Best "Nutcracker" Movie of all Time

The story of "The Nutcracker" is adapted from a story written in 1816 by E. T. A. Hoffmann called "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King," which tells the magical tale of a young girl whose Christmas gift of a nutcracker comes alive.

Hoffmann's story is of a young man, nephew of an inventor called Herr Drosselmeyer, who fails to complete the task required to marry the princess. As a result, he is cursed by being turned into a "nutcracker" - with a large head, wide grinning mouth, and beard. The princess rejects him for being ugly and he is banished. Herr Drosselmeyer gives his god-daughter Marie a nutcracker for Christmas and tells her the tale. After various "dreams" in which the nutcracker comes to life and they defeat the evil Mouse King, Marie tells her toy nutcracker that she would never reject him as the princess did but would love him no matter how ugly he was. This breaks the spell and Herr Drosselmeyer arrives with his nephew, magically restored to his handsome self. The nephew marries Marie and takes her away to the magical kingdom.

The Nutcracker Prince and the Mouse King
Illustration by Carl Offterdinger
from "The Nutcracker" by E.T.A. Hoffman
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In 1892, Tchaikovsky set a variation of Hoffmann's story by French author Alexandre Dumas to music. Then, together with renowned choreographer Marius Petipa (working with Lev Ivanov) they created the ballet "The Nutcracker."

The first act is really wonderful and entertaining. It begins with a Christmas party at the house of a young girl's family. Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, brings a bunch of amazing toys as gifts, and they all dance. The girl, Clara, receives a toy nutcracker as a gift, and she is enchanted by it.

Clara falls asleep with her toy and a dream sequence begins in which the nutcracker comes to life, a bunch of mice (I always thought they were rats!) appear, and a big battle ensues with toy soldiers coming to life as well - it's such fun! The Mouse King is defeated and Clara goes off on a tour of a magical land with the nutcracker who has become a prince.

Image of The Imperial Ballet's original production of the Petipa/Ivanov/Tchaikovsky ballet "The Nutcracker" from Wikimedia Commons.

The second act is a series of exotic dances in this magical kingdom, some of which can be pretty amazing - Sugar Plum fairies are one of the attractions - and the music is quite glorious. The conclusion is usually that the girl wakes up in her chair, still holding the nutcracker; it was all a dream.

Ballerina Maria Tallchief and Others Performing the Nutcracker Ballet at City Center
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The ballet has been developed in different ways by various choreographers. Of particular note is George Balanchine's version, which has been performed every year by the New York City Ballet since 1954. Also well known is the American Ballet Theatre version which premiered in 1976, choreographed by Mikhail Baryshnikov.


New York City Ballet Performing the Nutcracker in 1962
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Rudolof Nureyev was an incredible dancer, one of the best ever. It was not just his technique but his innovative and charismatic style, his utter dedication to performing a wide repertoire of pieces, everywhere, on stages throughout the world that led the world to embrace ballet like never before.

Born to a poor family in the Soviet Union, he discovered his passion for dance and ballet as a child. Despite his father's disapproval, he gained entrance to the prestigious Kirov Ballet School in Leningrad. After graduation he joined the Kirov Ballet, dancing with them for several years. He then famously defected from the Soviet Union when they toured Paris.


Rudolf Nureyev Rehearsing For a Televised Performance of Gayane
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A highlight of his career in the West was when he joined the Royal Ballet in London, dancing with Margot Fonteyn for several years despite their age difference. It was fortunate for the world of ballet that they met and formed this incredible partnership. They were also lifelong friends.

Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev
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Nureyev was such an innovator and strong personality he had a reputation of being "difficult" since he changed and added to classic choreographies. Although he continued to dance and perform until ill health prevented him, it was almost inevitable that he began choreographing in his own right. Here he changed ballet forever, giving the male dancer a role and identity, rather than just as a partner whose function was to carry the principal ballerina during the adagios. Nureyev's male characters have solos, amazing solos, and often dance the same choreography as the principal ballerina.

"The Nutcracker" is one of six Tchaikovsky ballets he mounted in his career, and it is considered to be the best new interpretation of the story.

The story of "The Nutcracker" ballet is well-known to be confusing, and that's without all the variations! For starters, the girl has different names: Sometimes she is called Marie, like in the book, and sometimes Clara.

Unlike the "Wizard of Oz" where Dorothy has learned a clear message - "there's no place like home" - as a result of her travels, the girl in "The Nutcracker" does not appear to have learned anything so straightforward. Mostly she just watches all the exotic dances in the second act, while the Prince actually participates dancing the final Pas de Deux with the Sugar Plum Fairy. In some, she doesn't wake up but remains in this fairytale kingdom, forever a child.

Clara and her Prince by Latida Ballet at Zazzle.com

In his interpretation, Nureyev has Clara grow up and dance with the Prince in the magical kingdom. It is a coming of age tale, where she sheds her childish dress and emerges, like a glorious butterfly, to dance with her Prince. And when the Prince is Nureyev she can't go wrong!

Nureyev's version does seem to give it a clearer meaning. But there is still a confusion: In this version, the Prince is not played by the same dancer as the nutcracker when he comes to life - he just becomes the soldier captain who fights the mice. Rudolf Nureyev plays the Prince and he's just been playing Herr Drosselmeyer! This is definitely a bit odd. But for me it works, because it gives Nureyev more to do in the first act. He makes a great Herr Drosselmeyer! And since Merle Park also dances that amazing "Grand Pas de Deux" with Nureyev, everyone seems to have several parts, which doesn't make the story any clearer.

And in case you're expecting the Sugar Plum Fairy to dance with her "candy canes," that doesn't happen in this version! Confused us for a while because we kept wondering what happened to those candy canes, but the ballet is just fine without them.

Everyone who goes to see a performance of "The Nutcracker" wants to buy their own wooden nutcracker to take home. We have two in our collection ... so far!

Nutcrackers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and designs. One of ours is a tall skinny "prince" version, while the other is the short, chubby "king" style. Funny isn't it, how princes are tall and handsome while kings are short and stout!

Image of Nutcrackers from Wikimedia Commons.

Copyright © Jennifer P. Tanabe, 2009.
This page was created on October 30, 2009 and is the property of jptanabe (Jennifer P. Tanabe) and Squidoo, LLC. Please do not copy my material!