The Nutcracker Prince is a 1990 Canadian animated romance fantasy film directed by Paul Schibli based on the screenplay by Patricia Watson.

She immediately cheers up when Drosselmeier, an eccentric toymaker and family friend, arrives at their home with special gifts: a fully automated toy castle for everyone, and a Nutcracker for Clara.

In revenge, the Mouse Queen cast a spell on Perlipat, causing her to become hideously ugly, and Drosselmeier was given the task of figuring out how to cure the princess.

Drosselmeier was about to be executed for his failure when Hans stepped in and cracked the nut, thus succeeded in curing Perlipat of the spell that the Mouse Queen cast on her.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the night, Clara returns to the living room to spend time with the Nutcracker, when suddenly the Mouse King and an army of mice appear.

A ghostly apparition of Drosselmeier also arrives and casts a spell that breathes life into all the dolls, including the Nutcracker, Marie, Trudy and the toy soldier Pantaloon.

Clara prevents this by throwing her slipper at the Mouse King, but then slips on a toy cannonball, falls backwards and hits her head, losing consciousness.

Arriving at the royal castle of the Land of the Dolls, Clara is given a grand welcome, but although she has fallen in love with the Nutcracker, she hesitates in joining him as his princess due to the fact that she can't abandon her family.

Clara rushes to Drosselmeier's workshop, where she anxiously asks him about whether all what she has gone through was real, when they are joined by Hans, now cured of the spell and back to human form as a result of the Mouse King finally slain.

The Nutcracker Prince opened in 906 screens across the United States on November 21, 1990, the film only earned a disappointing $1.7 million because Warner Bros., which owned the American distribution rights, gave it very little promotion.

"[25] Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times said that "watching “The Nutcracker Prince,” a new Canadian animated feature, is every bit as much fun as getting underwear for Christmas when you’re 8 years old.

"[26] Caryn James of The New York Times wrote that "the new, animated 'Nutcracker Prince' brings together Tchaikovsky's music, E. T. A. Hoffman's story and a few glib modern touches to create a muddled and bland version, which isn't the kind of difference it needs.

"The level of imagination in the story is about as inventive as on most Saturday morning cartoon shows", he remarked in a print review in which he also panned the characterization of the Nutcracker as a "monster", adding: In the real world, when a person is so lacking in empathy that he kills someone else simply for his own convenience, he is known as a psychopath.

[31] In his print review for the Chicago Tribune, he called the film: A cheesy animated feature that slaps together two drawing styles in a ripoff of the fairy tale about a nutcracker that comes to life.

Drosselmeier's nutcracker eventually will do battle with an evil rat in scenes that are needlessly horrifying for the film's targeted young audience.

For no apparent reason there's a subplot, drawn in the sketchy style of TV's "Fractured Fairy Tales," involving the background of the nutcracker.

[32]Rita Kempley of The Washington Post said it was "an awkwardly directed, badly drawn animated feature [that] wheezes toward its familiar climax like an arthritic ballerina in 50-pound dancing shoes.

Laborious and saccharine, this Canadian adaptation extracts all grace and relevance from the classic enchantment, as well as all immortality and magic from Tchaikovsky's lovely score.

"[33] Stephen Hunter wrote a scathing review of the film in The Baltimore Sun, where he remarked that "if you've been bad, boys and girls, Santa is no longer to leave a lump of coal in your stocking.

"[37] Mark Horton, however, gave it a positive three-star review in the Edmonton Journal, calling it "an enchanting little film that's complete with a few laughs and a delightful bit of animation that separates reality from fantasy.

There's plenty here to keep little boys and girls enthralled as a young lady comes of age gently, of course and the Nutcracker comes alive and battles the malicious Mouse-king.

As well, there's music by Tchaikovsky, a smidgin of ballet in an abstract waltz that looks like moving wallpaper, and a song written by Kevin Gillis.