Line #1 NightmareFuel/TheNutcrackerPrince


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_nutcracker_prince_nightamre_fuel.jpg]]
2	* After seeing the more comedic interpretation of the Mouse King in Drosselmeyer's flashback, the story would imply this wacky nature would continue into the current story. When Clara's kitten wanders underneath a tablecloth, it quickly backs away as a closeup of a gleaming sword cuts through, revealing a far more menacing design. The previously [[YellowEyesOfSneakiness yellow eyes]] have been replaced with [[RedEyesTakeWarning bloodshot reddish pink]], which occasionally [[WingdingEyes will flash interchanging white rings]]. Hinting that his {{Revenge}} has driven the previously brutish, but silly Mouse King into a vengeance-crazed lunatic that hasn't slept since his tail was ruined. And while he acts [[LaughablyEvil very over-the-top]], [[BewareTheSillyOnes his danger and capacity for violence is very much present]].
3	** Or alternatively, [[LighterAndSofter Drosselmeyer was deliberately toning down the backstory in-universe to be more comedic to spare her from how nightmarish the actual events were and the Mouse King's appearance is an indication of the grim reality of that situation]].
4	* The entire final minutes of the film before the ending, where [[GrowingUpSucks Clara deciding she needs to put her childish fantasies behind and grow up causes everyone and everything in the Land of Dolls to turn lifeless and be engulfed by mist]] and she then wakes up to find her Nutcracker has vanished, is this mixed with TearJerker. The sections of Tchaikovsky's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4OGNqjA4Xw Pas de Deux]]" that play during this sequence only add to this. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the ending reveals that she hadn’t lost the Nutcracker after all.]]
5	** And to make things worse, it has the additional twist of a dying Mouse King suddenly appearing one last time at the Land of the Dolls, while everything is shutting down, to try and kill Clara, though if it's just to spite the Nutcracker or if he's losing his senses and can't tell she's not the Nutcracker is anyone's guess - [[SanitySlippage his crazy eyes strongly suggest the latter.]] All while everyone is unable to help. For such a mostly, light-hearted film, this finale is [[MoodWhiplash surprisingly dark]]
6	** Keep in mind that he was able to come all this way ''and'' attack her after being ''stabbed in the heart''. And compared to how [[EvilIsHammy bombastic he was beforehand]], the Mouse King is wheezing, [[{{Determinator}} forcing himself to remain alive long enough to finish the kill, going through the very convoluted path to reach her]]. Losing what little comedic traits he has to be a half-crazed, nearly dying monster.
7	* The [[http://www.impawards.com/1990/nutcracker_prince.html Mouse King's picture]] on the film's poster is menacing.
8	* One other thing to note when the Mouse Queen comes to Princess Perlipat's bed-chamber, as she chants her spell, her voice gets[[VoiceOfTheLegion a demonic reverb as she chants the spell]] and as that happens, her claws in the shadows look very disturbing around the sleeping girl.
9	* The Mouse Queen's death can be a bit disturbing, especially since we can see her corpse flattened underneath a large pillar when the pillar fell on top of her. And while it's not made graphic, it's heavily implied her '''brains''' are sticking out of the impact of the pillar.

Context NightmareFuel / TheNutcrackerPrince