The Nutcracker
Short description
Set in Vienna in the 1920s, this film follows nine-year-old Mary, whose quiet Christmas Eve changes when her beloved Uncle Albert gives her a wooden nutcracker. The toy comes to life in her imagination and leads her into a magical realm inhabited by toys and fairies. That realm is under threat from the Rat King, and Mary and her new companions must find a way to stop him and save the Nutcracker's world. The story draws on the tale by E. T. A. Hoffmann that later became a well-known ballet set to Tchaikovsky's music.
Andrei Konchalovsky directed and co-wrote the film with Chris Solimine, and produced it with Paul Lowin. It followed To Each His Own Cinema in 2007, before Dear Comrades! in 2020. Elle Fanning plays Mary, with Nathan Lane as Uncle Albert, John Turturro as the Rat King, Frances de la Tour as the Rat Queen and Frau Eva, Charlie Rowe as the Prince, and Aaron Michael Drozin as Max. Made in the United Kingdom and Hungary, the production cost 90 million USD and returned 16 million USD worldwide, a small fraction of its cost.
Audience response has been weak, with a rating of 4.1 out of 10 on IMDb from around 4,500 votes and 5 out of 10 on TMDB from roughly 210 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- The main part of the filming took place over 15 weeks in the new pavilions of the Stern Film Studio in Hungary (near Budapest), as well as on a nearby location set where Kevin Phipps (“V for Vendetta,” “Troy,” “Band of Brothers”) recreated the atmosphere of old Vienna, paying particular attention to the facades of buildings from that era and the imitation of cobblestone streets.
- Sixty extras who played the horde of rats attacking the city underwent special training in a 'rat training camp,' where specialists taught them to mimic the movements of rodents.
- To convey the atmosphere of the “rat” world, daytime street scenes were filmed at night, which allowed for the effect of a “colorless day” to be achieved.
- Konchalovsky had been nurturing the idea of adapting Hoffmann's fairy tale for over 40 years. As early as the 1960s, he was preparing outlines for a similar film for a British director, but that film was never made.
- Alla Pugacheva participated in the voice acting of the film for the first time. She accepted the offer to voice the role of the Rat Queen, cunning and authoritative. And the voice of the Rat King went to Filipp Kirkorov. In one interview, he admitted that many of the dialogues were 'as if taken directly from real life.'
- The film's soundtrack features classical music from P.I. Tchaikovsky's ballet in a modern arrangement by composer Eduard Artemyev. Eight songs are also included, with lyrics written by Oscar winner, popular English poet and librettist Sir Tim Rice (the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the animated films “Aladdin” and “The Lion King,” the musical “Beauty and the Beast,” and others).
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
