A holiday fever dream in every sense of the word, the elusive Nutcracker Fantasy is a 1970s stop-motion Christmas project from none other than Sanrio. Inspired by the classic 60s Rankin & Bass Christmas specials from the US, Sanrio created an incredibly intricate and fantastically trippy take on the 1816 fairy tale, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” It features delicate dreamscapes, elaborate dance sequences, a sweet love story, and even a few glimpses of Hello Kitty items in the background of certain scenes.
I realized while watching that this faint, dream-like half-memory I have of watching this film as a child was actually real, though I couldn’t tell you where exactly I managed to view this strange holiday odyssey. It was really lovely to finally revisit after all these years, though! I felt so warm inside while watching. I was able to appreciate the detail and craftsmanship of every set piece so much more this time, and I picked up on multiple parallels to another peak stop-motion project, 2009’s Coraline. I think that if you liked that movie, or Alice in Wonderland, or Fantasia, or just strange, whimsical things, you’ll love this.
(It’s unfortunately very difficult to find on any physical format, but it’s readily available to watch on YouTube!)
A holiday fever dream in every sense of the word, the elusive Nutcracker Fantasy is a 1970s stop-motion Christmas project from none other than Sanrio. Inspired by the classic 60s Rankin & Bass Christmas specials from the US, Sanrio created an incredibly intricate and fantastically trippy take on the 1816 fairy tale, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” It features delicate dreamscapes, elaborate dance sequences, a sweet love story, and even a few glimpses of Hello Kitty items in the background of certain scenes.
I realized while watching that this faint, dream-like half-memory I have of watching this film as a child was actually real, though I couldn’t tell you where exactly I managed to view this strange holiday odyssey. It was really lovely to finally revisit after all these years, though! I felt so warm inside while watching. I was able to appreciate the detail and craftsmanship of every set piece so much more this time, and I picked up on multiple parallels to another peak stop-motion project, 2009’s Coraline. I think that if you liked that movie, or Alice in Wonderland, or Fantasia, or just strange, whimsical things, you’ll love this.
(It’s unfortunately very difficult to find on any physical format, but it’s readily available to watch on YouTube!)
