Shojo anime/ballet crossover blogging
It being the season of snowflakes and sugar plums, I decided to dust off my Nutcracker CD and pop it into the car for my commute this week, and I don't know why this thought never occurred to me before, but I ended up trying to imagine what a Nutcracker danced by the cast of Princess Tutu would look like-- I mean, why not? The anime borrows a character name and some music from the ballet (although it might just be in the opening and first and last episodes, I'd have to check to be sure), so it seems sort of natural. Plus I like imagining Ahiru and Fakir going on a magical adventure to the Land of Sweets aaagh so adorable don't judge me!
So obviously Ahiru would be Clara and Fakir would be the Nutcraker Prince (Fakir in a big fake scowling Nutcracker head is the best mental image XD). As far as the first act goes, I think Mr. Cat and Ms. Goatette would make an appearance here-- OMG maybe it's an all-animal Christmas party XD Obviously Drosselmeyer would be... well, Drossemeyer, although the PT version of Drosselmeyer would be SO not into this whole thing because the plot of the Nutcracker is approximately everything he hates in a story. Let's just... ignore that. I suppose Autor could go ahead an be Fritz because it doesn't involve too much fancy-pants dancing and both are basically jerks. PT!Drosselmeyer's creepy puppet people would be Nutcracker!Drosselmeyer's life-sized wind-up toys (er, that happens in most versions of the Nutcracker, right?) Substitute crows for the rats and you got your battle scene, with Uzura there banging on her drum to keep the toy soldiers in step. Re: the part where Clara hits the Rat King over the head with her shoe-- it seems totally in-character for Ahiru to resort to such a thing if she thought it would help, assuming she was somehow human but unable to transform into Princess Tutu (and equally in-character for Fakir to berate her for it, even if it did save his butt-- "why did you think that would be a good idea? Idiot.") I have nooo idea who would be the Snow Queen. Oh! Maybe Ahiru does transform in the last minutes of the battle and she gets to solo and pas de deux with Fakir in the snow? Hmm, I don't know. Moving on!
In the second act, Rue and Mytho would totally be the Sugar Plum Fairy and her man (Sugar Plum... Prince?) As far as the other candy-themed dancers go, here's the casting:
Spanish: Femio (although the Spanish music isn't quite as dramatic as Carmen... sigh)
Arabian: Raetsel, for that mature sultriness.
Chinese: Edel would be really well suited for this.
Russian: The best versions of this dance I've seen are super-athletic and acrobatic which doesn't necessarily fit any of the cast (Mr. Cat again maybe?), but I'm going to go with Hermia and Lysander for this one because I think they would look totally adorable in Russian getups <3
Mother Ginger: To get the "lady with the big skirt" look it has to be the Lamp Spirit from episode 5. The bon-bons would all be younger ballet school students and this song is so bouncy and great and the Lamp Spirit would be so happy to feel included aaah so cute
Reed Flutes: Pique and Lillie got this one. I can see Malen in it too, but she doesn't dance, so whoops
Waltz of the Flowers: Freya was BORN to dance in this, are you kidding me?
Uggh all this just makes me want to draw all these cuties in Nutcracker costumes! Urge to make... overly-elaborate fanart... rising....
Also geez how epic would a Sailor Moon ballet be AAAAGH SO EPIC. That or Utena. ALL THE SHOJOS REIMAGINED AS BALLETS YES PLEASE
So obviously Ahiru would be Clara and Fakir would be the Nutcraker Prince (Fakir in a big fake scowling Nutcracker head is the best mental image XD). As far as the first act goes, I think Mr. Cat and Ms. Goatette would make an appearance here-- OMG maybe it's an all-animal Christmas party XD Obviously Drosselmeyer would be... well, Drossemeyer, although the PT version of Drosselmeyer would be SO not into this whole thing because the plot of the Nutcracker is approximately everything he hates in a story. Let's just... ignore that. I suppose Autor could go ahead an be Fritz because it doesn't involve too much fancy-pants dancing and both are basically jerks. PT!Drosselmeyer's creepy puppet people would be Nutcracker!Drosselmeyer's life-sized wind-up toys (er, that happens in most versions of the Nutcracker, right?) Substitute crows for the rats and you got your battle scene, with Uzura there banging on her drum to keep the toy soldiers in step. Re: the part where Clara hits the Rat King over the head with her shoe-- it seems totally in-character for Ahiru to resort to such a thing if she thought it would help, assuming she was somehow human but unable to transform into Princess Tutu (and equally in-character for Fakir to berate her for it, even if it did save his butt-- "why did you think that would be a good idea? Idiot.") I have nooo idea who would be the Snow Queen. Oh! Maybe Ahiru does transform in the last minutes of the battle and she gets to solo and pas de deux with Fakir in the snow? Hmm, I don't know. Moving on!
In the second act, Rue and Mytho would totally be the Sugar Plum Fairy and her man (Sugar Plum... Prince?) As far as the other candy-themed dancers go, here's the casting:
Spanish: Femio (although the Spanish music isn't quite as dramatic as Carmen... sigh)
Arabian: Raetsel, for that mature sultriness.
Chinese: Edel would be really well suited for this.
Russian: The best versions of this dance I've seen are super-athletic and acrobatic which doesn't necessarily fit any of the cast (Mr. Cat again maybe?), but I'm going to go with Hermia and Lysander for this one because I think they would look totally adorable in Russian getups <3
Mother Ginger: To get the "lady with the big skirt" look it has to be the Lamp Spirit from episode 5. The bon-bons would all be younger ballet school students and this song is so bouncy and great and the Lamp Spirit would be so happy to feel included aaah so cute
Reed Flutes: Pique and Lillie got this one. I can see Malen in it too, but she doesn't dance, so whoops
Waltz of the Flowers: Freya was BORN to dance in this, are you kidding me?
Uggh all this just makes me want to draw all these cuties in Nutcracker costumes! Urge to make... overly-elaborate fanart... rising....
Also geez how epic would a Sailor Moon ballet be AAAAGH SO EPIC. That or Utena. ALL THE SHOJOS REIMAGINED AS BALLETS YES PLEASE