The Secret of the Nutcracker is an endearing reworking of the classic
tale of the Nutcracker set in 1940’s rural Canada during World War II.
It begins with 12-year-old Clara (Janelle Jorde) walking along a
lonely road through the snowy forest heading home where her mother (Helene Joy)
and brothers Billy and Frank (Ryan Grantham and Brendan Meyer) are waiting for
her to return so they can celebrate Christmas Eve, and she is grasping in her
hand a post card from her father (Tom Carey) who is a prisoner of war in
Germany.
But before she reaches home a kindly wizard named Drosselmeyer (Brian
Cox) appears who knows everything about her and her family so Clara invites him
to Christmas Eve supper after which he takes her on a quest through a strange
magical world to set her father free in time for Christmas Day.