Rating: G
Genre:
Children's/Family
Release Date: 10/28/2008
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: DDS2.0/DD1
Run Time: 93 Minutes
Flags: Excellent For Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Director
Emile Ardolino's final film brings to the screen
George Balanchine's famed ballet of
Tchaikovsky's
The Nutcracker. Balanchine's choreography has been restaged by the New York City Ballet under the direction of
Peter Martins and features dancers
Darci Kistler and
Damian Woetzel as the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier. Unfortunately, it also features a smirking and incongruous
Macauley Culkin as The Nutcracker. The familiar tale concerns Marie (
Jessica Lynn Cohen), a young girl who, at Christmas time, is given a gift of a nutcracker by her godfather, a magician. She also meets his nephew (played by Culkin). When she falls asleep, in her peaceful Christmas Eve dreams, the Nutcracker is transformed into a prince who rescues Marie from a multi-headed Mouse King and takes her on a trip to the Land of Sweets. The film is narrated in hushed tones by
Kevin Kline.
~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide