side, most of which involve Queen Morphia and her murky underworld kingdom. The most notably scary sequence takes place at the beginning of the movie, when a mean-looking "rag man" stalks the night streets of Minden town, searching for wide-awake children to transform into mice. (This sequence feels irrelevant to the actual story, although it does serve as a good warning for children who stay up late.) At two different points of the movie, live-action ballet segments are interspersed with the puppet-motion action; this makes for a jarring shift of visuals, but in the context of this movie, which basically sets in a dream world where nothing is supposed to make sense, it somehow works in its favor.
Just as uncanny is the soundtrack that accompanies the picture. As mentioned previously, select movements and dances from Tchaikovsky's immortal score can be heard, but the majority of the music mostly consists of Tchaikovsky-inspired compositions as well as some rather trippy 70's techno-rock synthesizers. There are even two pop songs (out of the four in this movie) sung by Marty Gwinn and Steve Bishop which seem strangely offbeat with the fairytale-like quality of the story--one of them sounds like it could be a Beatles number! Whether this was done for commercial reasons or to add another depth of bizarreness to the movie is unknown, but these abrupt shifts in musical styles could annoy purists expecting to hear an undistorted performance of the ballet score. Not that the music itself isn't beautiful. It's mostly easy on the ears and has some amusingly interesting remixes of ballet pieces. One takes place during a quirky dance sequence involving pint-sized sprites and colorful figurines dancing in a cloud-filled kingdom to a lively hybrid of the "March", "Reed Flute Dance", and "Sugar Plum Fairy" dances. It's strange, but fun.
Since the puppets in this movie were synched to the pre-recorded Japanese dialogue, there are some obvious missteps in the American dub, sync wise; some lines are either mistimed or don't match. But the English voice cast is certainly talented and deliver credible line readings (Christopher Lee is especially brilliant--he has multiple roles in the film and even sings two songs--handsomely, too); there is even a cameo by Eva Gabor as a kindly but eccentric gypsy fortune teller dubbed the Queen of Time. Michelle Lee, presumably a grown-up Clara, narrates the story from time to time.
NUTCRACKER FANTASY was theatrically released in America for a limited time in 1979, but ever since it has become one of those difficult to find anymore movies. Young children might find the pace off-putting (even at 82 minutes, there are lots of slow spots) and maybe a little too eerie, yet older kids and animation buffs should find this movie to be of interest. While its technical values aren't on par with some of today's more sophisticated stop-motion features (Tim Burton's NIGHTMARE BEFORE Christmas and CORPSE BRIDE come to mind), it still maintains a unique look and a strangely captivating heart for its audience. The movie itself may not be for everyone, but as an animated rarity, NUTCRACKER FANTASY might be worth checking out.
What makes NUTCRACKER FANTASY interesting are its puppet animation visuals. Around the time this movie was made (1979), it was common to see stop-motion animated specials on television, most of which came from Rankin-Bass (RUDOLPH'S SHINY NEW YEAR comes to mind). The stop-motion process is complex: fragile puppets ranging from 6.3 to 11 inches high are shot on a miniature set one frame at a time, with animators adjusting each puppet slightly before the next shot. Director Takeo Nakamura and his team of 150 members total spent four years working on this movie, and their efforts are fully realized with the imaginative, and sometimes strange, results we see on screen. There are no computer-enhanced special effects in this movie; any flashy visuals are produced optically and/or through double or triple exposures. While it looks as cuddly and innocuous as a Rankin-Bass production, young viewers may be surprised to discover that the majority of the movie is photographed in shadowy darkness. There are some sequences, too, that border on the scary side, most of which involve Queen Morphia and her murky underworld kingdom. The most notably scary sequence takes place at the beginning of the movie, when a mean-looking "rag man" stalks the night streets of Minden town, searching for wide-awake children to transform into mice. (This sequence feels irrelevant to the actual story, although it does serve as a good warning for children who stay up late.) At two different points of the movie, live-action ballet segments are interspersed with the puppet-motion action; this makes for a jarring shift of visuals, but in the context of this movie, which basically sets in a dream world where nothing is supposed to make sense, it somehow works in its favor.
Just as uncanny is the soundtrack that accompanies the picture. As mentioned previously, select movements and dances from Tchaikovsky's immortal score can be heard, but the majority of the music mostly consists of Tchaikovsky-inspired compositions as well as some rather trippy 70's techno-rock synthesizers. There are even two pop songs (out of the four in this movie) sung by Marty Gwinn and Steve Bishop which seem strangely offbeat with the fairytale-like quality of the story--one of them sounds like it could be a Beatles number! Whether this was done for commercial reasons or to add another depth of bizarreness to the movie is unknown, but these abrupt shifts in musical styles could annoy purists expecting to hear an undistorted performance of the ballet score. Not that the music itself isn't beautiful. It's mostly easy on the ears and has some amusingly interesting remixes of ballet pieces. One takes place during a quirky dance sequence involving pint-sized sprites and colorful figurines dancing in a cloud-filled kingdom to a lively hybrid of the "March", "Reed Flute Dance", and "Sugar Plum Fairy" dances. It's strange, but fun.
Since the puppets in this movie were synched to the pre-recorded Japanese dialogue, there are some obvious missteps in the American dub, sync wise; some lines are either mistimed or don't match. But the English voice cast is certainly talented and deliver credible line readings (Christopher Lee is especially brilliant--he has multiple roles in the film and even sings two songs--handsomely, too); there is even a cameo by Eva Gabor as a kindly but eccentric gypsy fortune teller dubbed the Queen of Time. Michelle Lee, presumably a grown-up Clara, narrates the story from time to time.
NUTCRACKER FANTASY was theatrically released in America for a limited time in 1979, but ever since it has become one of those difficult to find anymore movies. Young children might find the pace off-putting (even at 82 minutes, there are lots of slow spots) and maybe a little too eerie, yet older kids and animation buffs should find this movie to be of interest. While its technical values aren't on par with some of today's more sophisticated stop-motion features (Tim Burton's NIGHTMARE BEFORE Christmas and CORPSE BRIDE come to mind), it still maintains a unique look and a strangely captivating heart for its audience. The movie itself may not be for everyone, but as an animated rarity, NUTCRACKER FANTASY might be worth checking out.
Dark and strange but also beautiful and fascinating
TheLittleSongbird18 January 2015
As someone who adores the Nutcracker story and the ballet and admires the voice cast and stop-motion animation, Nutcracker Fantasy was a real treat. A lot of work and care clearly went into the visuals because they look absolutely fabulous, a tad stiff here and there but the animation is modelled beautifully, the colours are wonderfully dark and sumptuous and the backgrounds are exquisitely designed and exude a beautiful and eerie quality.
Tchaikovsky's music is timeless and what there is of it in Nutcracker Fantasy matches the visuals splendidly and is appropriate to the mood of every scene it appears. There is a very clever hybrid of some of the divertissements(including Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) incorporated in a colourful sequence involving sprites and figurines, and I for one enjoyed the ballet sequences with their nimble choreography and the dream-like strangeness they gave. Other parts of the soundtrack don't fare so much, the use of 70s synthesised music feels out of place and tonally at odds with Tchaikovsky's music, it also causes some tone shifts that are both jarring and awkward(a complaint that some people here have as well). A few songs were written for the film and they are decent if a little too upbeat, Christopher Lee even gets a chance to sing and he actually has got a good singing voice.
Narratively the story in Nutcracker Fantasy is based somewhat loosely on the original story(notably having a Mouse Queen in Morphia as the primary villain) but the original story itself is whimsical, magical, poignant and dark- people may not recognise the Nutcracker as having a darker elements but in Hoffmann's telling the Mouse King is more villainous and sadistic than he is often portrayed as- and Nutcracker Fantasy has all of those elements. While there are differences in the details, though the Princess Mary story is oddly reminiscent of that of Princess Pirlipat in the original(a part that is often omitted, though it's included in The Nutcracker Prince), but the spirit remains. And there are some truly memorable scenes, the most notable one being the genuinely scary opening Ragman sequence, it gave me nightmares as a child and still gives me the creeps now, though in a thrilling kind of way.
The characters are very engaging, Clara is an immensely charming heroine, Queen Morphia is a very menacingly memorable villain and Drosselmeyer is wonderfully mysterious. The voice acting is terrific, with a brilliant Christopher Lee in multiple roles being particularly notable. Clara is voiced as a child by Melissa Gilbert with spirit and charm and with sincerity as an adult in a narrator kind of role by Michele Lee. Morphia is voiced with sinister relish by Jo Anne Worley and there is also a dashing Roddy MacDowell as Franz and Eva Gabor is at her most mysterious as Queen of Time. All in all, has an uneven soundtrack but Nutcracker Fantasy is a little gem. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Tchaikovsky's music is timeless and what there is of it in Nutcracker Fantasy matches the visuals splendidly and is appropriate to the mood of every scene it appears. There is a very clever hybrid of some of the divertissements(including Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy) incorporated in a colourful sequence involving sprites and figurines, and I for one enjoyed the ballet sequences with their nimble choreography and the dream-like strangeness they gave. Other parts of the soundtrack don't fare so much, the use of 70s synthesised music feels out of place and tonally at odds with Tchaikovsky's music, it also causes some tone shifts that are both jarring and awkward(a complaint that some people here have as well). A few songs were written for the film and they are decent if a little too upbeat, Christopher Lee even gets a chance to sing and he actually has got a good singing voice.
Narratively the story in Nutcracker Fantasy is based somewhat loosely on the original story(notably having a Mouse Queen in Morphia as the primary villain) but the original story itself is whimsical, magical, poignant and dark- people may not recognise the Nutcracker as having a darker elements but in Hoffmann's telling the Mouse King is more villainous and sadistic than he is often portrayed as- and Nutcracker Fantasy has all of those elements. While there are differences in the details, though the Princess Mary story is oddly reminiscent of that of Princess Pirlipat in the original(a part that is often omitted, though it's included in The Nutcracker Prince), but the spirit remains. And there are some truly memorable scenes, the most notable one being the genuinely scary opening Ragman sequence, it gave me nightmares as a child and still gives me the creeps now, though in a thrilling kind of way.
The characters are very engaging, Clara is an immensely charming heroine, Queen Morphia is a very menacingly memorable villain and Drosselmeyer is wonderfully mysterious. The voice acting is terrific, with a brilliant Christopher Lee in multiple roles being particularly notable. Clara is voiced as a child by Melissa Gilbert with spirit and charm and with sincerity as an adult in a narrator kind of role by Michele Lee. Morphia is voiced with sinister relish by Jo Anne Worley and there is also a dashing Roddy MacDowell as Franz and Eva Gabor is at her most mysterious as Queen of Time. All in all, has an uneven soundtrack but Nutcracker Fantasy is a little gem. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Magical, Mystical Puppet-Animation Fantasy
josephbrando8 August 2002
"The Nutcracker Fantasy" is unlike any animated film I have ever seen. The puppet-animation, which looks remarkably similar to the later puppet-animation of Rankin/Bass, is exquisitely detailed and beautiful. The story is told in such a fantastic and mystical way that it leaves the viewer feeling a bit dreamy, confused and even disoriented. To tell you the truth, I have seen this film several times and still cannot describe it completely. But it's basically about a girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker doll from her Uncle Drosselmeyer and falls in and out of a fever-induced hallucinogenic state. Here she dreams of the nutcracker being attacked by an army of wild rats who are led by an evil 2-headed rat. The rest of the story goes beyond explanation but glimpses include the nutcracker doll coming to life and a kingdom where a princess, who exactly resembles Clara, has been kidnapped. It is a wonderful special that I enjoy watching every year on the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. "The Nutcracker Fantasy" features an all-star cast including Christopher Lee, Melissa Gilbert, Eva Gabor, Michele Lee, Roddy McDowall, Dick Van Patten and others providing voices for the puppets. If you can find a copy of this film, I highly recommend watching it.
wow!
Rickicaz12799 March 2005
I'm 16, and i remember seeing this film when i was a little kid, my parents had a copy, i loved this film! the ragman scared the living daylights out of me! and the way the puppets moved was really freaky, lol. but this film, has become one of the most rarest films in the world now! hard to come by, especially in england. i managed to find a copy in dallas, and ordered it the other day. basically the story is of a girl called clara who gets a nutcracker doll from her uncle drosselmeyer (tick tock tee, lol) and she gets some sort of fever, and starts hallucinating several different things, including the doll doing battle with mice, yay! lol. anyway, this film is really really really really great, and should you ever get a chance to watch it, WATCH IT! you will definitely not be disappointed.
"True love is not like the puppets of the forest - there are no strings attached!"
Machiavelli8422 December 2014
I first saw this film as a young'n, when it was perhaps shown on the Disney Channel or somewhere else. I remembered the stop motion; I remembered Drosselmeyer disappearing into the darkness while chanting "Tick tock tee"; I remembered a two-headed mouse queen talking to her son; I remembered a girl getting her feet stuck on the steps. Those were all I remembered as an adult, but nonetheless I also remembered liking it when I was a kid. So recently, when I was on a Nutcracker high and wanted to watch various interpretations of the story, I remembered this one and found it online. After watching it for the first time as an adult...I found that, amazingly enough, it still held up. In fact, I loved it even more.
The plot of the film is basically a mix of the original Nutcracker short story, and elements of the ballet. A young girl, Clara, is visiting her Uncle Drosselmeyer and Aunt Gerda. She comes across a Nutcracker owned by Drosselmeyer, and immediately takes a liking to it. During the night, however, mice attempt to steal the Nutcracker away, and when Clara pursues them, she encounters the two-headed mouse queen Morphia. The Nutcracker comes to life, fighting off the mice before Clara passes out. When she awakens, she wonders if it was all a dream. Investigating the scene, she finds Drosselmeyer running into the clock, into which she pursues him, leading her into the kingdom of the dolls, where Princess Mary has been turned into an unconscious mouse by Morphia. Clara and Franz, the handsome captain of the guard, work together to attempt to break the spell...and from here begins a chain of events that will bring the two closer together, right up to the film's climax.
"Nutcracker Fantasy" is a stop-motion animated movie from Japan, but the only version I am really familiar with is the English dub, which had quite a few celebrities putting in their hand. Usually celebrity ensemble dubs can be a mixed bag, but the talent here does an amazing job: Melissa Gilbert is wonderful as Clara; Roddy McDowall is charming as Franz; Eva Gabor does her thing as the Queen of Time; and Christopher Lee, who plays Drosselmeyer as well as a number of side characters, is absolutely splendid (as usual). Overall, the dub cast did a great job (although Gar's voice was at times perhaps too comical when it should have been serious).
Part of what I love about this version is that Clara is a wonderful character. Oftentimes Clara exists in the Nutcracker story simply to be an observer, or to be the obvious love interest. Here, however, Clara is not only a character who actually contributes to the plot (for example, it is she who discovers Morphia's weakness), but her personality is absolutely charming. She's caring, selfless, and has a love that isn't just in words. This is especially true in the film's final act, where she reveals just how willing she is to prove her love for Franz. I currently have a young daughter, and I can't wait until she's old enough to understand this film and can watch it with me, because I would love her to have someone like Clara as a role model for someone her age.
Another thing I love is the music. Obviously, you hear a lot of familiar tunes from Tchaikovsky's ballet, but there are some original songs in here that were haunting and beautiful. The main song, "Dance of the Dolls", is especially wonderful, and perfect for the story (I actually found a copy of it and put it on my iPod - that's how much it stuck with me).
The visuals for the film are also amazing. The animation quality is akin to your average Rankin/Bass stop motion affair, but far smoother (although you do have that odd jerkiness every now and then). Many of the sets, such as the doll castle or the land of happiness, are beautiful to look at. Some of the sequences are memorable, such as the doll attack on the mouse base, while others fit into the surreal world of dreams, such as the candy dancing sequence. Unfortunately, many copies of the English dub have poor video, so that much of the detail in the set designs are lost on the viewer, and you can't really appreciate how much work was put into the project.
Granted, as much as I love this film, I won't deny that it's not for all tastes. Some people don't like the seemingly random ballet dance sequences (although considering this is all from the point of view of a young girl who likes dancing dolls, and she participates in one of the scenes, I could only imagine ballet would fit in her dreams somewhere). Some people are freaked out by the infamous Ragman sequence. I'll also admit the only thing I don't like is the Asian stereotype voice that the English dub gave the Chinese wise man.
That being said, this is perhaps one of my favorite Nutcracker adaptations, if not one of my favorite animated films. It's charming, it's lovely, and it's enduring. If you remember this from your childhood as well, I would definitely recommend seeing it again. It still holds up, even today, and even when you are a child only in heart.
The plot of the film is basically a mix of the original Nutcracker short story, and elements of the ballet. A young girl, Clara, is visiting her Uncle Drosselmeyer and Aunt Gerda. She comes across a Nutcracker owned by Drosselmeyer, and immediately takes a liking to it. During the night, however, mice attempt to steal the Nutcracker away, and when Clara pursues them, she encounters the two-headed mouse queen Morphia. The Nutcracker comes to life, fighting off the mice before Clara passes out. When she awakens, she wonders if it was all a dream. Investigating the scene, she finds Drosselmeyer running into the clock, into which she pursues him, leading her into the kingdom of the dolls, where Princess Mary has been turned into an unconscious mouse by Morphia. Clara and Franz, the handsome captain of the guard, work together to attempt to break the spell...and from here begins a chain of events that will bring the two closer together, right up to the film's climax.
"Nutcracker Fantasy" is a stop-motion animated movie from Japan, but the only version I am really familiar with is the English dub, which had quite a few celebrities putting in their hand. Usually celebrity ensemble dubs can be a mixed bag, but the talent here does an amazing job: Melissa Gilbert is wonderful as Clara; Roddy McDowall is charming as Franz; Eva Gabor does her thing as the Queen of Time; and Christopher Lee, who plays Drosselmeyer as well as a number of side characters, is absolutely splendid (as usual). Overall, the dub cast did a great job (although Gar's voice was at times perhaps too comical when it should have been serious).
Part of what I love about this version is that Clara is a wonderful character. Oftentimes Clara exists in the Nutcracker story simply to be an observer, or to be the obvious love interest. Here, however, Clara is not only a character who actually contributes to the plot (for example, it is she who discovers Morphia's weakness), but her personality is absolutely charming. She's caring, selfless, and has a love that isn't just in words. This is especially true in the film's final act, where she reveals just how willing she is to prove her love for Franz. I currently have a young daughter, and I can't wait until she's old enough to understand this film and can watch it with me, because I would love her to have someone like Clara as a role model for someone her age.
Another thing I love is the music. Obviously, you hear a lot of familiar tunes from Tchaikovsky's ballet, but there are some original songs in here that were haunting and beautiful. The main song, "Dance of the Dolls", is especially wonderful, and perfect for the story (I actually found a copy of it and put it on my iPod - that's how much it stuck with me).
The visuals for the film are also amazing. The animation quality is akin to your average Rankin/Bass stop motion affair, but far smoother (although you do have that odd jerkiness every now and then). Many of the sets, such as the doll castle or the land of happiness, are beautiful to look at. Some of the sequences are memorable, such as the doll attack on the mouse base, while others fit into the surreal world of dreams, such as the candy dancing sequence. Unfortunately, many copies of the English dub have poor video, so that much of the detail in the set designs are lost on the viewer, and you can't really appreciate how much work was put into the project.
Granted, as much as I love this film, I won't deny that it's not for all tastes. Some people don't like the seemingly random ballet dance sequences (although considering this is all from the point of view of a young girl who likes dancing dolls, and she participates in one of the scenes, I could only imagine ballet would fit in her dreams somewhere). Some people are freaked out by the infamous Ragman sequence. I'll also admit the only thing I don't like is the Asian stereotype voice that the English dub gave the Chinese wise man.
That being said, this is perhaps one of my favorite Nutcracker adaptations, if not one of my favorite animated films. It's charming, it's lovely, and it's enduring. If you remember this from your childhood as well, I would definitely recommend seeing it again. It still holds up, even today, and even when you are a child only in heart.
Amazing animation...but not much more.
planktonrules15 April 2024
The stop-motion animation by Sanrio Studios is really lovely in "Nutcracker Fantasy" and reminds me a lot of the Rankin-Bass specials, though the characters are even prettier and more well animated. That being said, the story itself is confusing and I cannot see most children enjoying or even understanding it. I know I struggled to figure out the story.
Much of the problem is that many of the characters are from "The Nutcracker" but the story itself isn't. Instead, it's just baffling. My advice is that if you do watch it, bring up the Wikipedia article for this animation and read along as you watch. Otherwise, you're likely to just feel baffled as I did.
Much of the problem is that many of the characters are from "The Nutcracker" but the story itself isn't. Instead, it's just baffling. My advice is that if you do watch it, bring up the Wikipedia article for this animation and read along as you watch. Otherwise, you're likely to just feel baffled as I did.
I LOVED this movie when I was a kid
jpatterson60829 March 2007
I haven't seen this movie in maybe 18 years, but I've been searching for it all over the internet for a while now, and finally came across it tonight! I watched this movie over and over! I'm going to purchase it soon and I cannot wait. I loved the voices, the animation, the color. It was all so magical to me. I cannot wait to see it again! It's a wonderful take on "The Nutcracker Suite," a story everyone should be familiar with. I use to think it was a Rankin/Bass movie, just because it is similar to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and all other movies like that. I only just found out it's a Japanese film. I can't say whether other people would appreciate this movie, kids would. I think you have to be young to watch it, it would be so mysterious!
Seems like a film school threw this together.
florbing23 January 2004
Warning: Spoilers
This is a stop-motion animation movie about a doll that protects his master, a little girl, from rats, and the girl embarks on a fantastic quest that one cannot follow. SPOILERS AHEAD
It is obvious that this is just a cliched dream sequence from the start, but what is up with the "adult" doll marrying the little girl? And the aunt and uncle approve of this?
While this may seem like a fantastical flight of whimsy, it seemed to me that a bunch of film school students threw this together haphazardly. "Ok, you guys film an opulent palace, you people film a boring 10 minute ballet scene, and I will make an nonsensical war scene between rats and wind up soldiers. Gold!"
This film is an incomprehensible mess. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" proved that an engaging film could be made using stop-motion techniques, but I guess the producers decided that a story was secondary to celebrity voices and hard-to-follow but beautiful animation. Not really a children or adult film. 5/10
It is obvious that this is just a cliched dream sequence from the start, but what is up with the "adult" doll marrying the little girl? And the aunt and uncle approve of this?
While this may seem like a fantastical flight of whimsy, it seemed to me that a bunch of film school students threw this together haphazardly. "Ok, you guys film an opulent palace, you people film a boring 10 minute ballet scene, and I will make an nonsensical war scene between rats and wind up soldiers. Gold!"
This film is an incomprehensible mess. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" proved that an engaging film could be made using stop-motion techniques, but I guess the producers decided that a story was secondary to celebrity voices and hard-to-follow but beautiful animation. Not really a children or adult film. 5/10
Visually Stunning, Dark, and Great Voice Performances
hellbrunn29 August 2004
Christopher Lee is mesmerizing as Uncle Drosselmeyer- and Watchmaker, the puppeteer, the minstrel... and he sings too! He's an incredible voice actor and he's complimented very well by a still very young Melissa Gilbert as Clara. The film is crafted most artistically... more so than other traditional stop-animation puppets. Nutcracker Fantasy has beautiful photography... use of lighting, color, sets... very complicated and intricate dolls telling the story... The best scenes are the beginning showing the Ragman turning awake little children into mice and stuffing them in his bag... and the first dialogues between Clara and Drosselmeyer. Although all this is great, I am very disappointed with the 70s techno-pop music mixed in with the original Tchaikovsky. The soundtrack is hideous and almost wrecks many of the scenes... that and the cuts of live ballet dancers which are unnecessary. I would like to see a re-cut of this film and have it available on DVD. If it is cleaned up a bit editting-wise and with the original Tchaikovsky restored... wow this would be totally awesome!!!!!
Cool Film!
rancor-523 February 1999
This is one of the all-time coolest movies I've ever seen. It may be quite bizzare, but the prominent themes of true love and sacrifice totally outweigh the weirdness, which actually just adds to the uniqueness of this film. For a fairly old movie, it's very well done. I definitely recommend this to anyone who has an extra moment to watch an excellent film.
Tick Tock T
Moonbeam_871 July 2022
Tick Tock T, Tick Tock T, Tick Tock Click Clock Fantasy Your Way to The Realm of the Dolls with Clara In This SANRIO Classic From 1979 And My Introduction to The Cursed Nutcracker And Totally Deserving of My Trade Mark M For Moonbeam 87 Approved. Even After all these Decades.
Ambient, eerie, inspiring twist on an old tale.
kassi6 November 1999
Once upon a time I saw this movie, dark and much more real than one would imagine any movie with puppets could be. It was like a dream or a vision; very well-conceived and well-executed. I love the twists and turns this movie took. I was enthralled by the characters, music, and beautiful production design.
This movie haunts me still, but I no longer have it on tape and I cannot find it anywhere. If anyone has a copy, please email me!
This movie haunts me still, but I no longer have it on tape and I cannot find it anywhere. If anyone has a copy, please email me!
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