The story concerns a girl named Marie, who is given a nutcracker which looks like a soldier on Christmas Eve. That night, Marie witnesses a battle between her dolls, under the leadership of the Nutcracker, and mice whose king has seven heads. The following day, Marie finds out that the Nutcracker was once a young man who was cursed by the Mouse Queen. Further battles between the Nutcracker and the Mouse King take place before the rodents are defeated and the curse is finally broken.