Review of film: "THE NUTCRACKER IN 3-D" ( having children talking with toys to fight Rats )

Review of film:  “THE NUTCRACKER IN 3-D”

The setting is VIENNA at Christmas-time, the producers are from the U.K. & Hungary, & the director is Russian veteran ANDREI KONCHALOVSKY…  The heroine is a nine-year-old named Mary (ELLE FANNING), who has a toy-destroying younger brother named Max (AARON MICHAEL DROZIN)…

…  Their father (RICHARD E. GRANT)  is somewhat stuffy, & their mother (YULIYA VYSOTSKAYA) tends to be fairly quiet when she isn’t performing as “The Snow Fairy”… 

…  The person the kids most enjoy is their eccentric uncle Albert (NATHAN LANE) who lives as a “free spirit” & regularly brings them gifts they enjoy, such as this year's magical wooden Nutcracker toy plus a doll house with animated mechanical characters Tinker (HUGH SACKS), Gielgud the chimp (voiced by PETER ELLIOTT), drum-player boy Sticks (AFRICA NILE)…

…  In time, the Nutcracker --  also known as “N C” -- (voiced by SHIRLEY HENDERSON) comes to life & entrances Elle and Aaron.  But, NC warns of the evil intentions of the Rats in the area.  Tho some start out as animated figures, certain ones come to life--  the Rat King (heartily played by JOHN TURTURRO), & the Rat Queen (FRANCES DE LA TOUR) who also is the kids’ housekeeper Frau Eva…

…  While the kids very much enjoy it when their toys are brought to life by NC, they are quite upset when the Rat leaders try to take control.  In time, they realize that NC is actually a Prince (CHARLIE ROWE) who’s been turned into a wooden toy by an evil spell.  The story revolves around trying to defeat the Rats & their army so the Prince can regain control…

…  The movie is shot in 3-D (tho it doesn’t really “ADD” much to the overall quality), & it alternates some of the familiar classic Tchaikovsky music with eight new tunes written by Sir Tim Rice & sung by various characters (including enthusiastic renditions by Nathan Lane)…        

…  There were lots of pre-teen kids brought to the advance screening, & they seemed generally pleased with the “magic” areas of the film (tho certain sequences appeared to be somewhat “intense” for very young kids).  The music is often “chipper” & tuneful, tho nothing especially “hummable”…

….  Given all that, plus the fact the film has just mid-level “special effects”, it all came across as “diverting” but nothing exceptional, & thus I’m rating it 7.00 out of 10 stars…