B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping The Nutcracker into the ol’ VCR.

Now, I have to come clean about something from the get-go. 

I LOVE the music of The Nutcracker.

I think the ballet is beautiful and takes so much talent and skill, but I would rather listen to the music of The Nutcracker than watch the ballet. 

However, I do think that since I love the music, it’s worth talking about the history of The Nutcracker and throwing out some of the film adaptations I enjoyed growing up. 

So, let’s get to it. 

The Nutcracker was written/composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1892 and is based on the short story of the same name by Alexandre Dumas (where are my Count of Monte Cristo girlies at?) from 1844, which is actually based on a short story written by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Nutcracker and the Rat King from 1816. 

The TL;DR of The Nutcracker is as follows: On Christmas Eve, a girl is gifted a nutcracker that comes to life, takes her to a magical land, and battles a rat king. 

And yes, it sincerely ends with a big ol’ dream theory reveal. 

(I feel like I don’t have to give a spoiler warning for a story that’s been around for over 200 years) 

The Nutcracker premiered on December 18, 1892 and…flopped. 

I know, right?

The reasons for its lukewarm reception seem to be chalked up to two different things: 

1. People seemed to prefer the score to the actual dancing, citing the use of children and the underutilization of the main ballerina as their biggest complaints. 

2. Even in 1892, people still thought the book was better. 

But, it does seem like there were a lot of contradictory reviews overall. 

However, in 1919, choreographers like Alexander Gorsky began staging productions that were abridged, gave more dances to the leads, etc…, and it made The Nutcracker start popping OFF. 

Obviously, the original choreographers, Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, were super talented, but the people want what the people want. 🤷‍♀️

Since then, The Nutcracker has become a staple of holiday pop culture with annual performances across the world, revamped versions of the compositions by groups like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and multiple film adaptations.   

And, that brings us to some of the film versions of The Nutcracker I loved growing up. 

Without further ado, here are three animated adaptations of The Nutcracker little baby Baillee loved: 

• The Nuttiest Nutcracker*
• Barbie in the Nutcracker 
• Care Bears Nutcracker Suite

*Fun fact: KP once laughed so hard at the farting kidney beans that she peed her pants.