The Nutcrackers

  • Review Date: August 13, 2013
  • Rated: NR
  • Genre: Family and Kids
  • Release Year: 2012
  • Running Time: 82 minutes

Common Sense Media says

Low-budget film has dragging plot but teaches acceptance.
  • Review Date: August 13, 2013
  • Rated: NR
  • Genre: Family and Kids
  • Release Year: 2012
  • Running Time: 82 minutes

Age(i)

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Quality(i)

 
(i)
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What parents need to know

Educational value

Content is meant to entertain more than educate, though there is some exposure to problem-solving and what it means to be a good friend.

Positive messages

The Nutcrackers offers positive messages about friendship, with a big focus on being yourself and valuing others precisely for their differences from you.

Positive role models

Characters tend to be either positive or negative and overly simplistic, but their concerns -- about fitting in, about being accepted, about feeling special -- are relatable to preschoolers.

Violence & scariness

There's some very light, but consistent, slapstick violence, typically involving getting knocked down, run into, or having things fall on the characters' heads, but with no real injury.

Sexy stuff
Not applicable
Language

Characters say "Oh my god!" several times in some early scenes. There are also a variety of insults thrown at characters for how they dress or how special they are.

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
Not applicable

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Nutcrackers is a film about fitting in that shows some behavior most parents would not want their children to emulate -- a clique of shallow, judgmental sheep who insult the appearance of others and are only concerned with appearances. Such behavior is used to teach lessons about diversity, but parents must make a choice about whether their kids can make this distinction at this age. There's also some iffy language as characters say "Oh my god!" several times in some early scenes, and some very light, but consistent, slapstick violence, typically involving getting knocked down, run into, or having things fall on the characters' heads, but with no real injury.

Parents say

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What's the story?

Mumu meets a bunch of very special \"star\" sheep in the park one day on her way to perform for King Tristan. She decides to dress and act just like them to fit in, but when the sheep reach the King's palace, they learn that his plans for them are not what they expected. To get out of this mess, Mumu and her friends must learn some lessons about friendship and accepting people for who they are.

Is it any good?

QUALITY
 

The animation in THE NUTCRACKERS is low-budget, but it almost pulls off a stop animation feel. The plot is more drawn out than it needs to be, and the use of shallow, mocking sheep may be a bit edgy for the preschool set.

Still, the lessons here do offer some value for preschoolers, who can learn about accepting friends for their differences, not in spite of them. Kids will enjoy the sheep's antics and problem-solving, and parents can appreciate a solid message about what friendship really means.

 

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about fitting in. Have you ever felt you needed to change something about yourself to fit in? What happened?

  • Have you ever felt excluded? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it?

  • It's important to find friends who have things in common with you, but also friends who are different from you. How are your friends like you? How are they different?

Movie details

DVD release date:November 13, 2012
Director:Alex Colls
Studio:Phase 4 Films
Genre:Family and Kids
Topics:Friendship
Run time:82 minutes
MPAA rating:NR

This review of The Nutcrackers was written by

Tracy Moore

About our rating system

  • ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
  • OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
  • NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids of any age.

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Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging, great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging, good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging, okay learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

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Parent Written bydean_jd August 24, 2013
AGE
18
QUALITY
 

So inappropriate

This show was terrible! It should not be rated G or be promoted for kids. The sheep took the Lord's name in vain several times. And they talked about their beautiful 'udders' and getting an 'udder augmentation' seriously???? I quickly turned this off and we watched some Angelina Ballerina.
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Teen, 14 years old Written byWOLF13 October 22, 2014
AGE
2
QUALITY
 

SWEARING BRAGGING ABOUT THERE UDDERS YOUR KIDING ME

JJ66 WAS RIGHT THIS SHOW FELT LIKE A BULLET TO THE HEAD IT WAS ABOUT JUDGING OTHERS AND BRAGING ABOUT THERE BODIES AND SWEARING DO NOT WATCH NOT RECOMENDED FOR ANYONE
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
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Adult Written byJJ66 October 21, 2014
AGE
2
QUALITY
 

FELT LIKE A BULLET TO THE HEAD

HORRIBLE SHOW ABOUT JUDGING OTHERS AND BEING STUPID
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much swearing
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