It was the French writer Alexandre Dumas (famous for The Three Musketeers ) who adapted Hoffmann's tale in 1844, stripping away much of the darker psychological complexity and softening the edges for a younger audience. It was this version— The Tale of the Nutcracker —that caught the attention of the Imperial Russian Ballet. When Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov were commissioned to create a new ballet for the Mariinsky Theatre in 1892, they used Dumas’ lighter adaptation as their libretto.

To understand , we must go back to 1816. Prussian author E.T.A. Hoffmann wrote The Nutcracker and the Mouse King , a story far darker and more complex than the ballet audiences know today. In Hoffmann’s version, the Nutcracker is not just a decoration; he is a cursed nephew, and the story delves into the "hard nut" paradox.

Resonances - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Sign in

The film opens not in Clara’s parlor, but in a magical kingdom. We learn that young Hans (the Nutcracker’s human form) is the nephew of the aging King. The villainous Mouse King, a terrifying creature with seven heads, has placed a curse on the kingdom. Through a violent struggle, Hans defeats the Mouse King in a battle of wits regarding the "Krakatuk" nut, but the curse rebounds. Hans is transformed into a grotesque wooden nutcracker doll.