Well, I finally watched this...

...now that it's on Netflix. I wouldn't really use this as a substitute for the original Nutcracker story, but it had its moments. Seems more like your standard kid's fantasy adventure story that borrowed a lot of cliches from other films. So it wasn't as bad as I thought, but I wouldn't say it was an awesome film either.

Positives: Mackenzie Foy was beautiful and did a good job as a heroine, the costumes were amazing, the sets were fantastic, the music was beautiful, and the use of magic and machines was interesting. Some people have complained about Morgan Freeman in the Drosselmeyer role, but I think he did okay.

Negatives: Many of the British accents were fake, and there were enough "creative" cliches and borrowing from other stories in the film to sink a battleship. Also, to take out much of the ballet parts and to re-arrange character roles was a lame move. Demoting the Nutcracker himself to a guy guarding a bridge was dumb. And don't get me started on the "Mouse King" or the lame clowns. It was especially weird seeing Kierah Knightley playing a fairy with a breathy, slightly helium voice, though it's good she didn't break character. Using modern phrases like "okay" or karate movies when fighting the giant tin soldiers was not a very good idea either.