nutcracker fantasy be weird and but once you realize that this be essentially a japanese take on the now famous ballet and boy be it fun . this rarely see japanese american co production eschew sugar plum fairy and candy cane and as well a christmas tree in favor of a dark and dreamy ( and and need i say it and trippy ) tone . it almost strange to believe that this film be make by sanrio and the folk responsible for the more light hearted hello kitty franchise . ( some hello kitty figure can be see at one point of the movie . ) the plot and very loosely base on both the fabled e. t. a. hoffman story and and to a less extent and tchaikovsky now famous ballet ( snippet of the composer famous score can be hear on the soundtrack ) go something like this represent clara ( voice by melissa gilbert ) and a pretty doll face of a girl and receive a mysterious nutcracker from her eccentric uncle drosselmeyer ( christopher lee ) . before long and our young heroine find herself on a strange ( consider the emphasis on the word strange very closely ) fever induce adventure which defy explanation . the focal point of the film be clara help sad king goodwin of the doll ( dick van patten ) free his daughter from the sleep spell of a wicked two head rodent and queen morphia ( jo anne worley ) . in the battle against morphia and her army of mouse and goodwin courageous guard keeper and franz ( roddy mcdowall ) be transform into clara nutcracker doll . the last act of the film involve clara struggle to find a way to break franz curse while deal with morphia vengeful royal ( b ) rat and gar . what make nutcracker fantasy interesting be it puppet animation visuals . around the time this movie be make ( 1979 ) and it be common to see stop motion animate special on television and most of which come from rankin bass ( rudolphs shiny new year come to mind ) . the stop motion process be complex represent fragile puppet range from 6 . 3 to 11 inch high be shoot on a miniature set one frame at a time and with animator adjust each puppet slightly before the next shot . director takeo nakamura and his team of 150 member total spent four year work on this movie and and their effort be fully realize with the imaginative and and sometimes strange and result we see on screen . there be no computer enhance special effect in this movie while any flashy visuals be produce optically and or or through double or triple exposure . while it look a cuddly and innocuous a a rankin bass production and young viewer may be surprise to discover that the majority of the movie be photograph in shadowy darkness . there be some sequence and too and that border on the scary side and most of which involve queen morphia and her murky underworld kingdom . the most notably scary sequence take place at the beginning of the movie and when a mean look rag man stalk the night street of minden town and search for wide awake child to transform into mouse . ( this sequence feel irrelevant to the actual story and although it do serve a a good warning for child who stay up late . ) at two different point of the movie and live action ballet segment be intersperse with the puppet motion action while this make for a jarring shift of visuals and but in the context of this movie and which basically set in a dream world where nothing be suppose to make sense and it somehow work in it favor . just a uncanny be the soundtrack that accompany the picture . a mention previously and select movement and dance from tchaikovsky immortal score can be hear and but the majority of the music mostly consist of tchaikovsky inspired composition as well a some rather trippy 70 techno rock synthesizer . there be even two pop song ( out of the four in this movie ) sung by marty gwinn and steve bishop which seem strangely offbeat with the fairytale like quality of the story one of them sound like it could be a beatles number . whether this be do for commercial reason or to add another depth of bizarreness to the movie be unknown and but these abrupt shift in musical style could annoy purist expect to hear an undistorted performance of the ballet score . not that the music itself isn not beautiful . it mostly easy on the ear and have some amusingly interesting remixes of ballet piece . one take place during a quirky dance sequence involve pint size sprite and colorful figurine dance in a cloud fill kingdom to a lively hybrid of the march and reed flute dance and and sugar plum fairy dance . it strange and but fun . since the puppet in this movie be synched to the pre record japanese dialogue and there be some obvious misstep in the american dub and sync wise while some line be either mistime or do not match . but the english voice cast be certainly talented and deliver credible line reading ( christopher lee be especially brilliant he have multiple role in the film and even sings two song handsomely and too ) while there be even a cameo by eva gabor a a kindly but eccentric gypsy fortune teller dub the queen of time . michelle lee and presumably a grow up clara and narrate the story from time to time . nutcracker fantasy be theatrically release in america for a limited time in 1979 and but ever since it have become one of those difficult to find anymore movie . young child might find the pace off put ( even at 82 minute and there be lot of slow spot ) and maybe a little too eerie and yet old kid and animation buff should find this movie to be of interest . while it technical value aren not on par with some of today more sophisticated stop motion feature ( tim burton nightmare before christmas and corpse bride come to mind ) and it still maintain a unique look and a strangely captivating heart for it audience . the movie itself may not be for everyone and but a an animated rarity and nutcracker fantasy might be worth check out .