Nutcracker - The Untold Story (Notes Alive) - Price: 7.00 in Detroit, Alabama

Nutcracker: The Untold Story is an odd but satisfying mix of ballet, animation, and a symphony performance of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The Minnesota Orchestra scores points for finding new ways to introduce symphonic music to youngsters (most notably On the Day You Were Born). This 40-minute presentation features animation of Maurice Sendak's illustrations created for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's version and rhymed text from E.T.A. Hoffmann's original tale. This production delves into the land of the seven-headed mouse king and the curse that turned the prince into a nutcracker (that's the untold part, dropped from the famous ballet). James Sewell's choreography and the lush voice of Keith Jochim (the narrator and Herr Drosselmeier) should keep kids entranced. All of Tchaikovsky's famous musical passages are here, even if they are heard out of context. There's a short "making-of" feature at the end of the tape