Freestyle Releasing has debuted the first trailer for The Nutcracker in 3D, an action-packed retelling of the classic holiday tale. Elle Fanning stars as nine-year-old Mary, surrounded by the likes of John Turturro, Frances de la Tour, and Nathan Lane. Charlie Rowe, who will play Young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class, voices the nutcracker (aka "NC") who comes to life and leads Mary on "a wondrous journey into his magical world of fairies, sugarplums, and other Christmas toys which come to life." Check out the trailer after the jump.
The official synopsis:
From the imagination of acclaimed Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky, the cherished story of The Nutcracker will be brought to life in spectacular 3D this holiday season. THE NUTCRACKER IN 3D follows nine-year-old Mary (Elle Fanning) whose dull Viennese Christmas is suddenly filled with excitement and adventure following the arrival of her beloved Uncle Albert (Nathan Lane) and his gift of an enchanted nutcracker. On Christmas night, Mary's new friend, The Nutcracker (Charlie Rowe) or "NC," comes to life and takes her on a wondrous journey into his magical world of fairies, sugarplums, and other Christmas toys which come to life. Mary soon realizes that this fantastical kingdom is facing danger from the tyrannical rule of the evil Rat King (John Turturro) and his devious mother (Frances de la Tour). When NC is taken hostage, Mary and her newfound toy friends must uncover the secret of the Rat King to rescue NC and his kingdom. Based on the story that inspired acclaimed Russian composer Piotr Tchaikovsky to create the music for the iconic ballet, the film includes eight exciting new songs penned by Oscar-winning lyricist and librettist Sir Tim Rice (The Lion King, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar).
-T
The production design has me impressed enough, though I'm not convinced by the costumes. Look a tad sillier than I think they're supposed to. And though it's not an insurmountable flaw, the CG nutcracker effect looked pretty terrible. Hope it just seems that way because of the too-brief glimpses in the clip, that it plays better in the context of the whole of the world.
This one has a ways to go before I'm on board. At least we know the soundtrack will be great, though they hired Tim Rice (The Lion King) to write "eight exciting new songs" for some reason. I think Freestyle is determined to get "Oscar nominee" on the DVD cover. If they can't get a nod for art direction or costume design, might as well hedge with eight attempts at "Best Original Song."
Click to Apple for HD. The Nutcracker opens in 3D theaters on November 24th.