Nutcracker Fantasy

Nutcracker Fantasy , Kurumiwari Ningy? , lit. The Nutcracker is a JapaneseAmerican stop motion animated film produced by Sanrio, very loosely based on Tchaikovskys ballet The Nutcracker and E.T.A. Hoffmans story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. It is directed by Takeo Nakamura and written by Shintaro Tsuji, Eugene A. Fournier and Thomas Joachim. It is officially released in Japan on March 3, 1979 and later in the United States in July 6, 1979. The film is nominated for the 1980 Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film and the 1980 Young Artist Award for Best Motion Picture featuring youth and won the 1980 Young Artist Award for Best Musical Entertainment.

The movie begins with a narration by the adult Clara talking about the Ragman, a mysterious old man who roams about the city looking into peoples houses, and turns children into mice if he catches them up past their bed time.Clara is excited about her friend Fritz coming to visit the next day and refuses to go to sleep. Her Aunt Gerda tries to frighten her with stories about the Ragman, but Clara says shes too grown up to believe in him. Uncle Drosselmeyer startles them with his arrival. He gives Clara a nutcracker doll, which she adores. She promises to go to bed immediately if she can keep it. ........

Source: Wikipedia