Imax Version Cuts ‘Nutcracker’ into Smaller Piece

In “The IMAX Nutcracker,” a modern English girl finds herself in a fantasy palace, full of life-size toys, after a Christmas visit to her eccentric Uncle Drosselmeier, who presents her with a nutcracker soldier from his toy collection. (NR).

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After seeing more than her share of productions of “The Nutcracker,” 14-year-old Misa Grannis was a little surprised when, at the point in “The IMAX Nutcracker” that she figured the story was about half over, old Drosselmeier (Heathcote Williams) holds up a tattered blanket that spelled out “The End.”

“I was thinking, ‘Wait a minute; it’s not over yet!’ ” said the Mission Viejo teen.

It was, and that’s not the only twist in tradition viewers will find in the newest and biggest--physically anyway--screen version of the holiday chestnut.

Tchaikovsky’s familiar music still underscores the live action, but the story is told in a narrative, from a modern girl’s point of view, in six-story high three-dimensional Imax images, in a speedy 37 minutes. What’s more, there’s only one ballet dancer, and she dances only once.

Misa didn’t mind. Descended from two generations of ballerinas, Misa estimated she’d seen, maybe, “20 billion ballets,” give or take a few, so “it was nice not seeing that much dancing.”

Long ballets probably can’t hold the attention of younger kids, anyway, she reasoned. “There’s no talking, and they’re just spinning in circles. I think it would be boring for them,” she said.

Like many other kids, she was entranced by the giant screen and the 3-D images and easily could have sat and watched for 37 minutes more.

Mostly, Dane Gioia, 9, of Lake Forest, liked the 3-D technology, which a friend had recommended. “I liked how when you wore the glasses, the screen popped out,” he said. As far as the story, he said he appreciated the extra detail provided by the narrative.

In this version, young Clara (Lotte Johnson) receives an old-fashioned nutcracker from her uncle but drops it on an icy pond as she and her family walk home from tea on a snowy winter day.

As she creeps dangerously close to the thin ice where it has come to rest, we suddenly see her dreams--the fighting mice, the nutcracker turning into a prince (in a low-tech, off-camera way) and the boat trip (still a cardboard prop pushed through dry ice) to his palace of spun sugar (a cross with Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory).

Christina Zabat-Fran, 14, noticed the lack of Russian dancers but liked the addition of acrobats in a circus troupe. Sister Alexa, 11, enjoyed the extravagant costumes of the toys and the realistic-looking textures. “They actually looked like wood,” she said.

The girls liked the Sugar Plum baker (Miriam Margolyes) and the Sugar Fairy (Tamara Rojo), a skeletal ballerina who performed a wispy and flawless toe dance.

Some older kids had trouble adjusting to the 3-D headgear--a problem that might have gone away if the movie had lasted a little longer.

Misa said she spent most of the movie adjusting her headset so that it wouldn’t hurt. “I finally fixed it,” she said, “and then it was over!”

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PARENTS’ PERSPECTIVE: “I liked this. It was a refreshing change,” said Misa’s mother, Trish. “The costumes and the sets in this are so amazing. I’ve seen some very elaborate productions of the ballet, and these were gorgeous.

“It might be a good introduction [for younger kids]. It is short. I think visually, it’s an interesting experience for kids of all ages.”

Her husband, Gordon, had never seen any “Nutcracker” and was delighted with the “beautiful, surreal dreamlike quality.”

He didn’t feel deprived by the short duration. “It was so rich anyway,” he said. “It was much richer, minute by minute, than seeing a regular movie.”

Not all parents were equally enthusiastic.

“I’m sure it was good for the kids,” said Craig Gioia diplomatically.

* FAMILY FILMGOER, Page 22