Holiday Special Movie Review/Dress Up Time: The Nutcracker Prince

Christmas is inching more and more closer, and with that its always good to have some movies to get you in the spirit. But what about the frilly spirit? Here at LVF, we want to give you the best of the best for you to enjoy my favorite holiday, and maybe it's yours too!

One of those movies that I'm sure you'd want to add to your list is The Nutcracker Prince (1990), a small little animated film in the style of then inspirational Disney The Little Mermaid. The style, though not made my Disney, definitely has the feel and look to it that it could have been made by them. The animation isn't exactly perfect, but it's cute and take some of its own creative freedoms that have such made it one of my favorite Christmas movies to watch, even when it isn't Christmas!
In case you don't know anything about the general Nutcracker story, here's the lowdown: Clara is the middle child of a wealthy family, who has only wish for this Christmas - to get a new doll. But what does her favorite (not related) Uncle give her? A Nutcracker. But he isn't just any normal Nutcracker, he once was a normal boy who was proclaimed a prince before being transformed into a doll. Clara is now casted into a magical journey to help the Nutcracker defeat his enemy The Rat King, and release him from his curse!

The music is of course based on that from the iconic ballet of the same name, but has some musical numbers inspired by the music of the ballet itself. The best parts of this movie are any of the moments with Clara and The Nutcracker themselves. They have an adorable and innocent relationship that, though not very deep, is just what is needed for a cute and romantic film that children won't want to widdle and leave the living room for.

This movie in general is simplicity at it's best, which is both it's strong point and weak point. No, it definitely isn't Disney. But it definitely fits in with other holiday classics and non-Disney movies like the later Don Bluth's and some of the Rankin & Bass productions. I highly recommend it as one of the top frilly Christmas movies to check out and enjoy this Holiday season. But what about dressing up as Clara?

For this outfit, blue and white are the main colors (but you could use Mint instead of blue as well). Clara is only but a girl of 13 or 14, so like the film, go simple with the items used. I chose the Dessert OP from Baby as the OP/Jsk in this outfit! Next, I went straight for a pair of Baby tights (inspired by their recent Ballerina print!) in a white x pink color palette. I also chose a pair of simple white shoes, also from Baby, but any flats in white with bows will do.

The extra special things to remember are the hair, necklace and bag! Clara always has her hair in a pony tail with bow attached. Go with a blue or cream for this! I chose a pair of Baby bows as well. The necklace is of a tiny monkey dressed as the Nutcracker, designed by Betsey Johnson. Finally, I picked The Swan Lake print bag from Metamorphose as the choice to go with this coordinate, since Clara and her Nutcracker, fly on Swans with golden necklaces!

So, hopefully this gets you in a fun Christmas mood! LVF recommends this tiny little cute thing of a movie for your holiday viewings. Look out for more posts for inspiration, and don't forget to sign up for the 1st Anniversary Contest!

LVF Score: 4 headbows out of 5