Director: Lasse Hallstrom, Joe Johnston
Writer: Ashleigh Powell, E.T.A. Hoffmanm (Screenplay) Marius Petipa (Nutcracker Ballet)
Starring: Mackenzie Foy, Tom Sweet, Meera Syal, Ellie Bamber, Matthew Macfadyen, Nick Mohammed, Morgan Freeman, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren
Plot: A young girl is transported into a magical world of gingerbread soldiers and an army of mice.
Tagline – In 2018, the legend you know has a dark side.
Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Alice in Wonderland?
Story: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms starts when a teenage girl Clara (Foy) is getting thrown into formal occasions that she is prepared or interested in, where her godfather Drosselmeyer (Freeman) offers her a key, which is meant to take her to a magical kingdom.
Clara finds herself heading to the Fourth Realm, where she must lead the battles against the even Miss Ginger (Mirren) who wants control of all four realms and will do anything to stop Clara gaining control.
Thoughts on The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Characters – Clara is a teenage girl that is has seen her mother pass away and her father is trying to become closer with her as they can grieve together, she isn’t happy with this and wants to break out of this life, she finds herself transported to a magical land where her mother once ruled and she must reclaim the throne from an enemy. Drosselmeyer is Clara’s godfather who offers her a key encouraging her to enjoy her life. Mother Ginger is the evil woman living in the darkest looking to control the four realms, while Sugar Plum is controlling the kingdom waiting for the queen to return.
Performances – Mackenzie Foy is the strongest of the performers in this film, we can see the look of amazement with the new land, while being filled with the sadness in her life. We have big names like Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman who just doesn’t seem to get going, looking like they are just looking for a pay check for their work.
Story – The story here follows a teenager who gets transported to a magical kingdom to save it from an evil waiting to arise and take control. The story here does feel like it is just another version of Alice in Wonderland, we have the young girl went to a new world, a loose cannon leader trying to take control and quirky side characters. It is trying to show the signs of how a girl must work to get over her own grief to move on with life, which is the only interesting part of the story, while the rest just becomes predictable.
Adventure/Fantasy – The adventure side of the film shows Clara heading to a new area filled with magical landscapes and creature, which does play into the fantasy elements involved in the film.
Settings – The film does use locations to show the different worlds that Clara comes from an heads to, which shows her different live she could have.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do disappoint because you can see the green screen for most of the big sequences.
Scene of the Movie – The first arrival.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nobody seems to look that interested.
Final Thoughts – This does seem to look like a rip off, of Alice and Wonderland without hitting the magical notes it wants to.
Overall: Dull and Uninspiring.
