Movies like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (2011)
The best movies like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (2011) are The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and Kristin's Christmas Past (2013). If George Balanchine's The Nutcracker hooked you with its fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAfterlife of the Party (2021)6.7/10 from 503 votes
- NewestAn Urban Allegory (2024)Released 2024
The Nutcracker (1993)
On Christmas Eve, a little girl named Marie falls asleep and dreams herself into a fantastic world in which her toys become larger than life. She meets up with the Nutcracker Prince who takes her on a journey to his kingdom and defends her from the Mouse King.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBrigadoon (1954)
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKristin's Christmas Past (2013)
Kristin, a cynical 34-year-old, drinks a mysterious champagne on Christmas Eve and wakes up seventeen years in the past, sharing a room with her 17-year-old self. Given the chance to change the worst Christmas of her life, she attempts to fix past mistakes, only to discover surprising truths about her family that may help her mend her present-day relationships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMirrorMask (2005)
In a fantasy world of opposing kingdoms, a 15-year old girl must find the fabled MirrorMask in order to save the kingdom and get home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 12 Days of Christmas Eve (2022)
When Brian Conway, a successful businessman whose family relationships have suffered, gets in a car accident on Christmas Eve, Santa gives him twelve chances to redo the day and repair the relationships in his life, including with his daughter Michelle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDashing Through the Snow (2023)
Eddie Garrick is a good-hearted man who has lost his belief in the wonder of Christmas. While spending time with his nine-year-old daughter Charlotte on Christmas Eve, he befriends a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas...Again?! (2021)
Rowena "Ro" is a high-spirited 11-year-old hoping to add more spunk to her Christmas celebrations when her parents’ divorce is going anything but smoothly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrancer: A Christmas Tale (2022)
Ten-year-old Gloria and her recently widowed grandfather Bud befriend a mysterious reindeer when the family gather for Christmas. Bud comes to believe that Prancer may actually be magical, but Gloria fears his theory will send him straight to a retirement home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaughty or Nice (2012)
Krissy Kringle receives a delivery intended for Santa Claus. A magical book that shows if a person has been naughty or nice. She uses the book's power to find out about those around her, which leads to some very unusual and unintended results. Krissy realizes that everyone has some good and some not so good in them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNext Stop, Christmas (2021)
Angie wonders what her life would be like if she had married a former boyfriend who became a famous sportscaster. She takes the train home to spend Christmas with her family and inexplicably finds herself 10 years in the past. With the advice of the train's enigmatic conductor, Angie has the chance to revisit that Christmas and learn what — and who — is truly important to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSofia the First: Once Upon a Princess (2012)
Set in the storybook world of Enchancia, the music-filled movie follows Sofia, an average girl whose life suddenly changes when her mother marries the king and she is whisked off to live in a castle with her mom, new step-father, King Roland II, and step-siblings, Amber and James. Along the way this ordinary girl learns to navigate the extraordinary life of royalty, and in the process makes everyone around her feel special.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFour Kids and It (2020)
A group of kids on holiday in Cornwall meet a magical creature on the beach with the power to grant wishes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCats (1998)
"Jellicle" cats join for a Jellicle ball where they rejoice with their leader, Old Deuteronomy. One cat will be chosen to go to the "Heavyside Layer" and be reborn.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCandy Cane Lane (2023)
Determined to win the neighborhood's annual Christmas decorating contest, family man Chris makes a pact with an elf to help him out-do the competition. However, the elf casts a spell bringing the twelve days of Christmas to life, unleashing chaos on the small unsuspecting town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnicorn Store (2017)
A woman named Kit moves back to her parent's house, where she receives a mysterious invitation that would fulfill her childhood dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrings (2004)
The story of Prince Hal who sets out to avenge his dead father against the city's rivals, the Zeriths, little knowing it was his wicked uncle Nezo who is the real killer, with his own designs on the throne.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlex & Me (2018)
An uplifting story of the passion and drive it takes to succeed and the power of family to help realize your dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Nine Kittens of Christmas (2021)
Cat lovers Zachary and Marilee are thrown back together at Christmas when they're tasked with finding homes for a litter of adorable kittens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfterlife of the Party (2021)
A social butterfly who dies during her birthday week is given a second chance to right her wrongs on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Urban Allegory (2024)
A ballet dancer is late for an audition for a show inspired by Plato's Allegory of the Cave. She arrives with her seven-year-old son, Jay, and begs the director to give her a chance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Etoile (1989)
An American ballerina arrives in Hungary to enroll in a ballet school and it soon becomes apparent that things are not what they seem.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Nutcracker (1977)
The Nutcracker is Mikhail Baryshnikov's breathtaking and critically acclaimed Emmy-nominated production. This spectacular performance is danced by the magnificent team of Baryshnikov, one of the greatest classical dancers of the century, and Gelsey Kirkland, both showcased at the peak of their careers, with members of the American Ballet Theatre.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Masters of Georgian Ballet (1955)
A pair of short ballets, written for the screen, filmed and performed by artists of the Georgian SSR. In color, with narration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Stravinsky: The Firebird and Les Noces (2002)
London's Royal Ballet performs two of Igor Stravinsky's classic works in this pair of performances choreographed by dance legend Nijinska. Zenaida Yanowsky and David Pickering star in "Les Noces," the stark, percussion-centric tale of a Russian peasant wedding that incorporates traditional folk music into its score. "The Firebird" stars Leanne Benjamin as the mythical creature who brings both a blessing and a curse upon her captors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Swan Lake Filmed for IMAX (2024)
During his birthday’s celebration, Prince Siegfried must choose a bride. Trying to escape reality, he dreams of a perfect love. His tutor tries to bring him down to Earth and reminds him of his duties. On a dreamlike getaway, the prince meets Odette, a princess who has been transformed into a swan by the powerful sorcerer Rothbart. Only true love can break the spell. Captivated, Siegfried promises Odette to save her and invites her to his party. To trap the prince, the sorcerer sends his daughter Odile, disguised as Odette, to seduce him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Tales of Beatrix Potter (1971)
The Royal Ballet Company brings Squirrel Nutkin, Tom Thumb, Hunca Munca, Jemima Puddle-Duck, Jeremy Fisher, Pigling Bland, and Pigwig to the screen doing pirouettes and pas de deux in this filmed ballet production directed by Reginald Mills. The film more properly belongs, however, to choreographer Frederick Ashmore, composer John Lanchbery, and costume designer Rostislav Douboujinsky. This literal adaptation concerns the shy Beatrix Potter and how, when all of the toy animals in her room come to life, she emerges from her shell and begins to enjoy life. Sequences include a rowdy dance with Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca destroying a collection of plaster food, a midnight pas de deux between Pigling Bland and Pigwig, and a corps de ballet of dancing mice.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
The Night is a Witch (1960)
Short musical based upon a choreography by Pierre Lacotte.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Royal Opera House: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (2011)
A full-length ballet created by choreographer Christopher Wheeldon for the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. The ballet is based on Lewis Carroll's famous story of Alice, an ordinary girl who one summer afternoon falls down a rabbit hole and finds herself on an extraordinary adventure. The music is by Joby Talbot, with designs by the internationally acclaimed Bob Crowley. Alice is danced by the Royal Ballet's Lauren Cuthbertson, and actor Simon Russell-Beale plays the cameo role of the Duchess.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Ballet of the Mermaids (1938)
Swimmers demonstrate synchronized swimming in a lake. The film tells the story of a sprite playing along the lake shore, who comes across the swimmers, who she thinks are mermaids. The sprite watches the swimmers and joins them in the water.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker?
The closest matches to George Balanchine's The Nutcracker are The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and Kristin's Christmas Past (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after George Balanchine's The Nutcracker?
Start with The Nutcracker (1993), the closest match to George Balanchine's The Nutcracker.
What is the highest-rated movie like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker?
Afterlife of the Party (2021), rated 6.7/10 by 503 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker?
An Urban Allegory (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like George Balanchine's The Nutcracker?
Yes: The Nutcracker (1993), Brigadoon (1954) and Kristin's Christmas Past (2013).
How are movies similar to George Balanchine's The Nutcracker chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.