The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is one of the most beloved Christmas stories of all time. It has been adapted into a ballet, as well as many television and movie adaptations.

Original story

The story 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, a nutcracker, comes alive.

Hoffmann's story is of a young man, the nephew of an inventor called Herr Drosselmeyer, who fails to complete the task required to marry a princess. As a result, he is cursed by being turned into a nutcracker with a large head, wide grinning mouth, and beard. She rejects him for being ugly and he is banished. Drosselmeyer gives his goddaughter, Marie, a nutcracker for Christmas and tells her the tale. After various "dreams" in which it comes to life and they defeat the evil Mouse King, Marie tells it 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 Drosselmeyer arrives with his nephew, magically restored to his handsome self. He marries Marie and takes her away to the magical kingdom.

The Ballet

One of the central characters in the second act of the ballet adaptation is the Sugar Plum Fairy.

In 1892, Pytor Ilytch 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 begins with a Christmas party at the house of a young girl named Clara's family. Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, brings a bunch of amazing toys as gifts, and they all dance. Clara receives a nutcracker as a gift and is enchanted by it. While the other guests are thrilled by this, her brother, Fritz, is jealous, and he grabs it from her and promptly breaks its jaw. Drosselmeyer comforts the heartbroken Clara by nursing it back to health by tying its jaw back together with his handkerchief.

After the party ends and the guests depart, Clara falls asleep with the nutcracker and a dream sequence begins in which it comes to life. A bunch of mice appear, and a big battle ensues with toy soldiers coming to life, with the Nutcracker as their leader, as he does his best to defend Clara. At the last possible moment, when she sees him about to lose, she takes off her slipper and tosses it at the Mouse King. He and his army are defeated and Clara goes off on a tour of a magical kingdom with the Nutcracker who has become a prince.

The second act is a series of exotic dances there, some of which can be pretty amazing (the Sugar Plum Fairy is one of the attractions) and the music is quite glorious. The conclusion is usually Clara waking up in her chair, still holding the nutcracker; it was all a dream.

In the 1950s, famous choreographer George Balanchine created a new version for the New York City Ballet. Many major ballet companies in North America (and some others worldwide) have adopted it as their own.

Movie and TV Adapations

Television versions of the ballet

• The Nutcracker (1968) - Rudolph Nuryev and Dame Merle Park (Royal Ballet)
• The Nutcracker (1977) - Mikail Baryshnikov and Gesley Kirkland (American Ballet Theatre)
• The Nutcracker: A Fantasy on Ice (1983) - Dorothy Hamill and Robin Cousins, narrated by Lorne Green
• The Nutcracker (1985) - Julie Rose, Guy Niblett, Anthony Dowell, Leslie Collier (Royal Ballet)
• The Nutcracker on Ice (1998) - Tai Babilonia, Randy Gardner, Linda Frattiane
• The Nutcracker (2001) - Hosted by Julie Andrews (Royal Ballet)
• San Francisco Ballet's Nutcracker (2008) - Hosted by Kristi Yamaguchi

Theatrical adaptations

• Nutcracker Fantasy (1979)
• Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986) (Pacific Northwest Ballet)
• The Nutcracker Prince (1990 Canadian animated movie) - featuring the voices of Peter O'Toole and Kiefer Sutherland
• George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (1993) - Jessica Lynn Cohen and Macaulay Culkin (New York City Ballet)
• The Nutcracker and the Mouseking (2004 German Traditional Animated Movie)
• The Nutcracker Sweet (2015)
• The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018 Disney UK hybrid movie)

TV episodes/specials/movies based on the story and/or ballet

• The Enchanted Nutcracker (1961) - A musical play version starring Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence
• The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries: "The Nutcracker Scoob"
• The Care Bears Nutcracker Suite (1988)
• Mickey's Nutcracker (1991) - A TV special featuring Mickey Mouse as the Nutcracker, based on a stage show that was running at Disneyland at the time
• Franklin: "Franklin's School Play"
• Mickey Mouse Works: "The Nutcracker" (1999) - An animated short again featuring Mickey Mouse as the title character, originally aired as part of an episode of Mickey Mouse Works
• Merry Nickmas: The Nutcracker Suite (2002) - An interstitial short starring Cosmo and Wanda from The Fairly OddParents
• Courage, the Cowardly Dog: "The Nutcracker" (2002) - An episode of Courage, set in a junkyard, portrayed the title character using a broken nutcracker to defend his masters against two enormous rats intent on devouring them.
• Dirty Sexy Money: "The Nutcracker" (2007)
• Wonder Pets: "Save the Nutcracker!" (2008)
• Super Why!: "The Nutcracker" (2009)
• Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: "Neighborhood Nutcracker" (2014)
• A Nutcracker Christmas (2016)
• A Very Nutty Christmas (2018 Lifetime original movie)

Direct-to-video adaptations

• Nutcracker: The Untold Story (NotesAlive!) (1997)
• The Nuttiest Nutcracker (1999)
• Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001 CGI animated movie)
• Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale (2007) - Starring the famous cat and mouse duo