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The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker

Fantasy · Music · Family · 1993

On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.

Movie details

The Nutcracker

“The joy of the New York City Ballet in an exciting family holiday motion picture.”

1993 Fantasy · Music · Family 1h 32m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Nutcracker?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Godmothered

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A young and unskilled fairy godmother that ventures out on her own to prove her worth by tracking down a young girl whose request for help was ignored. What she discovers is that the girl has now become a grown woman in need of something very different than a "prince charming."

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A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration

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In honor of the 30th anniversary of the animated classic, this animated and live-action blended special showcases the fan-favorite movie, along with new musical performances, sets and costumes inspired by the classic story.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Emile Ardolino

Written by

Susan Cooper · E. T. A. Hoffmann

Kevin Kline

Kevin Kline

Narrator (voice)

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Culkin

The Nutcracker Prince

Marina Squerciati

Marina Squerciati

Mouse / Polichinelle

Alex Wiesendanger

Alex Wiesendanger

Child

Zoe Zien

Zoe Zien

Angel / Soldier

L

Lauren D'Avella

Soldier

P

Peter Reznick

Fritz

Court is in session

Put The Nutcracker on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.