Ericlara

Ericlara is the het ship between the Nutcracker (named "Eric" in the Barbie adaptation) and Clara Stahlbaum from the Nutcracker and Barbie fandoms.

The Nutcracker and the Mouse King - E. T. A. Hoffmann
On Christmas Eve, Marie Stahlbaum (named Clara in later adaptations) is waiting for her godfather Drosselmeyer to arrive. Drosselmeyer being an inventor, he showers Marie and her siblings with impressive, mechanical gifts, but the kids quickly grow bored of them. Under the tree, however, Marie notices a small Nutcracker dressed in purple. Drosselmeyer had not intended this gift for any specific child, so Marie was given permission by her father to claim the Nutcracker as her own. Marie shows the Nutcracker to her older siblings, Fritz and Louise and they share the fun of cracking different nuts together until Fritz breaks one of the Nutcracker's teeth while trying to crack a nut that's too hard to crack. Marie cries and bandages the Nutcracker with a spare ribbon.

When its time to go to bed and put the toys away, Marie had grown too attached to her Nutcracker and is allowed to take him to her bedroom. When talking to her new friend and reassuring that Drosselmeyer will fix his jaw, the Nutcracker's face seems to move around on his own. This spooks Marie, but she quickly dismisses it as simply a play of her mind. However, when the clock nearly strikes twelve, Marie's toys seem to come alive as a mischief of rats enters her bedroom, with the Nutcracker jumping to life and leading the toys into battle. Marie watches this from her bed and sees the seven-headed Mouse King overwhelm the Nutcracker, scared of what the villain might do to her new friend, she takes her slipper and throws it at him. However, despite saving the Nutcracker, Marie faints from the shock of the scenerio and cuts her arm while falling into the glass of her toy cabinet.

When waking up the next morning, her parents having heard their daughter falling into glass but not noticing any of the battle, Marie tries to tell her family about the Nutcracker fighting the Mouse King after her arm was bandaged. When Drosselmeyer arrives with the repaired Nutcracker, Marie tries to tell that he was part of the battle as well, but Drosselmeyer acts surprised and awkwardly changes the subject. So he tells Marie the story of how the Nutcracker came to be: There was a beautiful princess named "Pirlipat" in some faraway kingdom, she was cursed to become hideously ugly after her mother let the family of Madame Mouserinks be executed by an inventor with the last name of Drosselmeyer for the crime of eating all the bacon, which made the king father of Pirlipat upset. The king firmly blamed Drosselmeyer for his daughter getting cursed and gave him a deadline of four weeks of figuring out how to cure her. Noticing the princess' appetite for cracked nuts, the inventor hatches an idea that the princess had to eat the kernel of a nut that could only be cracked by a young lad who hadn't shaved yet, among other things. The king was initially happy about a cure being found, but then gave the inventor exile to find said nut and a boy who could crack it, should he return without one or the other, he shall be beheaded. 15 years passed before Drosselmeyer was taken by homesickness and his companion suggested that it didn't matter when they came back as long as they eventually found it. Going home to his cousin, who just happened to have had the nut the whole time, and his cousin's son also met the requirements to crack the nut. However, though curing the princess was successful, the boy happened to step on Madame Mouserinks when he had to take his seven steps backwards to avoid catching the curse, ending up cursed into the very form of the Nutcracker he was nicknamed after. In her dying hour, Madame Mouserinks promised the Nutcracker that her son shall slay him, with the promise of the Princess Pirlipat proving no comfort as the princess refused to marry the Nutcracker now that he's ugly. However, a silver lining tells that the Nutcracker shall be restored to his former beauty after the Mouse King is slain and a lovely young lady confesses her love to the Nutcracker despite his looks.

Upon finishing his story, Marie is disgusted by the ungratefulness of the princess Pirlipat. In the week of recovering from her injury, Marie is happy to see the Nutcracker standing there in her renewed toy cabinet and smiling at her. However, knowing his story gives her deep sympathy for the Nutcracker.

The following days, Marie couldn't find rest, due to hearing the Mouse King climb up to her bed, whipsering threats about biting her Nutcracker into pieces into her ear, only relenting when she willingly sacrifices her sugar dolls for him. Regretfully, Marie takes her dolls out of the cabinet night after night, to protect her precious Nutcracker from the Mouse King's wrath. She would always find the remains of her dolls the next day. The visits of the Mouse King won't stop, even after Marie sacrificed everything she had for her Nutcracker. However, the last night, the Nutcracker told her that he could take care of himself, all he needed was a sword. So Marie asks her older brother for a toy sword and he lends her one of his toy soldier's, she puts it into the Nutcracker's hand that night. Marie is awoken by the Nutcracker, holding the Mouse King's seven crowns and is invited to the doll kingdom. Marie follows the Nutcracker and is greeted by a wonderful world she knew nothing about, there are cities made from candy and girls who look just like Marie. She wakes up the next morning to tell her family, but not only do they not believe her yet again, they also forbid her from talking about it else they deem her mad.

Though Marie was not allowed to talk about the Nutcracker or his wonderful world any longer, she hasn't forgotten about him. One day, she sat in front of her toy cabinet and tells the Nutcracker that she would never reject him like Pirlipat did, she would love him just the way he is. After the clock strikes, Marie faints and is shaken awake by her mother telling her that Drosselmeyer's Nephew had finally come for a visit. When they are left alone, the nephew confirms to Marie that she had broken his curse and asks her to marry him. Marie agrees, soon she shall be taken to the doll kingdom again and be crowned queen.

Barbie in The Nutcracker
In this adaptation, the Nutcracker is a Christmas gift from Clara's Aunt Elizabeth Drosselmeyer. Clara's younger brother, Tommy, tries to play with the Nutcracker and breaks his arm. Clara tenderly ties his arm back on, and eventually falls asleep on the couch with the Nutcracker in her arms. When the clock strikes midnight, their home is invaded by the Mouse King. The Nutcracker comes to life and attempts to fight off the mouse army. Clara awakens and tries to help, but is shrunk down to the size of a mouse by the Mouse King's scepter.

The Nutrcracker tells Clara that they must find the Sugarplum Princess to help return her to her regular size, and to help stop the Mouse King. They set off on a journey together through the land of Parthenia. Along the way they meet Major Mint and Captain Candy, who tell them that Prince Eric, the former ruler of the land, is to blame for the Mouse King's reign. That evening, Clara finds the Nutcracker sitting outside under the stars. She reveals to him that she has figured out that he is Prince Eric, and asks why he hasn't revealed the truth. The Nutcracker states he doesn't believe that he deserves to be King, but Clara tells him that by risking his life to save the kingdom he has more than proven himself.

The group continues to search for the Sugarplum Princess, but are accidentally led into a trap laid by the Mouse King. Mint, Candy, and the Nutcracker are captured, and taken to the Mouse King's castle. Clara goes after them, and when she reunites with the Nutcracker they hug. She breaks away quickly, both of them seemingly embarrassed by their feelings for each other. Now freed, the Nutcracker, Clara, and the rest of the kingdom fight back against the Mouse King.

During the battle, the Nutcracker is gravely injured. Clara holds him in her arms, whispers "My poor Nutcracker", and kisses him on the cheek. Clara's love manages to break the spell over the Nutcracker, transforming him back into the human Prince Eric. When Eric takes her hand, Clara herself transforms into the Sugarplum Princess. She breaks all of the evil spells cast by the Mouse King, and then Clara and Eric share in a ballet dance.

The Mouse King, however, seeks his revenge by attacking Clara and opening the locket she has been wearing. The locket transports her back to the real world, and she awakens on Christmas Day. The Nutcracker is missing, and she yearns for her friends back in Parthenia. Before she can try and find her Nutcracker, Aunt Elizabeth enters the parlor with a guest; a family friend named Eric. He returns Clara's locket to her, then asks if she will join him in a dance.

Fanon
About the only real complaint people have about the way the love story is written in the original book is that Marie is too young for marriage, let alone marrying someone who is double as old as her. Luckily, most adaptations ignore this and some people have interpreted the story as taking place over several years.

Within the Barbie fandom, Ericlara has historical importance as being one of the very first relationships depicted in the movie series. Much like Belleast, many fans were disappointed that Eric had to turn back into being "just a Ken", finding him far more attractive as the noble and kind Nutcracker. Many also agree that the relationship between Clara and Eric holds up much better than the other Barbie relationships at the time.

Fandom

 * FAN FICTION