This article is about Benjamin Stahlbaum's wife. For the character who is based on the other Marie Stahlbaum from the original story, see Clara Stahlbaum.
Marie Stahlbaum is a character who appears in Disney's 2018 live-action film, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. She is the late mother part of the Stahlbaum family who ruled over the Four Realms until her death.
Background[]
Marie is said to be the ruler of the Four Realms prior to her death ever since the Fourth Realm was in war with the other three Realms. According to the ballet, the Sugar Plum Fairy explains that the play represents the story of how Marie founded the Four Realms before her death. When the Sugar Plum Fairy's tyranny has ended, Marie's legacy is restored once and for all with her daughter, Clara, praised for bringing peace back to the Four Realms.
Role in the film[]
Marie first appears in a portrait in the Palace of the Four Realms just after Clara completes a survey with Cavalier and Harlequin to know if she is involved with the Mouse King or not. Upon arriving at the room with the Regents, they felt horrified and reacted to Marie's passing. Clara then explores the Palace and then discovers a throne that once belonged to Marie before her death. Clara is later taken to watch the ballet representing Marie who founded the Four Realms before her death. After the ballet, the Sugar Plum Fairy explains that the Four Realms are defenseless without Marie, explaining that Marie gave all the inhabitants in the Four Realms to life via contraption known as the Engine. Clara explains that Marie must have taken the key with her but never returned.
Marie is finally seen in physical form where Clara dreams of having a memory centering on her relationship with her. In the flashback, she explains to Clara that Christmas is not complete without a nutcracker, explaining that he found it at Drosselmeyer's mansion, reminding her of the Four Realms. Marie explains to her that she always loves her in seeing the world in a different world just as she explains that she will be in Clara's heart whenever she moves forward. Marie then watches her hang the nutcracker on the Christmas tree perfectly.
After Clara successfully opens Marie's last gift, she explains to Phillip that everything she needs is inside, to which she explains that she would find answers with that key she found. Later, it is found out that the Sugar Plum Fairy is only wanting to destroy Marie's legacy. Clara confronts her from destroying Marie's legacy to which she explains to her that Marie left everything Clara needed, much to her tyranny.
With the Four Realms saved, Clara has saved Marie's legacy from the Sugar Plum Fairy's tyranny. Reuniting all the Four Realms together, Mother Ginger praises Clara that Marie would be proud if she were there, saving her legacy. After Clara returns home, Drosselmeyer explains to her that Marie was the cleverest inventor she ever knew.
Trivia[]
- It is unclear of how Marie died in the film. However the extended novelization hints that Marie likely died from pneumonia.
- In the original story, "Marie Stahlbaum" is actually the name of the main protagonist who received the nutcracker for Christmas Eve, which comes to life and defeats the Mouse King in battle and later takes her to a kingdom inhabited by dolls (though Clara was based on Marie in the ballet adaptation). However, in the film, "Marie Stahlbaum" is the name given to Benjamin's late wife with the main character Clara taking the actual Marie's role from the original story and the ballet.
- On a related note, several productions of the Nutcracker ballet refer to Herr Stahlbaum's younger daughter as "Clara", "Marie", or "Mascha" depending on the production.
v - e - d  | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|