Nussknacker und Mausekönig (2015)

 I happened to stumble across a German television production of The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It was produced in 2015 for the German series 6 auf einen Streich (6 in one Blow, meant to bring to mind The Brave Little Tailor), which adapted fairy tales for television, each episode running for just under an hour.

I was a little excited at the discovery as it was in German, the original language of The Nutcracker, and it was low budget, meaning that if it veered away from the text, it wouldn't be to show off grand spectacle. In addition, it is the first film version of the story to originate from Germany. (There may have been filmed productions of the ballet.) This version first aired on Christmas Day, 2015 and was nominated for a Grimme Award.

I need to explain that I do not know German aside from a few words. While I could follow the story and later read a summary translated by Google Translate, it's impossible for me to explain everything exactly as it was depicted. All I had was what was going on onscreen, the tone of the characters's voices and facial expressions, and familiarity with the source material.

The episode opens with Fritz and Marie walking home, spying in at Drosselmeyer's shop on the way. Fritz is a young boy, while Marie is much older, unlike their ages in the original story. Louise is not present here.

They get hit by a snowball by some local boys and Marie throws a snowball towards them, seemingly missing, but she actually was aiming for a branch above them, covering them with snow. Fritz and Marie go home, where their mother scolds them. Perhaps they're late getting home. Mother also seems to be upset when the children notice a mouse in the house (which, to be fair, it is early 19th century Germany, so you don't want mice). I'm going to venture that she is very much focused on the children taking responsibility and being "grown up," especially Marie.

The family sings "O Tannenbaum" as they come to the Christmas tree, and Marie is shown receiving a sugar doll and a dress. Fritz gets a sword to play with. Godfather Drosselmeyer arrives and unveils a toy theater with dancing sugar dolls. It appears that the conversation about altering the mechanism occurs. Drosselmeyer talks about his nephew who's been missing since "the war," but he hopes he'll come home soon.

Marie finds the Nutcracker under the tree and her father demonstrates how to crack nuts with it. Fritz breaks it when he tries to crack a toy cannonball and drops it on the floor, breaking off the lever and an arm. After tying the missing pieces into place, Marie places the Nutcracker into a doll's bed while Fritz seemingly brags about how brave he is while swinging his new sword at a mirror.

That night, Marie goes back downstairs and sees Drosselmeyer's face appear on the clock. Then, a strange young man in a crown and carrying a staff begins to question her about the Nutcracker and then threaten her. After he gets physically abusive, the Nutcracker comes to life as a full-sized man who is yet bandaged, but manages to fight with just his left arm. They fight (we briefly see many mice on the floor and Fritz's toy soldiers do a quick stop-motion move), and Marie throws her shoe at the Mouse King before passing out.

The next morning, the butler finds her on the floor and her mother helps revive her and finds her with a fever. She's allowed to rest, and later Drosselmeyer arrives and using animated shadows he projects on a wall with a device, he tells the story of how Queen Mouserinks and her family ate up the fat for the king's sausages and how mouse traps were made to kill her family, and in revenge, she cursed Princess Pirlipat. He tells how the Krakatuk nut and the young man who could break it were found. Marie's father believes the story is over when he hears that Pirlipat ate the nut, but Drosselmeyer continues to explain how the young man was cursed. Marie realizes that this must be the story of her own Nutcracker and the young man was the last of Mouserink's sons (the summary I read called him "Grobian Mauserinks"), just taking a human form.

That night, the Mouse King enters Marie's bedroom and demands the Nutcracker. She refuses and in retaliation, he bites her sugar doll into pieces. She's found passed out on the floor the next day and revived by her father, who tells her that Drosselmeyer took the Nutcracker to repair it.

The following night, the Mouse King again threatens Marie, and as she is not giving into his demands, he begins tearing up a beloved book her mother gave her. Fritz is actually awakened by this, but by the time he arrives on scene, the Mouse King is gone and he's not ready to believe his sister.

The repaired Nutcracker is brought back the next day, and Marie tells Drosselmeyer about her issues with the Mouse King, but he doesn't readily buy it, though it's always possible he knows more than he lets on.

That night when the Mouse King arrives, the Nutcracker is ready to face him, but he no longer has a sword, however, Fritz is awakened and running in and seeing the situation, brings the Nutcracker his own sword, which allows him to defeat the Mouse King by destroying his crown, turning him permanently into a normal mouse.

With the Mouse King defeated, the Nutcracker can remain in human form and he and Marie disappear into the toy theater, where the figures are alive, including a sugar fairy who's served as regent while the prince has been away. Marie and the Nutcracker dance.

The next morning, Fritz is found passed out on the floor, but otherwise fine. Marie is safe in bed, and gets up, seems to have a quiet bemusement, wearing her new dress. Drosselmeyer arrives and introduces his returned nephew Frederich, who is of course the Nutcracker. He and Marie talk, and a bit of seemingly magic sparkles are seen in a Christmas ornament they're looking at. (According to the summary, which was roughly translated, she asks him if he plans on staying long. He says he doesn't know yet.)

This version of the story is very low budget and it shows in eliminating the battle between the toys and the mice, and having the Mouse King as a man in a costume, and not even an elaborate one. That said, the story changes are well-executed and although the production isn't able to match the grandeur Hoffmann describes in many scenes, it's forgivable.

I actually liked this take on the Mouse King, with Joel Basman being wonderfully hammy and over the top. As a much older Marie, Mala Emde was very effective and Leonard Seyd made the best Fritz I've ever seen. Sven Gielnik was wonderful as the Nutcracker/Frederich and very attractive. I couldn't help but think of a bit from Hoffmann's telling of Pirlipat's story when she notices him and hopes that he will be the one to break the curse and win her hand. I couldn't blame her in that case.

Sadly, I wasn't impressed with Anatole Taubman as Drosselmeyer, who doesn't have the classic eyepatch and didn't exude the same mysterious manner the character is known for. He did have some good moments, particularly the Story of the Hard Nut scene in which his magic lantern shows animated shadows on the wall. Another is while he's repairing the Nutcracker in his shop and notices the time and looks afraid, as if he knows that Marie is facing the Mouse King.

Overall, I'm very glad Germany produced their own Nutcracker film, despite the changes and low budget. The result might not be the perfect adaptation of the Hoffmann story, but I'm ready to put it pretty high up there.