*038: The Nutcracker in 3D
Biggest Disappointment of the Year
Rating:
I don't think I can ever be disappointed at a movie as much as I was of this movie. When I first saw the poster, I literally screamed with glee because as a little girl I absolutely loved this ballet. I think this is one of the reasons I used to love ballet so much. I practiced ballet for four years as a child. I quit because I didn't have the feet for it, so I shifted to singing. I am a big fan of the original book too.
Some people may think that I am pretty harsh giving this score, and that may be true because I feel like the movie destroyed the classical nutcracker for me. I am not exaggerating. I am not the type to give anyone or anything a low score.
The production and animation were beautiful. It is not as good as transformers, but I still thought it was pretty. That is until the movie began, then I wanted to cry at how horrible everything is. Elle Fanning is a very beautiful young girl. She is also an adorable actress, but I noticed that she can't really dance ballet very well. Her movements are not as graceful as I'd have liked. They changed a lot of the story! Even the lead female's name!
In the movie, Elle Fanning's character is supposed to be named Clara. To my surprise, they named her Mary. I don't understand what that is for when Clara is a very beautiful name already. Her brother Fritz became Max. The Sugar Plum Fairy became the Snow Fairy. They should really fire the people on the storyboard, lyricists and script writers. And another thing --- why is there a Rat Queen? I really wanted to cry. They made lyrics for Tchaikovsky's music and they are all horrible. I was laughing throughout the whole movie because I didn't want to scream. Maybe I am being biased, but the original story was perfect the way it was. Why change it? I was hoping they would take the classic story and make it pretty so that it can attract people to the classics. The classics are so unappreciated these days.
Even with the slightly welcomed (but questionable) appearance of Nathan Lane playing Uncle Albert couldn't save this movie. I loved him ever since 'The Producers' but this movie was simply too bad. But I am wondering though. What is Albert Einstein doing in this movie? What happened to Drosselmeyer?
The rats remind me of the Nazis. Maybe it is just me, but I think it is just ridiculous.
The story is about a girl named Clara Mary. Her family was rich and had many lovely things, but Mary still felt lonely. She has a brother named Max that seems to enjoy breaking toys. She enjoyed visits from her Uncle Albert (Albert Einstein). For Christmas, Uncle Albert gave Mary a doll house and a nutcracker. Mary loved the nutcracker and was upset with her brother when he broke its jaw. Of course Uncle Albert fixed him.
That night Mary met a surprise when her little Nutcracker grew to her size. When she and the NC (Nutcracker) went to the living room where the Christmas tree was, she was amazed because the tree grew unbelievably big. It was like it was about to touch the stars. He introduced her to his friends --- toys from the doll house Uncle Albert gave her. The little drummer boy, the monkey and the tubby clown. She also met the Snow Fairy, who was the fairy that she placed on the tree herself and she had a face and voice like her mother's. With the Snow Fairy's magic, NC was able to turn back into a prince. It brought NC to tears and told Mary about how he was cursed by the Rat King and Queen. He also told her about how the rats were using the toys from his kingdom to make a huge cloud to block the sun, because the rats hated sunlight.
Mary wanted to help him and suggested that they first try attacking the source of the cloud. I wondered why he didn't even think of it before int the thirty years he'd been cursed. But the Rat Queen noticed and realized that the prince they thought was dead was actually still alive. The Rat Queen used her magic and turned NC back into a nutcracker. The next thing she knew, Mary woke up and discovered that their Christmas tree had been cut. Mary knew it was the work of the rats but no one would believe her. They thought she was crazy when she began talking about NC and the Rat King. Her father was so angry that he requested Uncle Albert to stop coming believing it was his fault Mary was dreaming useless things. Uncle Albert only smiled and reminded him what it was like to be a child and letting your imagination go wild.
That night, Mary told NC that she would help him. Without meaning to, they woke up her brother. Max was excited of the thought of adventure, but unfortunately the Rat King captured them and the prince's friends. Max thought that the Rat King was cool and accepted the invitation from the King to join him. The Rat King thought Max was like them because he also liked to destroy toys. With the help of the monkey from the dollhouse, she was able to go to the NC's kingdom. She saw how dreary it was and felt sorry for the people. With the help of a man --- that strangely resembled her Uncle Albert she got a clue, "Follow the toys."
Meanwhile, the prince and his companions escaped. But the good news didn't last for long because in order to save his companions, NC allowed himself to be bait. He was captured. Mary found him buried in a pile of toys with a lost leg. Devastated by thought of him dead, she confessed that she loved him and ultimately --- breaking the curse. The people rejoiced and were inspired to take arms and fight. The rats, knowing they couldn't win, did what they did best. They decided to run.
I will fast forward to the part where the kingdom was saved. Mary wanted to stay in the kingdom forever, but the Snow Queen told her that she couldn't. Her family will worry and she needed to return. The prince thanked her for saving him and his kingdom and made a promise to her that they will meet again.
Mary opened her eyes and she was back in her room with her family around her. At first she thought her father would scold her for her silly dreams, but much to her surprise --- he told her that he wanted to hear about her dreams. But the more surprises were yet to come when she went downstairs after Uncle Albert told her than he wanted her to meet his new neighbor. His name was Nicolas Charles or NC. He kept his promise, they met again.
All I can say is that this movie made me cry. Cry tears of laughter and frustration. If you love the ballet and the book, do not ever touch this movie. It is too late to save me, but save yourself the pain of watching something so horridly heartbreaking.