Care Bears Nutcracker Suite

It's hard to judge this as a movie because it's literally just a bunch of episodes of the show that were compiled into a movie. I'm still going to try to judge it as one. It starts with the Care Bears theme song and ends with the Care Bear credits. I have to admit that growing up, I was never a fan of "Care Bears". I might have seen a tiny bit when I was really little. Well, I've still seen every movie now. This really is no worse or better than any other Care Bears movie. Honestly, I thought there were some good parts. I thought the characters were represented pretty well.

I did kind of like Grumpy Bear, even though he quickly lost his grumpiness. What I didn't like was that the animation was just plain clumsy. This is like the fourth movie where they've reused that blonde girl with blue eyes design. I shouldn't think further into that. Even the villain is just cut and paste from the previous movie. Still, the film's entirely harmless. If you have kids who are fans of the Care Bears, then I suggest you watch this with them. If not, it's pretty forgettable. **

I love animation and Christmas as well as the timeless story and Tchaikovsky's music. I also grew up with The Care Bears, even if I am not a huge fan overall, though I love the show and enjoyed the 1985 movie, A New Generation and Care Bears in Wonderland. Care Bears Nutcracker Suite was one of my first exposures to the story alongside The Nutcracker Suite and the Barbie movie(also love the House of Mouse take), and while it is not one of my favourites of anything to do with Christmas or ever, it is heartwarming fun. The writing does have occasions where it is on the corny and saccharine side, then again that's true of the Care Bears movies in general, and while the take on the story is clever, the essence of the story is there and there are a number of entertaining moments I couldn't help thinking that the storytelling, as heart warming and charming as it is often, was a little overstretched. On the other hand, the animation if not as fluid as the first two movies) is colourful and vibrant and the score is whimsical with the parts of Tchaikovsky's ballet score delightful(though I would have personally loved to heard more of it). The characters are likable enough, the Care Bears, Nutcracker and the two children are sweet, well-meaning characters, the villain rats are very humorous especially the Rat King and the vizier is like the long-lost brother of the Wizard from Care Bears in Wonderland except not as subtly-voiced(still enthusiastic though). All in all, heart-warming, fun, cute and harmless, not mind-blowingly brilliant or life-changing but overall recommended and not to be a subject of scorn. 8/10 Bethany Cox