It is Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum house, and the family is hosting an extravagant holiday celebration! Clara and Fritz are enjoying all of the excitement of the evening, but what makes the night truly special is the gift Clara receives: a wooden Nutcracker dressed as a soldier.  Fritz becomes jealous after seeing how much Clara loves dancing with her new gift, and after quickly grabbing it, he accidentally breaks the Nutcracker.  Clara worries over her beloved toy, so she rocks it gently as she falls asleep. After falling asleep, Clara is woken up by the scurrying of mice around her. The mice seem to have grown to be bigger than she is!  Suddenly the dolls from around the tree come to life and her Nutcracker is ready to protect Clara against the fierce Mouse Queen and her army of mice.  The Nutcracker leads the dolls against the mice, but the Mouse Queen and her minions soon overpower the small army, so it is up to Clara to rescue her beloved Nutcracker. Clara’s brave act of true love breaks the Nutcracker’s curse and transforms him into a handsome prince. The Nutcracker prince graciously thanks Clara for saving him and invites her on a magical journey into the Kingdom of the Sweets.  On their way, they pass through the beautiful Winter Wonderland of the dancing Snowflakes and their Snow Queen.  Once Clara and the Prince reach the Kingdom of the Sweets, they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy, who asks them how they came to the Kingdom.  After telling their story of the daring battle, the Sugar Plum Fairy rewards Clara and the Prince with a celebration of dances from all around the world.