THE NUTCRACKER PRINCE

     


I really don't care too much for "The Nutcracker" but I'm going to review one of the adaptions anyway.

"The Nutcracker Prince" is an animated version of the classic Christmas Story and since most of us know the story, I'm going to divide this review into sections.

CLARA'S GIFT
 

We are introduced to our main character Clara (Voiced by Megan Follows) who receives a Nutcracker given to her by Toy Maker Uncle Drosselmeyer (Voiced by Peter Boretski) at a Christmas party.

So far I like the characters. Clara (Who sort of looks like Wendy from Disney's "Peter Pan) is a character I immediately began to love. She's growing up, but she still has the heart of a child. She's just so free spirited and childish that you can't help but enjoy every minute of the Christmas fun she's having. Her little brother is also enjoyment to watch because he resembles the young sibling most of us have lived with. He can be annoying to Clara or might accidentally break something, which makes her mad, but you still love him because that's what younger siblings do to their older ones. Also seeing him play with his toys and playing with his sister reminds the people who have a young sibling enjoy the benefits there are to having one.

Uncle Drosselmeyer in my opinion is the best character I seen so far. He's like a mix between Willy Wonka and the wizard Merlin. Mysterious and weird, but is a good hearted guy and someone you always love to be around. This guy even knows how to make an entrance and surprise people. Even though he's not related to Clara he still prefers to be called Uncle, what a sweet man.

The animation so far is very nice and brings that feeling of Christmas. The party scene is beautifully animated; the design for Uncle Drosselmeyer's toy matronic magic castle is cool; and the Christmas Tree has to be one of the best animated Christmas Trees I ever seen. I will admit that as nice as the animation is, it does seem to come off as a cheap Disney knock-off with some of its character designs, landscapes, and overall colorful and whimsical look and feel. But I personally don't find it to be that distracting, not to say that I can't see why people would be distracted by it.

THE NUTCRACKER TALE


After when Clara's little brother accidentally broke The Nutcrackers jaw, Uncle Drosselmeyer calms Clara down and tells her the story of The Nutcracker. The Nutcracker's back story takes place in a kingdom far, far away and the wicked Mouse Queen put a spell on the princess and made her look ugly. It is up to Drosselmeyer to find a way to break the spell and make her beautiful again. Sadly, it all ends tragic. The princess is beautiful again, but Drosselmeyers nephew has been turned into a Nutcracker and the Mouse Queen's dumb son is now the Mouse King and seeks revenge.

Good story and very tragic IF IT WAS TAKEN SERIOUSLY! After seeing likable humble characters and nice animation everything now looks like a Saturday Morning Cartoon. The animation for the back story looks worse than the princess’s ugly face. It's too over the top, seems out of place, and looks very sketchy.

The characters are so obnoxious that they come out as annoying instead of funny and likable. The King looks like the Looney Tunes character Yoesamite Sam; the queen looks like a rejected Animanics character; The Princess is ugly even before she was turned ugly; The Mouse King (Our main Villain of the film) is a over the top loser that's not funny or threatening; and to make things more cartoonish, comedic voice actress Phyllis Diller is the Mouse Queen's voice. They even had the guts to make Drosselmeyer look as cartoonish and annoying as the characters are. The only normal one is his nephew, but he comes out as a very bland character.

This part is tragic because everything's different and out of place and doesn't use the same style and tone as the beginning. What a sad way to make a sad story not so sad.

THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING


At midnight as Clara sneaks down to see her Nutcracker; Uncle Drosselmeyer magically appears sitting on top of the clock and the toys come to life (Including The Nutcracker) to battle The Mouse King (Voiced by Mike MacDonald).

In the scene when Clara sneaks down stairs to see her Nutcracker, the traditional music is playing and the animation for that scene is so lightly dark that it adds to the atmosphere of the scene. However, that all changes fast when she's dancing and singing to The Nutcracker. Not that it's not a beautiful scene, but I felt like they just threw it in there to have a musical moment, like they do in most non musical Christmas films like "The Polar Express" for example.

When the mice start attacking it looks just as out of place as the back story. They're all acting goofy and silly, and are led by the biggest goofball in the whole flashback, The Mouse King. Surprisingly, the Mouse King is not as dumb as he was in the back story; he now looks threatening and scary. He's bigger than he was before; has the eyes of a demon ; and ugly teeth. He also appears out of nowhere keeping the audience off guard and will kill anyone to get to The Nutcracker Prince. OK he still has that over the top personality and there are a lot of "You hurt my tail" jokes, but he never stops being scary. Man, what an improvement.

When the toys come to life they're as likable as the human characters. Clara's new Doll Marie (Voiced by Elizabeth Hanna) is the funny bratty annoying character that complains a lot and is willing to fight anyone that messes with her hair, dress etc etc. Clara's old doll Trudy (Voiced by Lynne Gorman) is humble and sweet, but finds clever ways to kick the mice's butts. The old sergeant Pantaloon (voiced by Mr. "Lawrence Of Arabia" himself, Peter O'Toole) is a smart character, but is a very reluctant fighter. He can be a tad bit over the top, but he's still a fun and pleasant character.

The Nutcracker Prince (Voiced by Kiefer Sutherland) came from being a bland character from the back story, to a lovable hero. When he comes to life he's confused and doesn't know he's been turned into a doll. When he finds out, you feel just as bad for him as you seen him turn into one. Even though he hasn't fought before, he's still smart and very brave. When he sees Clara you can feel his love for her just as much Clara loved him.

The fight is over the top, but at least not as cartoony as the back story. It has a decent amount of seriousness and comedy. The duel between The Nutcracker Prince and The Mouse King is wonderfully animated and has a bit of a gruesome result to the younger audience. I also have to praise the animation for the scenes when Uncle Drosselmeyer is sitting on the clock making the toys come to life. It's really incredible.

THE LAND OF THE DOLLS
 

After the Battle, we are taken to "The Land Of The Dolls" a land full of live toys,  sweets, and things Clara dreams of.  The animation for the land is gorgeous, it's just beautiful, every little bit of scenery and character is like something out of a dream. The only part of the animation I thought was very blurry is when Clara and The Nutcracker Prince dance. I do find it a bit disappointing that there's no Sugar Plum fairy like most of the versions, but in context of this adaption you really don't need her.

The romance between Clara and The Nutcracker is very strong and you can feel their love. You don't just focus on their love; you also focus on the love between Pantaloon and Trudy and the love between a toy soldier and Marie. It's just wonderful spending more time with these characters and finding out more about them.

When Clara wants to go home you feel The Nutcracker Prince's heartbreak; you see the toys turn back into mindless toys; mist is covering this beautiful land; and Clara is crying for forgiveness and understanding. It's just so sad to watch and it's painfully emotional. To makes matters worse The Mouse King is still alive looking scary as ever. I'm not going to tell you how it all ends, but I will say you'll be happy and the song playing in the credits "Always Come Back To You" is heart warming and ends the film on the right note.

The film is over the top, but it is for kids and it still takes itself seriously. Could it be better, in many ways yes but it's still fine the way it is. The animation for the most part is beautiful; the story is good; and the characters are likable. Personally I think it's the best of adaption of the story, but remember I'm not really a Nucracker fan, but this is something I'd love to watch again and show to younger audiences.

RATING 4/5