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George Balanchine's the Nutcracker

Play trailer Poster for George Balanchine's the Nutcracker G Released Nov 24, 1993 1h 32m Kids & Family Holiday Musical Play Trailer Watchlist
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50% Tomatometer 8 Reviews 62% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
In this live-action adaptation of Tchaikovsky's fantastical ballet, young Marie (Jessica Lynne Cohen) awakens to find that toys and mice have grown much larger, and a villainous rodent ruler begins to torment her. Coming to Marie's aid, however, is the Nutcracker Prince (Macaulay Culkin) who protects her from the evil mouse amidst lively dance sequences. Also inhabiting this dreamy realm is the Sugarplum Fairy (Darci Kistler) and her dashing cavalier (Damian Woetzel).
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George Balanchine's the Nutcracker

Critics Reviews

View All (8) Critics Reviews
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times The camera plants itself for a frontal view of the stage, and then there are closeups and reaction shots, all done by the numbers, generating no magic. Rated: 2/4 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Pamela Bruce Austin Chronicle Rated: 3.5/5 Jan 1, 2000 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Macaulay Culkin, cast purely for marquee value, is particularly ill-at-ease as the Nutcracker Prince, doubtless distracted by visions of Nintendo games dancing in his head. Rated: 1.5/4 Dec 29, 2018 Full Review Ellen Dendy Common Sense Media Macaulay Culkin v. Mouse King in NYC Ballet treat. Rated: 4/5 Jan 1, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jul 2, 2005 Full Review Audrey Rock-Richardson Tooele Transcript-Bulletin (Utah) Kistler is cold and emotionless, but the dancing is euphoric Rated: 4/5 Dec 21, 2004 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Tabitha E I don’t understand the negativity about this movie or the criticism of Macaulay Culkin. As a true 90’s baby, rewatching this with my own baby is so nostalgic. Not every family can afford good seats to see the Nutcracker live, or even go at all. With a beautiful set, this movie brings all of the magic and wonder of the Nutcracker to those families that may not have otherwise experienced it. I love it and hope that my daughter will someday watch it with her children. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/21/24 Full Review jacob b Well, at least Warner Bros. figured out that making a live-action Nutcracker film isn't worth the trouble since it was never about the plot. It was about the music and dancing so they just released a filmed version of a stage play instead. The choreography is great, the music is memorable and what little plot there is, most of the actors do okay communicating in body language. Shame they didn't take advantage of the film medium to capture the action in more unique angles that not even a front row seat would give you. But then again, this was long before Hamilton so maybe I shouldn't complain too much. Although it does have a feel unprofessional and better off seen at home than on the big screen. Seriously, there were times when I felt like I was watching the DVDs of my own primary school plays, only with far less breaking character to wave to my parents in the audience. And yes, Macaulay Culkin's in this and it was very much a case of stunt casting where I'm not even sure he even wanted to be there most of the time. Probably because of his father. Seriously, that guy wanted to put his son into virtually anything once Home Alone became a massive box office success. I'm not surprised that Culkin retired as soon as the first window of opportunity presented itself. This filmed version of the ballet is okay and is much better than Hollywood's attempts to make a big-budget blockbuster out of a practically plotless ballet but I think I'll stick with the Tom & Jerry film as my definitive version of the hard-to-adapt work. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member It was OK, but would have been better without Macaulay Culkin as the Nutcracker prince. He was only added because of his Home Alone film. Seeing the little brat made it barely watchable. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Awesome! I loved it :) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is sooooooo good. The dancing is amazing. A true holiday classic Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member The ballet wasn't as good as I remembered it. I wished this was a proper Hollywood movie rather than a filmed stage show. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
George Balanchine's the Nutcracker

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In this live-action adaptation of Tchaikovsky's fantastical ballet, young Marie (Jessica Lynne Cohen) awakens to find that toys and mice have grown much larger, and a villainous rodent ruler begins to torment her. Coming to Marie's aid, however, is the Nutcracker Prince (Macaulay Culkin) who protects her from the evil mouse amidst lively dance sequences. Also inhabiting this dreamy realm is the Sugarplum Fairy (Darci Kistler) and her dashing cavalier (Damian Woetzel).
Director
Emile Ardolino
Producer
Robert A. Krasnow, Robert Hurwitz
Screenwriter
Susan Cooper
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures, Atlantic Releasing Corp.
Production Co
Embassy International Pictures, Elektra Entertainment Group, Regency Enterprises
Rating
G
Genre
Kids & Family, Holiday, Musical
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 24, 1993, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.5M
Runtime
1h 32m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
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