10 versions of ‘The Nutcracker’ ballet you can stream this Christmas
Places for the Sugar Plum Fairy!
Leave your Grinches, Scrooges, Red Ryder BB guns and Hans Grubers behind. All I want to do during the holiday season is watch as many versions of The Nutcracker as possible; and here are some recommendations if you’re trying to do the same.
You know the music. You may or may not be able to make it out to a local production or recital with your whole family. But what if you just want to sit on the couch and watch some ballerinas twirl with a big mug of cocoa? Isn’t it fun to compare and contrast how different ballet companies over the years have interpreted Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Christmas-y score? You can’t blame them. The ballet community has to add a little spice to this annual tradition from time to time, otherwise they’d die from boredom. I love it when things get weird. Give me jazz Nutcracker, burlesque Nutcracker and steampunk Nutcracker any time and any place.
Speaking of, my personal favorite adult contemporary dance production of this ballet, Mark Morris’ The Hard Nut, is tragically not legally streaming at this time. But never fear! I, a freaking Nutcracker connoisseur, have many faves. (Forgive me for not being a Barbie Nutcracker girl, though–I know a lot of folks love her!) There are plenty of options for new Nutcracker(s), old Nutcracker(s), documentaries about The Nutcracker and alternative takes to nutcrack up your holiday.
English National Ballet’s Nutcracker
Let’s start with a new-ish, but classic, Nutcracker ballet courtesy of PBS’ Great Performances. The opening sequences has Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka vibes that set a family friendly tone before delving into the magical world we know and love. While it’s still decidedly a period piece, the choices that this production makes are a fresh, contemporary take worth checking out!
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
This attempt to expand the admittedly thin plot of the ballet into a blockbuster, lore-wise, flopped when the movie was first released. I can’t say that it grabbed me all that much as an adult, even a Nutcracker-loving adult. But kids may enjoy streaming The Nutcracker and the Four Realms on Disney+, and Kiera Knightley’s performance is so delightfully unhinged that I can’t bring myself to hate it.
Nutcracker on Ice
This is a 45-minute-long version of the ballet featuring at least three of the best figure skaters from the *millennial gulp* 20th century (Peggy Fleming, Oksana Baiul, and Todd Eldridge) you can rent on Prime Video or stream for free on Tubi. It’s an entertaining way to spend an afternoon, and great preparation for the Winter Olympics in 2026!
Dance Dreams: The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker
Learn all about the iconic Debbie Allen’s reimagining of the ballet with her Los Angeles-based company by watching this documentary on Netflix. Then, when you’re all done and educated, you can stream a full production of the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker on Pluto TV.
George Ballanchine’s The Nutcracker
This 1993 recorded performance of the New York City Ballet’s annual Nutcracker is probably the most popular and readily available to stream. A teeny tiny Macaulay Culkin, who as far as I know was fresh off of Home Alone and Home Alone 2 fame when this was filmed, plays the Nutcracker Prince. It’s a pretty basic production of the ballet, in my snobbish opinion, but I can’t deny that it’s a crowd favorite!
Fantasia
If you’re down to fast-forward, one of the most beautiful interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s ballet is the Nutcracker Suite section of Fantasia. The classic 1940 film from Disney Animation uses fairies, mushrooms, and fish. It is not necessarily Christmas themed, but very very magical. I think this is a good introduction to the music, too, as it’s not the entire score.
Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker
This 1977 recording is my favorite production of The Nutcracker. It’s the American Ballet Theatre. It stars Mikhail Baryshnikov, obviously, and Gelsey Kirkland. It’s romantic and spooky in a way that the 70s kind of did best. There’s light narration that provided just enough context to have me hooked on this story for life. There are some problematic cultural depictions, as you’ll find with many older and even some contemporary productions. So just keep that in mind when you stream on Prime Video, especially with little kids, because you might want to talk about about it.
Tom & Jerry: A Nutcracker Tale
Now, for a complete 180, check out this Nutcracker-themed Tom & Jerry special! If you have kids and/or adult family members who think ballet is boring… why not get your fix with a cartoon? Of course, in this version, the big villain is a Cat King instead of the Rat King.
Getting to the Nutcracker
This is another documentary you can stream on Prime Video, if you’re in an educational mood this Christmas. It follows a bunch of so-called “bunheads” (or, at least, that’s what the Amy Sherman-Palladino show told me) as they prepare for the Marat Daukayev School of Ballet’s annual Nutcracker.
Maurice Béjart’s Nutcracker
To my delight, Tubi has a lot of Nutcracker options that you can stream for free in addition to Nutcracker on Ice. If you’re interested in ballet, you gotta see the Russian powerhouse Bolshoi at least once. They also have the Pacific Northwest’s Nutcracker: The Motion Picture and BBC’s Royal Opera House Nutcracker. But this one from 2000, which uses Tchaikovsky’s music to tell a new story about the life of French choreographer Maurice Béjart, is bizarre and erotic and really something else. Perhaps not for the whole family, depending on your family. I’m sure there are some whole families out there who’d dig this!
(featured image: Erin Baiano)
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