The Nutcracker (1993 film)

The Nutcracker, also known as George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, is a 1993 American Christmas musical film based on Peter Martins's stage production and directed by Emile Ardolino. The film stars Darci Kistler, Damian Woetzel, Kyra Nichols, Bart Robinson Cook, Macaulay Culkin, Jessica Lynn Cohen, Wendy Whelan, Margaret Tracey, Gen Horiuchi, Tom Gold and the New York City Ballet.

The Nutcracker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEmile Ardolino
Produced byRobert Hurwitz
Robert A. Krasnow
Written bySusan Cooper (narration)
Based onPeter Martins's stage production of The Nutcracker
Starring
Narrated byKevin Kline
Music byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
CinematographyRalf D. Bode
Edited byGirish Bhargava
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • November 24, 1993 (1993-11-24)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million[1]
Box office$2.1 million[1]

The Nutcracker was released by Warner Bros. under their Warner Bros. Family Entertainment label on November 24, 1993, four days after director Ardolino died. It received mixed reviews and grossed $2,119,994.

Plot

The movie follows the traditional plot of the Nutcracker.

Cast
  • Darci Kistler as The Sugarplum Fairy
  • Damian Woetzel as The Sugarplum Fairy's Cavalier
  • Kyra Nichols as Dewdrop
  • Wendy Whelan as Coffee
  • Margaret Tracey as Marzipan
  • Gen Horiuchi as Tea
  • Tom Gold as Candy Cane
  • Lourdes López as Hot Chocolate
  • Nilas Martins as Hot Chocolate
  • William Otto as Mother Ginger
  • Peter Reznick as Fritz
  • Karin von Aroldingen as Grandparent
  • Edward Bigelow as Grandparent
  • Heather Watts as Frau Stahlbaum
  • Robert LaFosse as Dr. Stahlbaum
  • Bart Robinson Cook as Drosselmeier
  • Jessica Lynn Cohen as Marie Stahlbaum
  • Macaulay Culkin as The Nutcracker / Drosselmeier's Nephew
  • Kevin Kline as Narrator
  • Katrina Killian as Harlequin
  • Roma Sosenko as Columbine
  • Michael Byars as Soldier
  • Robert D. Lyon as Mouse King
  • Maureen C. McFadden Devlin as Drummer

Reception

Critical response

The Nutcracker received generally mixed reviews from critics. Based on eight reviews, the film holds a rotten rating of 50% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 6/10.[2] The film was criticized by James Berardinelli for not capturing the excitement of a live performance; he wrote that it "opts to present a relatively mundane version of the stage production... utilizing almost none of the advantages offered by the (film) medium."[3] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times criticized the film for not adapting the dance for a film audience and also its casting of Culkin who, he writes, "seems peripheral to all of the action, sort of like a celebrity guest or visiting royalty, nodding benevolently from the corners of shots."[4] In The Washington Post, Lucy Linfield echoed Ebert's criticism of Culkin, stating that "it's not so much that he can't act or dance; more important, the kid seems to have forgotten how to smile... All little Mac can muster is a surly grimace." She praised the dancing, however, as "strong, fresh and in perfect sync" and Kistler's Sugar Plum Fairy as "the Balanchinean ideal of a romantic, seemingly fragile beauty combined with a technique of almost startling strength, speed and knifelike precision."[5] The New York Times' Stephen Holden also criticized Culkin, calling his performance the film's "only serious flaw", but praised the cinematography as "very scrupulous in the way it establishes a mood of participatory excitement, then draws back far enough so that the classic ballet sequences choreographed by Balanchine and staged by Peter Martins can be seen in their full glory."[6]

Box office

During its theatrical run the film grossed $2,119,994.[1] In North America, the film opened at number 16 in its first weekend with $783,721.[7]

References
  1. "The Nutcracker (1993) - Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  2. "The Nutcracker". 24 November 1993. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  3. "Review: Nutcracker, The (1993)". Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  4. "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker". Chicago Sun-Times.
  5. Linfield, Susie (24 November 1993). "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (review)". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  6. Holden, Stephen (24 November 1993). "George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (review)". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  7. "Weekend Box Office Results for November 26-28, 1993". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
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