Hulu's Nutcrackers uses a series of real-world filming locations for its holiday-themed hijinx.
The new snow-capped streaming comedy follows Ben Stiller (who appeared in another holiday comedy) as Michael "Mike" Maxwell (a big-city real estate agent), who is forced to make the trip to rural Ohio following the death of his sister and her husband.
Upon arriving on their middle-of-nowhere farm, Stiller's Mike is now imparted with the fate of his four nephews, whom he now has to help find a foster home rather than take in himself.
Where Was Nutcrackers Filmed?
While Ben Stiller's Nutcrackers character may be from Chicago, almost none of the movie takes place in the Windy City.
Instead, the movie was filmed in rural Ohio, where much of it was set (Blanchester, Ohio). Blanchester is located roughly 45 minutes northeast of Cincinnati, an agricultural community of about 4,200 people.
Below is a complete list of specific filming locations from Nutcrackers:
Janson Family Farm, Blanchester
Much of the Christmas comedy occurs at the Janson Family Farm in Blanchester, Ohio. This serves as the primary far house and surrounding area, once owned by the now-deceased sister of Ben Stiller's character, Mike.
This is where Stiller's Mike comes to embrace being a mentor to his four young nephews — even if he does not want to be at first.
The Janson Family property has a close-to-home connection to several stars of the film. The four child actors at the movie's heart are all the real-life Janson siblings who live full-time on the farm where the movie was filmed.
Indian Hill, Cincinnati
One of the larger set pieces of the film sees Stiller's Mike character bringing his four nephews to a holiday party in the wealthy neighborhood of Indian Hill, Cincinnati.
As one can expect, things do not go as planned. The film's four central brothers run rucksack over the palatial estate, accidentally driving a golf cart through the host's nativity scene and into the pool.
The massive house used to film this holiday party scene is in Indian Hill. According to its Zillow listing, it has six bedrooms and nine bathrooms and a large pool, yard, and pull-through driveway.
The home was also notably used in the film Gotti, which starred Armand Assante as the notorious American gangster John Gotti.
Murphy Theater, Wilmington
As the title says, a version of the Nutcracker ballet is at the heart of the movie.
This performance, which Stiller's character describes in the film as "not your grandpa's Nutcracker," takes place at the Murphy Theater in Wilmington, Ohio.
Wilmington is another small community outside Cincinnati, about 15 miles from Blanchester, where most of the movie takes place.
Stricker's Grove Amusement Park
Another Ohian locale Nutcrackers used for filming was the Stricker's Grove Amusement Park.
In one of the film's more hilarious scenes, Stiller's Mike and the boys head to the amusement park for a fun night. However, it ends in chaos as the young brother figures out how to hotwire several rides, sending them into overdrive for a few extra thrills.
Stricker's Grove is a well-known family-owned theme park in Ross, Ohio. Instead of being open to the public most of the year, Stricker's Grove mainly operates as a rentable property for group functions such as weddings.
The park was first opened in 1924 and remains an Ohian staple.
Nutcrackers is streaming on Hulu.
