Nutcracked (film)

Plot

Clara and Fritz Drosselmayer, along with Clara's cat, Scorpan have been living with their stern aunt ever since their parents died. Grandfather Drosselmayer and Aunt Elizabeth have different ideas about how to raise children. At Christmas, Clara receives a Nutcracker doll from Grandfather Drosselmayer. Clara's little brother Fritz accidentally breaks the Nutcracker's arm. Clara fixes the Nutcracker and falls asleep in her parlor with it, but at midnight a portal to the land of Panthenia opens up and the parlor is invaded by a Mouse King and his army, searching for the Nutcracker. Nutcracker comes to life and fights, but when Clara and Scorpan try to help, they get shrunk by The Mouse King’s magic scepter. When the army retreats, thanks to Clara hurling her shoe at the Mouse King knocking him out, Nutcracker tells them he only looks like a Nutcracker because of the Mouse King. AS victims of the evil king's magic have to find the Sugar Plum Princess, the most powerful Sorceress in Parthenia.

The owl from on top of the clock tells the two that the Sugar Plum Princess lives across the Sea of No Return which is dangerous to sail. At first Clara doesn't want to go but she and Scorpan don't want to stay small forever either so Clara receives a locket that’ll let her return home at anytime, to her normal size, and she, Scorpan, and the Nutcracker go through a mouse hole. It leads to caves made of ice and leaves their thanks to snow faeries breaking the ice. They enter Panthenia, where the Mouse King is ruling, and the king's spy, a gargoyle named Pit, see Clara, Scorpan, and the Nutcracker. He goes to inform his master, and also tells the Mouse King they are searching for the Sugar Plum Princess. The King admits that he never heard of this Princess before and decides to research her and he sends the soldiers to capture the Nutcracker. Clara and Nutcracker have come to a destroyed Gingerbread Village and meet some children and a horse. The children, Patsy, Gilly, and Ginger Twins, and the horse, Lemondrop, travel with Clara, Scorpan, and Nutcracker because they are alone and can’t stay.

Clara learns that Prince Martin is the rightful ruler of Panthenia, before his father died the king left his advisor (the mouse) in charge until Martin was ready to rule. Unfortunately though the mouse enjoyed the power of being king to well and as a result Martin mysteriously disappeared. The group goes into a forest, but soldiers chase them, so thanks to the ponichelles they hide in the treetops. They meet Mother Ginger, Lieutenant Licorice, Sergent Spearmint, and General Gumdrop, and some villagers, who interrogate them. Nutcracker is thought to be a "wooden spy", but the children insists they helped them so he, Scorpan, and Clara are asked by Mother Ginger and the others to explain everything. Clara, Scorpan and the Nutcracker tell the group they are searching for the Sugar Plum Princess, who will put an end to the Mouse King's reign. Mother Ginger however does not believe the story of the Sugar Plum Princess but Lieutenant Licorice, who was good friends with the Prince does believe their story. They plan to cross the ocean to find her, while Mother Ginger is not enthuciastic she and the others decide to go with Clara, Scorpan and Nutcracker.

Meanwhile, the Mouse King punishes two of his soldiers for not capturing the Nutcracker and looks in a book for information about the Sugar Plum Princess but finds barely anything. He creates a rock giant to destroy the Nutcracker and sends Pit to go with the giant. The children stay with the villagers, and Clara tells Nutcracker she has figured out that he is Prince Martin, but he does not want to be the prince as his subjects think lowly of him; he just wants to make them happy.

Clara, Scorpan, the Nutcracker, Mother Ginger, Lieutenant Licorice, General Gumdrop, and Sergant Spearmint start their search the next day. They encounter some stepping stones, and Mother Ginger crosses, but she knocks the Lieutenant off. Nutcracker saves the Lieutenant and helps Clara and Scorpan cross. They then reach the Sea of No Return, and Clara, Scorpan, and Nutcracker go to find more supplies because Lieutenant Licorice lost his bag. Flower fairies help the pair find food and restore their home, but the rock giant finds them and chases them. It destroys a boat Mother Ginger and group were building to cross the sea.

The snow fairies come and turn the sea into ice, and the group goes with Lemondrop across. Nutcracker cracks the ice, and the rock giant falls through. Pit tells the king what happened to the rock giant and informs the king that Mother Ginger and her group have joined, the Mouse King says the Group are foolish for doing so and he has searched every book in the library and has found nothing on the Sugar Plum Princess. Still unwilling to let the Nutcracker succeed, the Mouse King makes another trap. Lemondrop leads them to the Sugar Plum Princess's island. They see a fake building of the Sugar Plum Princess's palace. The Sugar Plum Fairy, royal Advisor the the Sugar Plum Princess, tries to warn them but Mother Ginger, Lieutenant Licorice, General Gumdrop, Sargent Spearmint and Nutcracker go into the fake castle, there is an interior, but it is made of cardboard, as is the castle exterior. A cage drops on the group and captures them. Clara and Scorpan are alone and question what to do but finally decide to help them when the flower fairies bring a huge swing to carry them to the castle where the group is being held.

Clara and Scorpan sneak past the Mouse King, who’s building a bonfire in the castle courtyard. Meanwhile the Flower fairies and Sugar Plum Fairy have found all the subjects hidden and everyone agrees to stop the Mouse King. Pit informs the King of the villagers which infuriates him and demands that everyone who is coming to have them brought to the castle to be taught a lesson. Clara and Scorpan come to a dungeon and distracts its guards, but the dungeon is empty. Clara and Scorpan realize how unnatural it would be to post guards at an empty room and, using logical thinking, smashes the invisible barrier hiding their friends. The group confronts the Mouse King, who turns all the peasants in the castle to stone, and with a growing spell defeats the nutcracker. Clara stands up to the Mouse King and calls him a coward so he prepares to shrink her again, but the Nutcracker deflects his spell, and the Mouse King is shrunk to the size of a real mouse and flees into the sewers.

Clara kisses the Nutcracker, and he transforms back into Prince Martin. Clara transforms into the Sugar Plum Princess, and the palace transforms; the citizens are free and the bonfire is replaced by a beautiful fountain. The Mouse King's reign is officially over. The people of Panthenia all celebrate and dance, and Martin asks Clara if she’ll stay and be his Queen. She decides she will, but Pit and the Mouse King fly by and snatch Clara's locket off her neck. The Mouse King opens it, and she unwillingly returns home, just before Martin can declare his love for her. Fortunately, the Mouse King doesn't enjoy his victory for long, as Pit is afterward knocked out by a snowball thrown by one of the Ginger Twins, causing both villains to crash to the ground to their fall out.

Clara and Scorpan wake up to find themselves on her sofa with no nutcracker. No one believes what she says about the Nutcracker being a king, but her grandfather comes in with a friend: Martin. He gives Clara her locket, and they dance. Aunt Elizabeth reluctantly allows Clara to travel with Grandfather Drosselmayer.