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Throughout the day on Christmas Eve, Maria Stahlbaum and her brother, Frederic, wait together while the adults prepare the parlor for the evening’s festivities. The children know that a delightful surprise awaits them when they hear their Godfather Drosselmeier arrive. Drosselmeier, a mysterious man with a white wig and an eyepatch, has a talent for making clocks and always brings them magnificent mechanical gifts. Fred believes that this year’s gift will be a castle featuring marching soldiers while Maria yearns for a garden, complete with swans swimming in a lake. After dismissing her idea as absurd, Fred admits that he prefers their parents’ gifts because they can play freely with them. Drosselmeier’s always get locked away for safekeeping. The parlor doors finally open, and Doctor and Mrs. Stahlbaum invite their children in to see their gifts.
Maria and Fred enter and find presents galore, elegantly displayed against a large Christmas tree covered in candies and twinkling lights. Once the children inspect their respective dolls and toy soldiers, Godfather Drosselmeier makes his entrance. He pulls back a curtain to reveal his latest masterpiece, a mechanical castle with moving figurines. Fred complains about the fact that the people in the castle can only move in one direction, and when Drosselmeier insists that no alternative is possible, Fred sulks and walks away. Maria is not particularly impressed with the castle either, but she is too polite to say so. Upset by the poor response his invention received, Drosselmeier angrily threatens to leave. Mrs. Stahlbaum, however, is able to restore his good mood.
Soon after, Maria discovers a small figurine dressed in a purple soldier’s jacket and shiny boots sitting alone on a table. She notices that he is rather ugly, especially considering his large head and slim legs, but she admires the figure’s friendly disposition. Her father explains that he is a nutcracker that can break open nuts with his strong jaw. While the Nutcracker belongs to all three children equally, Doctor Stahlbaum suggests that Maria be his primary caretaker. This responsibility thrills her, so when Fred causes the Nutcracker to break, she is particularly devastated. Maria gently wraps up the Nutcracker despite the condescending remarks that Drosselmeier makes about him.
When the night finally draws to an end, Maria begs her mother to stay up for a few more minutes. She gently promises the Nutcracker that Drosselmeier can fix his broken jaw, and she is surprised when, for a moment, his face seems to express disgust. Maria convinces herself that she is imagining things and puts the Nutcracker to sleep in Miss Clara’s doll bed. All of a sudden, she hears a rattling sound coming from the glass display case and sees Drosselmeier eerily perched atop the grandfather clock. This sight frightens Maria, but she is even more terrified by the emergence of a seven-headed Mouse King and his army. She stutters backwards, falls, and cuts her arm on broken glass from the display case. At the same time, the Nutcracker jumps out of the doll bed and rallies his own soldiers to fight against the mice. The battle rages on, but the Nutcracker’s army struggles to advance. When the Mouse King finally leaps toward the Nutcracker, Maria throws her shoe at him and ultimately faints.
