We reported just a few weeks ago that Hairspray director Adam Shankman would be helming a re-vamped version to the beloved Nutracker tale. More developments on Shankman‘s vision have begun to circulate including his intentions of changing the entire format many fans have grown to love and cherish.
Shankman told EW (via The Playlist) that he plans on taking out probably the most important/iconic part of the story — the ballet. That’s right. Shankman stated that though “there are some celebrations in the story and there could be dancing at the celebrations….It is absolutely not going to be a full-on ballet. No ballet.”
Now, true fans of the story may be flabbergasted at this news but for me, it kind of has me intrigued and slightly frightened. As we saw (or maybe didn’t see) in Hairspray, Shankman has his ties to the dancing and singing realm of film, with his Rock Of Ages musical starring Tom Cruise coming out next year as well. So this unique vision for Nutracker could definitely be a way for Shankman to stray away from his dancing/singing roots.
Shankman also said that he wants to go “back to the darker more action/adventure version. More like Snow White and the Huntsman, [the Johnny Depp] Alice in Wonderland. It is in that vein.” Considering Burton‘s Wonderland didn’t exactly “wow” critics, that’s an interesting film to cite as inspiration, but I’m sure we’ll get our fix of CGI and the always (un)warranted 3D format with this version.
What do you think about these developments for Nutcracker?