Celebrated director Carroll Ballard (THE BLACK STALLION, NEVER CRY WOLF) heads for the indoors with this adaptation of the classic Christmas ballet. The oft-told story charts one fateful night in the life of young Clara (Vanessa Sharp), who clings to the toy soldier that her overbearing godfather Drosselmeier (Hugh Bigney) made for her. Struggling to make sense out of her confused, changing surroundings, Clara enters a surreal, magical world that brings the Nutcracker (Wade Walthall) to life, allowing her to see into her future and dream of all the wonderful things that are going to happen. Performed by the dancers of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballard's THE NUTCRACKER is filmed differently than most stage productions. Rather than sit back and let three or four static cameras capture the action as the theatrical audience would, he jumps onto the stage and adds optical effects that make the experience truly cinematic. Working in collaboration with choreographers Kent Stowell and Francia Russell, artist Maurice Sendak works double time as both production and costume designer. The result is a visually stunning, energetic adaptation of the standard holiday stage production.