The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (Review)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Might Be Whimsical, but is Hardly Magical.

For some strange reason, Disney thought that the Nutcracker deserved a sequel entitled The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. If you’re wondering why anyone might take advantage of a timeless children’s tale by producing an almost sacrilegious follow up to it, I can answer that in one word, money. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is quite obviously a cash grab aimed at taking advantage of the Christmas season with a film that they hope will get played on network TV for years to come. The thing is that this far from a good movie and even further from a good Christmas movie.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms stars Mackenzie Foy, who sports a grating fake British accent that borders on distracting when all is said in done. She stars as a young girl who is whisked off to a magical land following the death of her mother. There she teams up with a Nutcracker (played by Jayden Fowora-Knight) to save the day from bad guys.

For some reason, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms required co-directors in the form of Joe Johnston and Lasse Hallström. I’m not sure who was responsible for what aspects of the film, but it’s clear that this is yet another case of too many cooks in the kitchen. Rather than build a truly magical world for the audience to enjoy, the film relies on tracking shot after tracking shot in order to create a sense of whimsey as the camera swoops around. The problem is that it never takes the time to reveal the forest from the trees. In other words, it focuses on interesting production designs in the form of magical characters in a half-baked world. This world though pales compared to so many other fully realized ones we’ve seen on the big screen over the years. Despite the supposed “Four Realms” mentioned in the title, we never really get a chance to visit them, to learn the mythos and the tale behind them. Instead, we’re only offered vague glances and explanations. While The Nutcracker and the Four Realms might be made for children, I dare say it even insults their intelligence with its sloppy storytelling.

MacKenzie Foy plays the dull-eyed lead alongside Jayden Fowora-Knight (who previously appeared as “boy playing tennis” in Ready Player One). The two are hardly up to carrying a film on their own, which is why Disney probably brought out the big guns in the form of Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, and Keira Knightley. The thing is not even these all-star actors do much to help. Instead, they’re either offered limited screen time or characters that are vaguely obnoxious. However, I have to say that the only truly great performance in the entire film belongs to Misty Copeland who plays a ballerina and just so happens to be one of the greatest ballerinas in the world right now. Honestly, it would have been so much more fun just to watch an hour and a half of her on screen.

First-time feature writer Ashleigh Powell does her best to create a modern fairy tale. There are certainly a few moments of fancy, but a lot of the visuals from her tale are pure nightmare fuel. From the robotic tin soldiers to the clown-like Russian nesting dolls to the horde of rats that come together to create a “rat king.” There’s a fine line between whimsical and terrifying and The Nutcracker and the Four Realms spends a little too much time on the wrong side of that line. Of course, kids are into pretty freaky things these days, so who knows how they’ll react to it. That being said, heads up that you might wake up to your children wanting to share a bed after seeing this flick.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen so many people walk out of a movie. I was tempted to join them, but that would have hardly been fair to you, my adoring public. It might be a bit harsh to say that The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a movie that doesn’t deserve to be seen. Rather I should say that it’s a story that is much to small for the big screen. If you’re considering seeing this new Disney film, I would save yourself the time and money, and just wait for it to inevitably be played over and over again next Christmas. The money you save would be better put towards Black Friday sales to make sure your family has a truly merry holiday instead.