The Nutcracker in 3D

The Nutcracker in 3D
File:The Nutcracker in 3D poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrei Konchalovsky
Produced by	Andrei Konchalovsky Paul Lowin
Screenplay by	Andrei Konchalovsky Chris Solimine
Based on	The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King by E.T.A. Hoffman (uncredited)
Starring	Elle Fanning Nathan Lane John Turturro
Music by	Eduard Artemyev
Cinematography	Mike Southon
Edited by	Mathieu Bélanger Andrew Glen
Production company	HCC Media Group Nutcracker Holdings Russian Roulette Ltd. Vnesheconombank
Distributed by	G2 Pictures (UK) Vertigo Média Kft. (Hungary)
Release dates	24 November 2010 (2010-11-24) (Canada) 8 December 2011 (2011-12-08) (Hungary) 28 December 2012 (2012-12-28) (United Kingdom)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United Kingdom Hungary Canada
Language	English Hungarian
Budget	$90 million
Box office	$16.2 million

The Nutcracker in 3D (released on DVD as The Nutcracker: The Untold Story) is a 2009 British-Hungarian 3D Christmas fantasy film adaption of the ballet The Nutcracker, directed by Andrei Konchalovsky. The film was met with negative reviews from critics upon its release, and was a box office bomb. The film does not credit the original The Nutcracker and the Mouse King story, nor its author E. T. A. Hoffmann.

Plot

Mary's (Elle Fanning) seemingly dull Christmas is suddenly filled with excitement and adventure following the arrival of her Uncle Albert (Nathan Lane), who gives her a Nutcracker as a gift. Later that night, Mary dreams that the Nutcracker—called N.C. (Charlie Rowe)--comes to life and takes her on a wondrous journey. They discover that the Nazi-like Rat King (John Turturro) has usurped the Nutcracker's kingdom.

In the climax of the film, the Nutcracker appears to have been killed, but Mary's tears and declaration of love restore him to life and transforms him into a prince, his true form. The rats are all defeated and overthrown, but now Mary must reluctantly awaken from her dream. Before she's fully awake, N.C. promises that they'll meet again. After she does so, she goes to Uncle Albert's workshop, where she meets his new young neighbor, who is the exact image of the Nutcracker Prince and who asks to be called N.C. The two become close friends, and the last shot of the film shows them ice skating together.

Cast

• Elle Fanning as Mary
• Nathan Lane as Uncle Albert
• John Turturro as Rat King
• Charlie Rowe as N.C
• Frances de la Tour as Frau Eva / Rat Queen
• Aaron Michael Drozin as Max
• Richard E. Grant as Mary's father
• Julia Vysotskaya as The Snow Fairy / Mary's mother

Production

Development

Director Konchalovsky stated that The Nutcracker in 3D had been his "dream project" for over 20 years. Konchalovsky was inspired to adapt the film into 3D for several reasons; he believed that the format would be useful in conveying the fantastical nature of the material, capturing the emotions of CGI characters, and appealing to a family audience. At the same time, he opted to adapt the film with no ballet sequences because, according to him, "ballet cannot work in cinema very well."

Konchalovsky gave the rats who try to take over the fantasy kingdom Nazi-like qualities in his production, one of the many elements in the adaptation which alienated both critics and audiences.

Filming

The film was announced at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival and principal photography took place primarily in Budapest, Hungary that summer, before the set was moved to the Stern Film Studio in Pomáz.

Soundtrack

The film's score is derived from Tchaikovsky's original music for The Nutcracker, the composer's ballet version of the E.T.A. Hoffmann story, and lyricist Tim Rice wrote lyrics for it. Many of the songs are based on the ballet's dances. Other songs are based on Tchaikovsky's other compositions, such as his Symphony No. 5.

Release

The Nutcracker in 3D was first screened at the European Film Market on 5 February 2009. The film was released in Hungary on 8 December 2012 and United Kingdom on 28 December 2012.

Box office

The Nutcracker in 3D brought in a total of $16,178,959 worldwide, making it a box office bomb with a loss of $73,821,041.

Critical reaction

Upon its release in North America The Nutcracker in 3D was widely panned by critics. The film managed a 0% "rotten", or 2.8/10 rating, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 critics' reviews. The site's consensus was: "Misguided, misconceived, and misbegotten on every level, The Nutcracker in 3D is a stunning exercise in astonishing cinematic wrong-headedness." It achieved a score of 18/100 "overwhelming dislike" on fellow aggregate Metacritic. Metacritic would later rank The Nutcracker in 3D the "Worst Limited Release" film of 2010. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film one out of four stars and asked "From what dark night of the soul emerged the wretched idea for The Nutcracker in 3D?" Ebert went on to claim The Nutcracker in 3D as "One of those rare holiday movies that may send children screaming under their seats."

Claudia Puig of USA Today accused the film of being "contrived, convoluted, amateurish and tedious," and panned it for lacking any trace of ballet, unlike several previous versions of The Nutcracker. Entertainment Weekly reviewer Lisa Schwarzbaum gave the film its only positive review from a professional film critic, awarding it a B+ and remarking "Attention, university film clubs: Here's your cult-ready midnight-movie programming."

Awards and nominations

Ceremony	Category	Recipients	Outcome
Metacritic's Best and Worst Films of 2010	Worst Limited Release Film of 2010	The Nutcracker in 3D	Won
31st Golden Raspberry Awards	Worst Eye Gouging Misuse of 3D	The Nutcracker in 3D	Nominated
Young Artist Awards 2011	Best Young Actress	Elle Fanning	Nominated

See also

• List of biggest box office bombs
• The Nutcracker

External links

• The Nutcracker in 3D at IMDb
• The Nutcracker in 3D at Box Office Mojo
• The Nutcracker in 3D at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Nutcracker in 3D at Metacritic