A list of media based on E.T.A. Hoffmann's 1816 story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King and its 1892 ballet adaptation, The Nutcracker.
Original works:
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816), the story written by E. T. A. Hoffmann.
- The Nutcracker (1892), the ballet based on Alexandre Dumas' retelling of Hoffmann's story, by Marius Petipa with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Adaptations and derivative works
Film — Animated
- Perhaps most notably, the music from the Nutcracker Suite was prominently featured in Disney's Fantasia, though without any of the ballet characters.
- The Nutcracker (1973): A Soviet rendition as a Mime and Music-Only Cartoon.
- The Nutcracker (1979): A Japanese stop-motion animated feature produced by Sanrio Films. An English-language dub was released the same year through Columbia Pictures as Nutcracker Fantasy and features an unusually starry cast for this era, including Roddy McDowall as the title character, Melissa Gilbert as Clara, and Christopher Lee (who gets to sing two songs!) as Drosselmeyer and three minor characters. The underscore alternates between adaptations of the ballet score, gentle English-language pop songs, and funky Japanese instrumentals. Plus, two Art Shift sequences feature live-action dancers.
- Care Bears Nutcracker Suite (1988): Featuring exactly who you think re-enacting the story. (A bit of a misnomer, because "Nutcracker Suite" properly refers just to the instrumental selections of music.)
- The Nutcracker Prince (1990): A Lacewood Productions animated film starring Kiefer Sutherland in the title role.
- The Nutcracker (1995): A Direct-to-Video film produced by Jetlag Productions and distributed by GoodTimes Entertainment.
- The Nuttiest Nutcracker (1999): A Direct to Video Christmas Special with Cam Clarke voicing the Nutcracker and James Belushi as the Mouse King.
- Barbie in the Nutcracker (2001): Direct to Video, CGI-animated retelling starring Barbie (Kelly Sheridan) as Clara, Kirby Morrow as the Nutcracker, and Tim Curry as the Mouse King.
- The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (2004): An Argus Film Studio film with Wesley Singerman and Leslie Nielsen as the eponymous rivals.
- Tom and Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale (2007): A Direct to Video animated retelling featuring Tom and Jerry.
- The Nutcracker Sweet (2015): A CGI animated feature starring Drake Bell as the titular Nutcracker.
- The Nutcracker and the Magic Flute (2022): An animated film loosely based on The Nutcracker, with elements from some other works.
Film — Live-Action
- Nutcracker: The Motion Picture (1986): A filmed version of Kent Stowell's staging of the ballet, performed by the Pacific Northwest Ballet.
- (George Balanchine's) The Nutcracker (1993): A filmed version of George Balanchine's staging of the ballet, performed by the New York City Ballet. It stars Macaulay Culkin (who had previously danced in the ballet) as the Nutcracker Prince, with Kevin Kline as the narrator.
- The Nutcracker in 3D (2010): Featuring original lyrics by Tim Rice, a purposeful absence of any dance sequences, and incredibly realistic CGI including Nazi rats, all adding up to a catastrophic Box Office Bomb.
- The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018): Walt Disney Pictures' In Name Only live-action movie adaptation.
Literature
- Alexandre Dumas published a retelling of Hoffman's story in 1844, titled The Nutcracker (Histoire d'un casse-noisette). It was this version that would serve as the basis of the 1892 ballet.
Live-Action TV
- Playhouse 90 S3E12 (1958): A filmed version of George Balanchine's staging of the ballet, performed by the New York City Ballet. It stars Debbie Paine as Clara and George Balanchine himself as Drosselmeyer, with June Lockhart as the narrator. It was the only episode of Playhouse 90 to be broadcast in color.
- The Nutcracker (1977): A filmed version of Mikhail Baryshnikov's staging of the ballet, performed by the American Ballet Theater. It stars Gelsey Kirkland as Clara and Mikhail Baryshnikov himself as the Nutcracker Prince.
- Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! (2003): A BBC broadcast of Bourne's staging of the ballet.
- Live from Lincoln Center: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker S36E5 (2011): A PBS broadcast of George Balanchine's staging of the ballet, performed by the New York City Ballet.
- The Hip Hop Nutcracker (2022): A Disney+ original based on the theatre show of the same name. As the name implies, it features a hip-hop remix soundtrack, while more or less following the original story.
Theatre
- Notable later productions of the ballet:
- Gorsky (1919): Choreographed by Alexander Gorsky, his version made a number of changes that future productions would follow, like removing the Sugar Plum Fairy and Cavalier and giving their dances to Clara and the Nutcracker Prince, having Clara and the Nutcracker portrayed by adult dancers, having Clara and the Nutcracker dance together during the Snowflake sequence, adding a romance between the two, and changing the ending to have Clara waking up and realizing the second act was a dream.
- Christensen (1944): Choreographed by William Christensen with assistance from George Balanchine, and premiering at the San Francisco Ballet, this was the first complete version of The Nutcracker to be performed in the United States. Still performed today by Ballet West in Salt Lake City.
- Balanchine (1954): Choreographed by George Balanchine. Played annually by the New York City Ballet and several other companies, this version popularized the ballet in the United States. Balanchine based it largely on the original libretto, which he had performed as a child in Russia, with some changes. Notably, he adds an intermission theme from The Sleeping Beauty, which plays between the end of the party and the battle with the mice, removes the Cavalier's solo, and has the Sugar Plum Fairy do her solo at the start of Act Two instead of toward the end. Marie is named Marie like in the original book, and not Clara as in other versions, and Drosselmeyer has a nephew who appears in the first act (and later portrays the Nutcracker Prince), both of whom are played by children like in the 1892 ballet. Indeed, the Balanchine version probably uses the most children out of any version of the ballet.
- Baryshnikov (1976): Choreographed by Mikhail Baryshnikov for the American Ballet Theatre. This version has Drosselmeyer having a much bigger role, appearing in Act Two, a drunk party guest breaking the Nutcracker instead of Fritz, and no Sugarplum Fairy.
- Stowell/Sendak (1983): Choreographed by Kent Stowell with sets and costumes designed by Maurice Sendak. Played by the Pacific Northwest Ballet from 1983 to 2014 (they now perform the Balanchine version). Act One is more or less traditional, but Act Two completely jettisons the Land of Sweets in favor of the magically-aged up heroine and transformed Nutcracker being entertained via the servants of a lecherous pasha (whose dancer doubles with Drosselmeyer) in his palace. Also removes the Sugarplum Fairy and Cavalier and gives their parts to Clara and the Nutcracker.
- Wright (1984): Choreographed by Peter Wright for the Royal Ballet, this version is based closely on the original libretto, though it differs in having Clara and the Nutcracker portrayed by adults, and Mother Ginger and her polichinelles are removed. Was revised in 2001 with a different ending similar to the book by Hoffmann, where Clara reunites with the Nutcracker Prince, who turns out to be Drosselmeyer's nephew at the end of the ballet. Was later revised again in 2008.
- The Hard Nut (1991): Choreographed by Mark Morris. Changes the setting to 1960s America with a cartoonish aesthetic, but otherwise follows the original plot. Also removes the Sugarplum Fairy and gives her dances to Clara.
- Murphy (1992): Choreographed by Graeme Murphy for the Australian Ballet. This one drops the original story; here, Clara is a retired Russian dancer living in Australia, with the ballet being a Dream Sequence of her life, from her early training through the various events of the early 20th century.
- Bourne (1992): Choreographed by Matthew Bourne. This version relocates Clara's home life from a Big Fancy House to an Orphanage of Fear, and adds some plot to "Sweetieland" by suggesting "Princess Sugar" (the Sugar Plum Fairy) is trying to steal the Prince from Clara.
- Snowflakes (1911): Anna Pavlova took the Snowflake Waltz from the Nutcracker and turned it into its own standalone ballet, featuring a pas de deux between a Snowflake King and Queen. Many later versions of The Nutcracker borrow this concept.
- The Harlem Nutcracker (1996): Choreographed by Donald Byrd. Features an African-American cast, with music by Duke Ellington. Clara here is an elderly widow, with the ballet being a Dream Sequence of her life.
- The Slutcracker (2008): Choreographed by Vanessa White. A satirical adult-oriented version of the ballet, featuring the dancers in more sexualized costumes.
- Hot Chocolate Nutcracker: Choreographed by Debbie Allen. Features an African-American cast, with entirely new music and choreography. Was the subject of a Netflix documentary.
Music
- Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn recorded jazz versions of The Nutcracker's score, released in 1960 as The Nutcracker Suite.
