Whether you loved — or loathed — Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, there are countless other adaptations out there to get you in the holiday spirit.

Most of us are familiar — at least in passing — with a version of The Nutcracker, whether or not we’ve ever read the original novella, watched a movie adaptation, or been to a production of Tchaikovsky’s quintessential ballet. The story of The Nutcracker — and, consequentially, its music — is so heavily ingrained into popular culture, particularly during the holiday season, that it is instantly recognizable.

Dating back as far as 1816, and E.T.A. Hoffmann’s novella The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, the tale centers around a young girl — sometimes Marie, often Clara — as she escapes into the darkly magical world of the Nutcracker, and gets swept up in the battle between the Prince and the Mouse King. Though most adaptations forgo Hoffmann’s tale for the more palatable Tchaikovsky version, there are many aspects that remain consistent throughout. Notably, the romance, the magic, and the dynamic and thrilling battles.

While Disney’s latest outing of the classic tale, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, hasn’t been on the receiving end of many positive reviews, it did capture some of the magic that makes the story so timeless.

We decided to round up five of our favorite versions of The Nutcracker for you to check out as the holidays begin to ramp up once again.

Best Nutcracker adaptations to check out after Disney’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’

Maurice Sendak’s ‘The Nutcracker’

Originally published in 1984, the first entry on this list is an illustrated edition of Hoffmann’s story, rather than a movie or television adaptation.

Maurice Sendak — perhaps best known for his children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are — took the darker aspects of the tale and put them to page, believing that the more sugary-sweet version popularized by Tchaikovsky wasn’t weird enough. Sendak’s illustrated version of The Nutcracker does not suffer from a lack of weirdness, though it is also, at times, quite whimsical.

The Nutcracker also puts much of the focus back onto Clara, and makes her central to the story, where the ballet often sees her role diminished following the first act. “[Clara] is overwhelmed with growing up and has no knowledge of what this means,” Sendak told NPR in 2001. “I think the ballet is all about a strong emotional sense of something happening to her, which is bewildering.”

Boris Stepantsev’s ‘The Nutcracker’

This Soviet-era adaptation of The Nutcracker also follows Hoffmann’s original novella more closely than the Tchaikovsky ballet, though it was undoubtedly inspired heavily by it. As far as animated adaptions of The Nutcracker go, it is by far the most focused on the dance aspect of the story.

The animation itself is stunning, brimming with bright colors and an almost impressionist look to it. Stepantsev, during his time, was — and remains — one of the most revered Russian animators, and his stories are beloved. With the above example of his work, it is easy to see why.

There is no dialogue in Stepantsev’s version of the story, but it hardly requires it. His animation is expressive enough that the movement carries the entire story, and it will always be 25 minutes well spent whenever you opt to watch it.

‘Nutcracker: The Motion Picture’

Finding a version of the ballet that combines Tchaikovsky’s classic suite with the weirdness of Maurice Sendak’s visual stylings is never an easy feat. However, Pacific Northwest Ballet’s Nutcracker from 1986 manages just that.

If you’re looking to experience the ballet in its entirety, this is the version to watch. It is delightfully strange, but also incredibly compelling, and really places the emphasis on Clara’s coming-of-age throughout. (The romance here between Clara and the Nutcracker is, by far, the most age appropriate, with several other adaptations skewing very far into “creepy” territory.)

A word of warning, however. This version of the ballet was filmed over 10 days, and thus the editing is not the prettiest. In parts, it can get a little disorienting, and some of the close-up shots feel a little sloppy. This is, by far, the most common criticism levied against this adaption. Regardless, the staging is beautiful, and if you can move past some of the extreme closeups and medium shots, it is well worth the viewing.

‘The Nutcracker Prince’

Of all the versions of The Nutcracker on this list, The Nutcracker Prince is by far the most nostalgic. The version of the movie I had was so beloved by the younger-me that I wore out the VHS tape that it was on. But despite the flickering imagery, and the places where it jumped, I still continued to watch it over and over.

Featuring the voice talents of Kiefer Sutherland as Hans/the Nutcracker and Megan Follows as Clara, it amped up the romance to another level, where Hans — who has been transformed into the Nutcracker by mice — can only break the spell if he slays the Mouse King and wins Clara’s hand.

It is an utterly magical version of the story, with all the familiar trappings, and never fails to put me in the spirit of the season. It was — by far — a childhood favorite, and remains a yearly tradition to play whenever December rolls around once again.

Just don’t attempt to wrap your presents while it is on in the background. You will stop what you are doing and end up sitting transfixed.

‘Princess Tutu’

While not, strictly, an adaptation of The Nutcracker, Princess Tutu instead uses several stylings and themes from the classic story. In fact, the Nutcracker overture is used as the theme for the main character, and it even adopts the name of one of the major characters from the original tale, Drosselmeyer, for the series.

Princess Tutu is a true celebration of ballet through-and-through, so if you’re looking for something that captures that pure delight, whilst also flirting with some of the darker aspect of the medium, it is the perfect series for you to watch. It put me very much in mind of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm’s stories.

Certainly, The Nutcracker isn’t the only ballet that Princess Tutu draws inspiration from, but its fingerprints are clearly visible throughout the episodes, most notably in the first and the last.