The other evening we had the opportunity to attend the screening for The Nutcracker and the Four Realms in Vancouver. This is a movie that my oldest daughter and I have really been looking forward to seeing. My little ballerina has been taking ballet lessons since she was little and we have attended a couple Nutcracker performances together. It’s a tale that we both love and we couldn’t wait to see what Disney was about to bring to the screen with it!
ABOUT THE FILM
All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key. A one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key—which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world. Starring Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Disney’s new holiday feature film “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston, and inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic tale.
GET READY FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE ADVENTURE
I have to be honest, I had one major concern as a parent before heading in to see The Nutcracker and the Four Realms; was this going to be scary? It’s something I have heard several of my friends ask. All of us were wondering if it would be too frightening of a movie for younger children. Honestly, it has its moments of suspense and thrill with the fight scenes. I would definitely say that children ages 6+ would be able to enjoy this movie and understand what is happening. It is not a movie that I would allow my 3-year-old to see as I know she is much more sensitive to moments like that in films.
If you are familiar with the classic tale of The Nutcracker than you will already be aware of some of the names of characters in this movie. You’ll recognize Clara, Drosselmeyer, and the Mouse King. Several new characters are added to this story. It does start to feel similar to other stories and like things are being borrowed to create something new. For example, you may feel like this story is similar to one that involves a wardrobe and another kingdom.
My daughter and I agreed that we loved this movie for its beautiful imagery and the incredible costumes. Almost immediately, my daughter spotted the outfit the Ballerina Princess was wearing, started asking if she might be able to wear something like that someday. The Ballerina Princess was also a favourite scene of ours as it paid homage to The Nutcracker ballet itself. It’s absolutely breathtaking!
Everything considered, this may not be a brand new story and it may feel like it is the combination of several movies, it is definitely entertaining for kids! I do feel the story and characters could have been expanded on and developed further, it did provide the opportunity for my daughter to ask all sorts of great questions. It amazed me how observant she was about the emotions of characters and what was happening in the story. If you are looking for a film to start getting you and your kids into the Christmas season, this is a great one to see.
I cant wait to see this movie. Dont think I will bring my girls though, seems from the preview to be a bit scary.
I want to take my daughter to see this. We have gone to the Nutcracker ballet before.