The Nutcracker in 3D

The Nutcracker in 3D
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAndrei Konchalovsky
Screenplay by
  • Andrei Konchalovsky
  • Chris Solimine
Based onThe Nutcracker
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
"The Nutcracker and the Mouse King"
by E. T. A. Hoffmann
(both uncredited)
Produced by
  • Andrei Konchalovsky
  • Paul Lowin
Starring
CinematographyMike Southon
Edited by
  • Mathieu Bélanger
  • Andrew Glen
Music by
Production
companies
  • Vnesheconombank
  • Noisette Film Productions
  • HCC Media Group
  • Russian Roulette Ltd.
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 24 November 2010 (2010-11-24) (Canada/U.S.)
  • 8 December 2011 (2011-12-08) (Hungary)
  • 28 December 2012 (2012-12-28) (U.K.)
Running time
110 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Russia[1]
  • Hungary
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90 million[2]
Box office$20.5 million[3]

The Nutcracker in 3D[4] (also released as The Nutcracker: The Untold Story) is a 2010 3D Christmas musical fantasy film adapted from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1892 ballet The Nutcracker. Directed, co-written and produced by Andrei Konchalovsky, the film stars Elle Fanning, Nathan Lane, John Turturro, Frances de la Tour, Richard E. Grant and Yulia Vysotskaya, with Charlie Rowe and Shirley Henderson as the Nutcracker. Set in 1920s Vienna, the plot follows a young girl who receives a magical doll that is revealed to be a prince and embarks on an adventure to save his kingdom from the Rat King.

An international co-production of the United Kingdom, Russia and Hungary, the film was panned by critics upon release, and was criticised for its story, deviations from the ballet, offputting and oftentimes disturbing visuals, the decision to adapt Tchaikovsky's score into lyrical musical numbers, and the artistic direction to allude to World War II and the Holocaust, and make the Rats reminiscent of Nazis. It bombed at the box-office, grossing $20 million against a $90 million budget.[3]

  1. ^ "'Gnarled and stunted and wrong' How a renowned film director sunk over $100 million in government loans on a bizarre box office flop". Meduza. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  2. ^ "The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b "The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)". The Numbers. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  4. ^ Russian: Щелкунчик и Крысиный Король, romanized: Shchelkunchik i Krysinyy Korol', lit. 'The Nutcracker and the Rat King'