Word: toy
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Clara sneaks to the drawing room to find the nutcracker and falls asleep briefly, only to wake to find herself surrounded by a horde of enormous mice. As the room and everything in it (except Clara) grows to a monstrous size, the nutcracker comes to life and leads the toy soldiers into battle against the mice. With a little help from Clara, he defeats the mouse king and is transformed by Drosselmeyer into a handsome prince. After a lovely interlude in a snowy forest, Clara and her nutcracker travel in a magic balloon to the Kingdom of Sweets, where they...
...oversized sets and the use of greater stage depth contribute greatly to the feeling of enchantment, making even the Nutcrackered-out spectator feel like a wide-eyed child all over again. The second-act divertissments are ingeniously presented within the frame of a large-scale model of Drosselmeyer's toy theater from Act One, and each act has its own specific backdrop--pretty, if stereotypical (e.g., golden pagodas for the Chinese/tea dance, onion-domed places for the Russian), like the music and costumes--making each seem like a miniature ballet in itself...
...real-life perspective of a mouse. The battle scene also throws in plenty of laugh-provoking props, including pieces of cheese and giant forks and knives wielded by very hungry mice, and ups the kiddie appeal even more with children dressed not only as adorable dolls and toy soldiers but even as baby mice, smiling and marching with remarkable poise amidst all the flying missiles...
...part of an engineered package: expect little containers of green slime and robotic Weebo's under every Christmas tree this year. "The movie's forgettable," even Disney seems to admit, "so why not buy a toy to help you remember...
Miller forecasted that the stores expecting the greatest sales gains are toy and electronics retailers...