The Nutcracker in 3D (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. The film was an international co-production of the United Kingdom, Russia and Hungary. It was released on November 24, 2010 in the United States and Canada, with later releases in Hungary and the United Kingdom. The film was a major critical and commercial failure, becoming one of 41 films to garner a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with over 32 reviews as of October 2025. The film was widely panned for its story, visuals, deviations from the ballet, and the decision to adapt Tchaikovsky's score into lyrical musical numbers. The film also received criticism for its allusions to World War II and the Holocaust, and making the Rats reminiscent of Nazis. It flopped at the box-office, grossing $20 million against a $90 million budget.
Plot In 1920s Vienna, during the Christmas season, Mary lives with her parents Joseph and Louise, and younger brother Max. While Joseph and Louise attend a party on Christmas Eve, Mary's uncle Albert arrives and gifts both her and Max a dollhouse and "NC," a nutcracker doll whom she takes a liking to. That night, NC comes to life in front of Mary and grows to human height. NC tells her that he must talk to his friends in the dollhouse, which is in the sitting room by the Christmas tree. They go downstairs and Mary finds that the sitting room has grown to such size that they appear to be the height of toys. In the dollhouse, Mary meets NC's friends; Gielgud, a gentlemanly chimpanzee; Tinker, a pernickety opera-singing clown; and Sticks, a Jamaican drummer boy. After climbing the Christmas tree, Mary meets the Snow Fairy, who resembles her mother. The Snow Fairy says that NC is actually a prince who had his kingdom taken over by the Rat King and his mother, The Rat Queen, who turned him into a nutcracker. She temporarily turns NC back into a boy due to Mary's belief and they dance before finding his city. Since NC was turned into a nutcracker, the Rat King has been oppressing his people, and forcing them to work in factories where the children's toys are burnt to form dark clouds over the city to block out sunlight, which he is afraid of. Mary suggests that they destroy the factories to scare him away. Unbeknownst to them, two of the Rat King's spies tell him that NC is alive and a boy again. The Rat Queen turns NC back into a nutcracker, then sends the Rat Dogs, a pack of robotic Rottweilers, to cut down the Christmas tree. When the tree falls, Mary wakes up in her own bed and runs downstairs to get NC. Her parents do not believe her when she tells them the events of the night. The next evening, NC comes to life again and intends to round up an army to fight against the Rat King. Max wakes up and agrees to join the fight. NC goes downstairs ahead of the siblings to gather his friends but is kidnapped. When Mary and Max go downstairs, they find that NC, Tinker and Sticks are being held captive in the fireplace by the Rat King and his minions, who kidnap the toys and lure Max back to the city. Mary discovers Gielgud, who evaded capture, and they find a portal to the city in the house's attic, and after stealing disguises from a rat, search for their friends. They find the Rat King and Max in the city centre where toys are being taken from children to be burned. Horrified, Max asks to be returned home, but the Rat King imprisons him in his castle. They sneak into one of the smoke factories where they find Sticks, Tinker and an apparently lifeless NC. Mary rescues NC from being burned and says that she loves him, which breaks the curse, restoring his life and into being a boy permanently. The factory workers, seeing their prince alive, begin to fight back against the rats while Mary and NC attempt to shut down the factory. The Rat King and Queen board a helicopter, kidnapping Mary and Max. Gielgud and NC take chase and fight the King while Max lands the aircraft in a pile of toys. The King and Queen revert to their original rat forms and flee into the sewers. NC is crowned king and peace is restored in the kingdom as everyone celebrates. The Snow Fairy reappears and says that it is time for Mary to return home, though she is reluctant to leave. Before she departs, NC promises that they will meet again. Mary wakes in her room, where her parents apologise for their earlier criticisms and promise to spend more time with her. She goes downstairs to Uncle Albert, who introduces her to his new neighbour: a boy her age, who resembles the Nutcracker Prince and asks to be called NC. They become friends and go ice-skating together.
Cast
Production
Development Director Konchalovsky stated that the film had been his "dream project" for over twenty years. He was inspired to adapt it 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 it with no ballet sequences because, according to him, "ballet cannot work in cinema very well." Konchalovsky gave the villainous rats Nazi-like qualities in his production, one of many elements in the adaptation which alienated both critics and audiences.
Financing A 2022 article in Meduza reported that the film was primarily financed by VEB.RF, a Russian state development corporation chaired by Vladimir Putin, and that it was the most expensive Russian film produced to date. In December 2020, VEB filed a lawsuit against the producers for unpaid loans, totaling USD$127.8 million, claiming they had withheld proceeds from ticket sales.
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.
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