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Main protagonists
Clara Drosselmeyer
- Voiced by: Kelly Sheridan; Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese)
- Adaptational Name Change: Her surname in the ballet and the original story is Stahlbaum, not Drosselmeyer. In other versions, she is called Silberhaus instead.
- Age Lift: Clara (or "Marie" as she's called in some versions) is supposed to be only around 10 to 12-years-old, but here she seems to be around 15 or 16 at the very least.
- Ascended Extra: She's a lot more involved in the story than in the source material.
- Chekhov's Gun: Clara's locket, which was supposed to return her home and restore her to her normal size after she found the Sugarplum Princess. After falling for the Nutcracker/Prince Eric and learning that she is the Sugarplum Princess, Clara decides she'd rather stay in Parthenia with him. However, the Mouse King steals the locket and uses it to send her home anyway.
- Composite Character: The original Clara was a mere Audience Surrogate, but this version combines her with the Sugarplum Fairy, possibly to justify the pas de deux with the prince.
- Conveniently an Orphan: It's stated that her and her brother's parents died when they were young, so they were ultimately raised by their grandparents.
- Dance of Romance: The pas de deux from the ballet becomes this between her and the Prince.
- Foreshadowing: Clara's true identity as the Sugarplum Princess is hinted at from the beginning of the film. The locket intended to send her home was originally hanging from the neck of an ornament depicting Clara's appearance after her identity is revealed. Snow melts and plants grow in her footprints. She's briefly stranded on the island where the princess is said to live; and she repeatedly exhibits the three traits—kindness, cleverness, and bravery—that are specifically associated with the Sugarplum Princess.
- Gorgeous Garment Generation: When her hidden identity as the Sugarplum Princess is revealed, Clara's nightgown shifts to a shimmering pink tutu, her hair is magically coiffed into ringlets and she even gets a little tiara.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: A given with someone played by Barbie.
- Honorary Princess: Clara turns out to be the Sugarplum Princess, the savior of the candy kingdom. This is specific to the Barbie version as it was the Sugarplum Fairy in the original ballet, and it was a character distinct from Clara.
- I Choose to Stay: At the end of the movie, Clara decides she doesn't want to go home after all. Unfortunately, the defeated Mouse King decides to take a parting shot by opening her locket, making her vanish and wake up back in the real world.
- Pajama-Clad Hero: Clara saves Parthenia from the Mouse King wearing nothing but her nightie and slippers.
- Pink Means Feminine: Both her nightgown and gown as the Sugarplum Princess are pink. She is played by Barbie, after all.
- Pimped-Out Dress: She wears a very sparkly and poofy tutu as the Sugarplum Princess.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Nutcracker's blue. She is always ready and willing to stand up for herself and others with no resistance, and she never gives up on her mission.
The Nutcracker
Click here to see his second form
- Voiced by: Kirby Morrow
- Anguished Declaration of Love: He tells Clara he loves her as she fades away back to her world.
- Chekhov's Skill: Near the beginning of the movie, one of the Nutcracker's arms detaches at the elbow after a fall. He easily reattaches it and reassures Clara that it's a common occurrence. Later, he makes use of this ability to save his old friend Captain Candy from falling to his death.
- Must Make Amends: Prince Eric's main motivation; his irresponsibility prompted his father to appoint the Mouse as Parthenia's temporary ruler, but the Mouse King decided he wanted the position permanently and got rid of the prince by transforming him into a nutcracker. His primary goal is to make up for his mistakes by ending the Mouse King's reign. After he plays an instrumental role in the Mouse King's defeat and regains his true form, the people wholeheartedly forgive him and accept him as their king.
- Nice Guy: He's very kind and loyal to his friends, as well as very brave and resourceful. No wonder Clara falls for him.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: As far as Clara is concerned, since she quickly figures out who he really is.
- Promoted to Love Interest: The Nutcracker from the ballet is Clara's friend and guide on their journey to the Land of Sweets; here, they are love interests.
- Vocal Dissonance: Nutcracker sounds a hell of a lot younger than he's made to look. This is our first hint to his true identity.
Sidekicks
Major Mint and Captain Candy
- Big, Stupid Doodoo-Head: The only insult Major Mint can think of throwing at the gigantic rock monster who just destroyed his boat is "cheeky blighter", much to Captain Candy's incredulity.
- Canon Foreigner: Neither of them exist in the ballet.
- Dude in Distress: In one scene Captain Candy is shown hanging from a cliff about to fall into a ravine, until Nutcracker helps him.
- La Résistance: They are both (no matter what Major Mint may think) at the head of the forces opposing the Mouse King's rule.
- Like an Old Married Couple: At times.
- Oh, Crap!: Major Mint gets a case of this when the Nutcracker, to whom he's been dismissive and rude all movie, turns out to be the Prince, who the Major also had some choice words about.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Major is self-important and belligerent while the Captain is more reasonable and pleasant. Fittingly, their respective outfits reflect this.
- Token Minority: Captain Candy is Indian, and the only POC character in the movie.
Antagonists
The Mouse King
- Voiced by: Tim Curry
- Evil Brit: The Mouse King is the main antagonist and speaks in Tim Curry's british accent.
- The Caligula: A power hungry megalomaniac whose own followers aren't even safe from his wrath.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The world's smallest mammal takes over an entire kingdom and procedes to bully its people into submission. Compensating, much?
- Evil Chancellor: The Mouse King was this before usurping the throne.
- Evil Is Hammy: The Mouse King is voiced by Tim Curry, and like every role the trope comes.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Nutcracker takes him down by reflecting his own shrinking ray back at him in the climax.
- Incredible Shrinking Man: The Mouse King shrinks Clara to the size of a doll (Get it?...).
- Magic Wand: What the Mouse King uses to shrink people, or turn them into stone.
Pimm
- Voiced by: Peter Kelamis
- Beware the Silly Ones: He might seem like a typical, ineffectual, bumbling lackey. Don't be fooled. Beneath that cartoonish exterior, Pimm has a surprisingly cruel streak.
- The Dragon: To the Mouse King.
- Talking Animal: He can talk like most animals in the magic land of Parthenia.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: To the Mouse King.
Clara's family
Aunt Elizabeth
- Voiced by: Kathleen Barr
- Cool Aunt: Clara heavily admires her and wishes to be like her.
- Decomposite Character: She and and her uncle are basically Herr Drosselmeyer split into two characters: she inherited the character's worldly excentricities and doting affection towards Clara, and is also the one who gives her the Nutcracker doll as a Christmas present.
- Foreign Culture Fetish: Seems to have a very mild one for North East Asian countries, given her travel destination predilections and the fact that her hair appears to be help up by a pair of kanzashi.
- Gender Flip: Of Herr Drosselmeyer.
- Honorary Aunt: Clara calls her "aunt", but since Elizabeth is only Grandfather's niece and not his daughter aka not the sister of one of Clara's parents, this would actually make her Clara's first cousin once removed. Clara most likely just calls her aunt because it's quicker.
- Maiden Aunt: Possibly—it's never explicitly stated if she's married as we never hear anything about a potential husband.
- Spirited Young Lady: Could qualify as this since she can't be that much older than her teenage niece. She certainly qualifies where her aged uncle is concerned.
- Red Is Heroic: She is a redhead who also wears a maroon dress.
- Related in the Adaptation: The original character of Herr Drosselmeyer was a close family friend of Clara's, to the point of where he was her godfather—but here, she's a biological relative of Clara's (being her aunt).
- Walking the Earth: She often is gone touring random foreign countries. She tells Clara after she returns back home that she hiked the Great Wall of China, met the Emperor of Japan, among other things.
Grandfather Drosselmeyer
- Decomposite Character: He and Elizabeth are basically Herr Drosselmeyer split into two characters: Like the original character, Grandfather is a rather intimidating man of a certain age who loves Clara dearly.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Towards his granddaughter Clara; he doesn't really approve of Elizabeth "filling her head with nonsense" and wants Clara to be responsible and practical.
- Stiff Upper Lip: He looks and sounds like a stuffy, upper class older gentleman, and provides a stark contrast to his more easy-going niece Elizabeth.
Tommy
- Adaptation Name Change: From Fritz to Tommy.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Has shades of this when he tries to snatch the Nutcracker doll from his older sister.
- Sweet Tooth: He is introduced nibbling on Christmas biscuits while hiding behind the sofa.
