Fascinating scenes fired by the imagination of Maurice Sendak beset the characters of Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986), the classic ballet as performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet. For the most part, this is as you might have seen it on the stage in all its messy splendor, from the leggy grace of the lead ballerina, to the monsters done up in Sendak’s signature style, prancing to the classic music, although a few attempts are made to take advantage of the fact that it’s a movie.
I’m hesitant to say much more, as I’m not a ballet enthusiast (although I couldn’t resist watching this when I stumbled across it), nor do I know the story of The Nutcracker in any detail. With respect to the latter statement, I must say that the story conveyed through the ballet is somewhat vague and, lacking in interesting thematic material. I see from Wikipedia that I’m in good company:
The Nutcrackers I’ve seen have all been dull. You have a simpering little girl, a Christmas party, a tree that gets big. Then you have a variety of people who do dances that seem to go on and on ad nauseam. Technically it’s a mess, too; Acts I and II have practically nothing to do with each other. … What you don’t have is plot. No logic. You have lots of very pretty music, but I don’t enjoy it because I’m a very pedantic, logical person. I want to know why things happen. – Maurice Sendak
I still found it fun, if sometimes mystifying. Watch at your own risk.
