Ordinarily, I am very much in favour of any half-decent adaption that will get folks to revisit some of these wonderful old stories and hopefully inspire them to go and see the theatre performances - and this combination of the delightful Hoffman story and an equally rousing score ought to have been a no-brainer...but... Oh dear! What can i say about this? It's dreadful - and that's a real shame because normally you can rely on Sir Tim Rice to deliver the goods lyrically, and Tchaikovsky had already done the business with his beautifully written music. What happened? Well the casting, for one - Elle Fanning is just downright annoying; the "Mouse Kingdom" has become a rad-ridden regime under a Fascist jackboot that even Frances de la Tour can't rescue from it's poorly made-up mediocrity, and despite the best efforts of the infrequently seen Nathan Lane as "Uncle Albert" - wearing the most obvious wig I've seen since our "Babes in the Wood" panto in 1975 - it's just flat, very good looking, but flat. No amount of whizzo special effects, nor the musical elements, can carry the banality of this effort. The best bit is whilst the credits are rolling (phew!) and we get a proper hit of the magnificent music from the Moscow State Orchestra.

This movie is a true masterpiece. I can't believe its bad ratings. The acting is perfect, the music which is based on Tchaikovskis works is brilliantly made, the visuals are of great art.

It's funny, sad, exciting, surprising, magical, and did I say sad?

It's impossible for me to not cry watching some of the scenes in this film. And I've watched it several times now.

I have a great interest in movies, but this is truly one of the best movies I've ever seen. If not the best. It is certainly on my top five together with Mulholland Drive (Lynch),Synecdoche, New York (Kaufman),etc.

Thank you Andrey Konchalovskiy for creating this masterpiece. And I'm so sorry for the bad ratings. Something must be seriously wrong in this world.

It's early 20th century. Mary (Elle Fanning) and her brother Max are left in the care of Uncle Albert (Nathan Lane) as their parents go out for the night. Albert shows the kids his doll Nutcracker. It comes alive during the night and takes Mary to another world. It's a world where the Rat King (John Turturro) has taken over Nutcracker's kingdom.

Nutcracker is a classic Christmas ballet. This is supposedly a dark reinterpretation of the origins of the story. All the Christmas wonder is gone. I doubt the 3D would look any good. I don't like the design of the CGI Nutcracker or his voice. I rather have the kid whom the Nutcracker transforms into. Having Nazi rats is one thing but why is the Rat King Andy Warhol? It makes him too hipster. Turning Nutcracker into a dark fairy tale could be workable but it needs a skilled craftsman. The only good part is Elle Fanning who does a terrific Alice in Wonderland. This is fundamentally flawed.