Main Cast: Hugh Bigney, Vanessa Sharp, Patricia Barker, Wade Walthall
Release Year: 1986
Country: US
Run Time: 82 minutes
Plot
The core and darker nuances of the original "Nutcracker" fairytale by E.T.A. Hoffman (with music by Tchaikovsky) are kept alive in this adept cinematic interpretation with its combination of ballet, special effects, and Maurice Sendak's costume and production designs. The Pacific Northwest Ballet Co. perform the tale about a young girl's dream. The Stahlbaum house is celebrating the night before Christmas, and the children, Fritz and Clara (Vanessa Sharp) welcome their godfather Herr Drosselmeier (Hugh Bigney) who brings them gifts. Clara's gift is a beautiful nutcracker, so beautiful that her brother becomes jealous and breaks it. Later, when everyone is in bed, Clara sneaks back to the Christmas tree to look at her repaired nutcracker and has a marvelous and often menacing dream. The Christmas tree grows to fill the room, and a mighty army of mice led by the Mouse King threatens her. The Nutcracker and the toy soldiers try to defeat the army but the Nutcracker is captured, at which point Clara (Patricia Barker as the dream Clara) bravely clobbers the Mouse King, and the army is defeated. From that point onward, she and the Nutcracker -- who has turned into a Prince -- have many adventures in the Land of Snow where a series of more than seven different dances introduce enchanting and grim characters. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Cast
Hugh Bigney - Herr Drosselmeier
Vanessa Sharp - Young Clara
Patricia Barker - Dream Clara/Ballerina Doll
Wade Walthall - Nutcracker
Elizabeth Ann McCarthy - Moor; Pacific Northwest Ballet; Francia Russell; Kent Stowell; Russell Burnett - Fritz; Bridget Alsdorf - Servant Child; Carol Anderson - Snowflake; Beatrice Bassett - Grandmother; Benjamin Bassett - Grandfather; Chaundra Bigney - Baby Mouse; Michele Blue - Toy Soldier; Heather Boe - Scrim Mouse; Martha Boyle - Snowflake; Dianne Brace - Snowflake; Alexandra Bronfman - Commedia; Rebecca Brown - Servant Child; Todd Brown - Observer; Hannah Brudge - Infantry; Jeffery N. Bullock - Foreign Guest; Tracy Carboneau - Toy Soldier; Joseph Carver - Child at the Party; Christian Cederlund - Moor; Erik Cederlund - Slave; Tracey Charbonneau - Scrim Mouse; Marianne Chikos - Officer; Kara Chin - Toy Theater; Elizabeth Christianson - Toy Soldier; Kippy Clark - Servant Child; Lindsay Clothier - Toy Soldier; Sarah Coan - Toy Soldier; Irene Damestoy - Snowflake; Charina Dimaano - Toy Soldier; Carron Donaldson - Waltz of the Flowers; Gregory Draper - Adult at the Party; Rebecca Dunne - Servant Child; Gerald Ebitz - Moors; Laara Estelle - Observer; Margaret Farmer - Observer; Betsy Fenton - Observer; Fischbach - Erica/Moors; Nicole Fiset - Scrim Mouse; Sarah Frederick - Observer; Alex Gardner - Boy; Gabrielle Gardner - Observer; Jamie Geier - Toy Theater; Eugenia Georvasilis - Observer; Susan Gladstone - Waltz of the Flowers; Amy Greene - Waltz of the Flowers; Christa Halby - Servant Child; Abbey Hall - Servant Child; Mandi-Lyons Hansen - Servant Child; Rachel Harrison - Chinese Girl; Heather Hollenbeck - Servant Child; Jennifer Homans - Waltz of the Flowers; Carey Homme - Moor; Benjamin Houk - Father/Mouse Captain; Lucinda Hughey - Waltz of the Flowers; Deborah Inkster - Mother Mouse; Stephanie Irwin - Waltz of the Flowers; Lee Johnson - Chinese Girl; Jennifer Kader - Servant Child; Kevin Kaiser - Moor; Sterling Kekoa - Commedia; Robert La Turner - Fighting Mouse; Christine Lebar - Toy Soldier; Sun Leen - Servant Child; Mari London - Toy Theater; Joey-Lynn Mann - Toy Soldier; Katrenna Marenych - Fighting Mouse; Michelle McRae - Servant Child; Catherine Mee Moen - Observer; Caroline Newman - Toy Theater; Christina Nicolaidis - Toy Soldier; Reid Olson - Pas de Trois; Whitney Onishi - Child at the Party; Rebecca Osmon - Infantry; Jennifer Owen - Chinese Girl; Freedom Ozog - Toy Theater; Elizabeth Parham - Girl; Vera Parham - Child at the Party; Emily Penhollow - Child at the Party; Jenifer Peterson - Toy Theater; Jeffery Plourde - Slave; Kay Preston - Waltz of the Flowers; Sara Pritchard - Servant Child; Jacob Rice - Dervishe; Amy Ritter - Toy Soldier; Gloria Riviera - Girl; Maia Rosal - Peacock; Natalie Ryder - Child at the Party; Noelle Schroeder - Infantry; Laura Schwenk - Snowflake; Ashley Sherwood - Toy Soldier; Christopher Smidt - Observer; Erin Sokol - Scrim Mouse; Emerald Stacy - Little Girl; Rana Standal - Infantry; Angela Sterling - Snowflake; Cary Stidham - Child at the Party; Carolyn Stoklosa - Fighting Mouse; Lisa Stolzy - Moor; Jason Takamaru - Child at the Party; Jennifer Taylor - Servant Child; Kyoko Terada - Servant Child; Julie Tobiason - Waltz of the Flowers; Lisl Vaillant - Snowflake; Heidi Vierthaler - Waltz of the Flowers; Courtland Weaver - Sword Dancer; Anne Wescott - Fighting Mouse; Andrew Wilson - Child at the Party; Clara Wilson - Snowflake; Nicole Wolgamott - Chinese Girl; Tyrone Woods - Observer; Julie Harris - Claire; Jennifer Nichole Porter - Observer
Credit
Peter Horne - Art Director, Kent Stowell - Choreography, Maurice Sendak - Costume Designer, Carroll Ballard - Director, John Nutt - Editor, Michael Silvers - Editor, Charles Mackerras - Musical Direction/Supervision, Richard Snell - Makeup, Maurice Sendak - Production Designer, Stephen H. Burum - Cinematographer, Willard Carroll - Producer, Donald Kushner - Producer, Peter Locke - Producer, Thomas L. Wilhite - Producer, Michael Rosenblatt - Producer, Thomas Coleman - Producer, Exquire Jauchem - Special Effects, Gregory Meeh - Special Effects, Kent Stowell - Screenwriter, Pyotr Tchaikovsky - From Ballet by, E.T.A. Hoffmann - Short Story Author
