The Nutcracker And The Four Realms

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms – After recently losing her mother, Clara is given a gift of a locked, egg-shaped trinket box made by her Godfather, requiring a specific key to open it. Following the thread left by her Godfather, Clara finds herself in a magical world full of real, life-sized toys, including her new friend, the Nutcracker soldier, Captain Phillip Hoffman. Discovering that the world is made up of four realms, three of which are at war with the fourth, Clara must navigate her way around this new place and live up to the legacy that her mother, the Queen of this world, had left behind.

The Nutcracker And The Four Realms (2018) – Director: Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston

By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=56083804

Rating: PG

Running Length: 99 mins

Starring: Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Jayden Fowora-Knight

Genre: Fantasy

REVIEW: THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’ is arguably the most famous adaptations of E. T. A. Hoffman’s classic tale and it is certainly the inspiration for ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ even if the story has been moved around somewhat. Tchaikovsky’s familiar music creates a solid grounding for the fantastical story and visuals on display and the classic and beautiful mid-way ballet to explain how the realms came to be brings an extra element of live performance which doesn’t outstay its welcome.

Mackenzie Foy easily carries the movie on her young shoulders, impressively playing a young woman who is experiencing all manner of emotions while needing to be strong for those around her. Keira Knightley is almost unrecognisable as the enjoyably saccharine sweet Sugarplum. Unfortunately, although the movie is dotted with ultra-famous stars, their roles are so small that they barely constitute more than extended cameos, and so the film rests on a subdued, grieving character.

‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ sadly lacks the oomph it needs to be the unique stand out it promised to be and even though it is undoubtedly a visual treat for the eyes and a whole lot of fun to watch, its predictable plot makes it struggle to shine from the crowd among other, similar, movies such as Alice in Wonderland.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

The entire film has a sense of melancholy due to the grief felt by the loss of Clara’s mother. There are numerous times when Clara laments her passing and Clara’s father struggles to maintain his composure when thinking of her.

At a party, the children follow threads around the building which leads them to a Christmas present. Clara’s was put there by her kindly Godfather and it takes her away from the other partygoers, into a darkened hallway. The music turns little mystical and cynical as Clara walks further into the darkness. She then finds herself in the parallel world which is brightly lit and does not seem in any way dangerous. Clara is not afraid during this scene and therefore while it could be a little creepy, it should not be overly scary.

When walking through some woods, Clara chases a mouse which carries a key that she is looking for. As she looks for it, the silhouette of a large creature appears behind her and approaches her menacingly. This turns out to be a huge mouse which is made up of thousands of mice that moves like a sentient being. It grabs Clara and takes her away, however she is rescued by Captain Phillip and they manage to escape. Afterwards, Clara sees a huge, wooden statue which booms at her, beckoning her as it has her key. She is tempted to go but Phillips warns her ‘If you go, you won’t come back, no one does’.

Clara leads an army to stop the evil Mother Ginger in her home of the fourth realm. Several of the soldiers are afraid and, as they get to the entrance, there is a thick fog which partially obscures an abandoned carnival-like wooden archway. Creepy carnival music can be heard and the soldiers are clearly scared. Clara takes charge and leads them inside where she sees a decoration of a wooden, wide-eyed monkey. As they get further inside, soldiers disappear suddenly into the ground. Clara finds herself in a circus tent and immediately there is an extreme close-up of a clown which gurns at her. It separates so that several clowns appear which play around in a macabre way, trying to defeat her. Again, Clara isn’t afraid of them but this scene lasts for several minutes and could be a little frightening for younger kids and anyone who is scared of clowns.

When Clara meets Mother Ginger, her face has large cracks in it, as if it is made of porcelain.

A character begins to make an army using a special machine that turns toys into large, unspeaking soldiers. To show how dangerous they are, this character orders a guard to stand in front of the machine. When the machine is turned on, the guard is turned back into a toy, effectively killing him. Others look at each other in shock but, as this guard was only an incidental character and no suffering is seen, kids are unlikely to be distressed by this.

Clara is taken prisoner and, in order to escape, uses physics to jump from a height while holding a rope which is swung around a protruding wooden beam. This works perfectly and she escapes. We mention this as Clara’s confidence could make her actions imitable for some children.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS’ FOR KIDS?

Beautiful and fun but ultimately not as good as it should have been ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ struggles to be more than a pale imitation of other, similar films. We feel this movie should be appropriate for kids aged 6 and over.

• Violence: 2/5
• Emotional Distress: 3/5
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (some spooky and creepy moments that are mostly short-lived. The scene with the clowns could be particularly scary)
• Sexual Content: 0/5
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 0/5
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of loss and grief, family, determination, parallel worlds, magic, betrayal, trust, having a scientific mind and friendship.

Words by Laura Record