Barbie in the Nutcracker
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| Barbie in the Nutcracker | |
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 DVD cover |
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| Directed by | Owen Hurley |
| Produced by | Jesyca Durchin and Jennifer Twiner McCaron |
| Written by | Linda Engelsiepen Hilary Hinkle |
| Screenplay by | Rob Hudnut |
| Based on | The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E. T. A. Hoffmann Characters by Ruth Handler |
| Starring | Kelly Sheridan Tim Curry Kirby Morrow Chantal Strand |
| Music by | Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky |
| Editing by | Anne Hoerber |
| Studio | Mainframe Entertainment Mattel Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Lionsgate |
| Release date(s) | October 23, 2001 |
| Running time | 78 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Barbie in the Nutcracker is a 2001 computer animated and motion capture-based direct-to-video Barbie film directed by Owen Hurley. It was the first Barbie film since 1987's Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World. Barbie in the Nutcracker is the first in the Barbie film series of computer animated Barbie films, all of which feature the voice of Kelly Sheridan as the Barbie protagonist. The story is loosely adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and uses music from Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker. The film includes a substantial amount of motion capture, including dances performed by members of the New York City Ballet and choreography by Peter Martins.
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[edit] Plot
The story is being told by Barbie to her little sister Kelly as a way of cheering her up as she is unable to perform a ballet move and is afraid of going onstage.
Clara lives with her stern Grandfather Drosselmeyer and younger brother, Tommy. On Christmas Eve, the family receives a surprise visit from the vivacious Aunt Elizabeth, who comes bearing gifts for her niece and nephew. Clara receives a Nutcracker and Aunt Elizabeth tells her that inside, beats the heart of a prince. Tommy tries to take it to play with it but in the scuffle, he breaks its arm.
Clara manages to fix the Nutcracker and falls asleep near the Christmas tree. She awakes to see her Nutcracker fighting the Mouse King and his mouse army. When Clara tries to help, the Mouse King shrinks her down to his size, though he is still unable to defeat them and temporarily retreats.
The Nutcracker reveals that he has been enchanted and seeks to find the Sugarplum Princess, the only person who can stop the Mouse King from taking over his world. Following the advice of the wise owl of the grandfather clock, the Nutcracker suggests that Clara follow him, since the Sugarplum Princess is the only one who can make Clara her original size again. The owl gives Clara a heart-shaped locket from a ballet dancer ornament. This locket has the power to send Clara back home after they find the Sugarplum Princess. With that, the Nutcracker and Clara set off on their journey.
The two journey into the Land of Pervenia in the Gingerbread Village, where the children tells them that the rightful heir to the throne, Prince Eric, has gone missing in the wake of the Mouse King's attempts to conquer the world. Clara quickly figures out that her Nutcracker is the missing prince and he reveals that his irresponsibility is the reason of all the happenings. Due to his careless attitude the king pronounced the Mouse as an acting king until Eric (the Prince) realizes his responsibilities. Unfortunately, the Mouse decides he wants to be king for once and all and thus put a spell on Eric, turning him into a Nutcracker. Eric knows he must take responsibility for his past actions. He hopes to redeem himself by finding the Sugarplum Princess and make things right again.
Meanwhile, the Mouse King attempts to learn more about the Sugarplum Princess but only finds one reference to her: She is kind, clever and brave. Angered, he orders his troops to go after them in hopes of stopping the Nutcracker before he can reach her.
Joined by the arrogant Major Mint and Captain Candy, the group sets out to find the Sugarplum Princess and defeat the Mouse King, who is watching and attempting to sabotage them along the way. After crossing the Sea of Storms with the purple horse named Marzipan, the group arrive at the Sugarplum Princess' Island. When Clara is separated from the group, who are all captured by the Mouse King's bats. She ventures alone to the Mouse King's palace to free her friends with a help from the flower fairies.
After being rescued, the Nutcracker fights a final battle with the Mouse King. Just as the Mouse King seemingly gets an advantage over the Nutcracker, Clara leaps in between them. The Mouse King tries to turn Clara smaller, but the Nutcracker uses his sword to deflect the Mouse King's magic back to the Mouse King himself. The Mouse King shrinks into the size of a real mouse and flees into the sewers.
The Nutcracker has seemingly been injured, and Clara kisses him, whereupon he is restored to his true form – he is Prince Eric, and Clara, because she was able to break the spell, is revealed as the Sugarplum Princess. Her outfit transforms into a beautiful gown and Eric is crowned king. The couple, who have fallen in love with one another, dance as the citizens of the Land of Pervenia celebrate their victory. Eric asks her if she wishes to return home but Clara says that in heart, she is already there.
However, the shrunken Mouse King makes one final attempt to defeat Clara. He swoops down on Clara upon his bat minion's back, steals the heart shaped locket she wears and opens it. Thankfully, he is knocked to the Earth by a snowball and apparently dies. Clara begins to fade and finally disappears. Eric is dismayed, crying out, "I love you."
Clara wakes up in the living room where she fell asleep. She finds the Nutcracker missing once more. She runs to her Grandfather who dismisses the story as her imagination. At that moment, Aunt Elizabeth returns with a young man – it is Eric. Revealing him to be a friend, she insists that he stay for dinner and drags Grandfather Drosselmeyer and Tommy away. Eric gives her back the locket and asks her to dance. She answers, "I couldn't say 'no' to the King", and the couple waltz together. The snowglobe shows the Prince – now a king – and the Sugarplum Princess dancing happily in the Palace courtyard.
The story goes back to Kelly and Barbie. Kelly realizes the importance of not giving up and makes one more attempt at the ballet move she just can't do. Kelly and Barbie dance to the music and Kelly finally gets her steps right.
[edit] New York City Ballet dancers
[edit] Voice cast
- Kelly Sheridan as Barbie/Clara
- Kirby Morrow as The Nutcracker/Prince Eric
- Tim Curry as The Mouse King
- Peter Kelamis as Pimm
- Christopher Gaze as Major Mint
- Ian James Corlett as Captain Candy
- Chantal Strand as Sophie
- Kathleen Barr as Aunt Elizabeth Drosselmayer/Owl
- French Tickner as Grandfather Drosselmayer
- Alex Doduk as Tommy
- Britt McKillip as Candy Cane girl
- Danny McKinnon as Cookie boy
[edit] Theatrical release
On October 23, 2001 the movie had a limited release in cinemas for a week.
[edit] Television showings
The film was edited down to one hour for its television showings.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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