Barbie in the Nutcracker

I have seen or heard this movie at least 50X. Why? I have 2 year old twins (boy/girl)...say no more. Nonetheless, this is a pretty good movie. both my daughter and my son enjoy this movie (she likes barbie, he likes the mouse king, a.k.a. Christmas Rat). I strongly suggest this flick. Not cloying like say, Dragontales, not annoying like Barney. Tim Curry must have had a ball making this movie. And even though is does play fast and loose with the traditional Nutcracker, it still has great music and wonderful, albeit animated, ballet dancing.

As I sat through this movie with my girlfriend and her nieces, I became gradually aware of how this film succeeds: it's invincible. Completely critic-proof. What can I say against this movie, exactly? Whine about how I don't like Barbie?

It's basically a modernized (and nauseatingly politically correct) take on The Nutcracker, throwing Barbie into one of the lead roles for pretty much no reason (unless you count bankability). Of course, it's a kids' flick, and relies on sparse, simple dialogue and spare editing to convey the action. It definitely works well; the girls ate it up and came back for seconds.

This is a rather interesting computer-animated movie. While it's noticeably lower-budget than Toy Story and Shrek, the visuals have a sort of subtle charm. The vast landscapes are quietly serene and beautiful without becoming overwhelming. Sometimes the motion-captured characters are placed against a flat 2D background, giving one severe flashbacks to the early days of the Playstation.

Bottom line: If you're a girl age four to ten, you'll likely enjoy every minute. Barbie's voice actress and Tim Curry as the Rat King are worth noting.

I was amazed to see the low rating this movie was given! My daughter absolutely loves it. The movie highlights real ballet steps and the original Tchaikovsky score, performed by th London Symphony. The plot is sweet, Barbie is a good role model, and there's a wonderful message. It also almost completely non-violent. The evil rat is wonderfully voiced by Tim Curry. I thought this Barbie movie was much better than Rapunzel but it's certainly rated lower. I have to echo some other comments by saying I've seen it around 100 times with my 2 year old and it's still not completely boring!

My daughter saw this at daycare and talked about it for days. We rented it and it was much better than expected. It is short enough (78 minutes) to hold her attention. The show holds up well for repeated adult viewing. But make no mistake, this is a kid's movie, not good enough for an adult to watch on their own.

This film is exactly what you'd expect from a Barbie Nutcracker adaptation from 2001. The animation and the plot are pretty basic but it's still a good story with an intense condensation of the original ballet. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than it really is and it exceeds at being itself.