Surprise, surprise – the key needed for the machine matches the key needed for Clara’s egg! So Sugar Plum sends Clara and Nutcracker Phillip on a mission to retrieve the key from the Mouse King in Mother Ginger’s fourth realm, and bring it back to open the egg, turn on the machine, and save the kingdom!įrom here, the story is nothing fantastic. Credit to Disney Movies.Ĭlara tells the regents of her quest to find the key to unlock her mother’s egg, and Sugar Plum shows her a mysterious machine that could somehow save the kingdom from the heinous Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren, who, like Morgan Freeman, can do no wrong), who rules the desolate fourth realm and has apparently been terrorizing the kingdom. Clara with the Regents of the Realms (Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Richard E. Grant and Eugenio Derbez, respectively) and Sugar Plum, who rules the Land of Sweets (played by a scene-chewing Keira Knightley). There, Clara meets the regents who preside over the lands of the kingdom: the regents of the Land of Snowflakes and the Land of Flowers (Richard E. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, but I digress. There, Clara comes upon a Nutcracker soldier called Captain Phillip (played by Jaden Fowora Knight) who rescues her from a swirling-rodent-Mouse-King entity and leads her to the castle in the center of the kingdom. Upon crossing over, the key Clara wants is stolen by a mischievous mouse, who leads Clara on a merry chase through Christmas-tree woods. Clara’s gift is a precious Faberge-style egg with a mysterious lock, but no key – and who else but Freeman’s Drosselmeyer to lead Clara to that key, where she discovers a magical otherworld! Anyway, in the process, we learn that Clara’s mother has died, leaving the children gifts. Freeman’s role isn’t extensive, and it’s not one of his more iconic characters, but who cares? Morgan Freeman can do whatever he darn well pleases, and I’ll probably think it’s great. Their father takes them to a Christmas Eve party hosted by none other than Clara’s Godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, played by Morgan Freeman. The story opens in Victorian London, as young Clara (Mackenzie Foy) shows her brother Fritz (played by Tom Sweet) a mousetrap contraption that reveals her sense of inventiveness. Second Warning, a recap of the plot ahead. The plot, however, left a bit to be desired, making it much easier to focus on the costumes, sets, and visual imagery. The colors, costumes, and settings in this movie were vibrant and glorious – I don’t remember the last time I was wholly focused on the visual aspect of a film, but Jenny Beavan’s costumes and Lisa Chugg’s set decorations (thanks IMDb for the credit info!) had me doing just that. Nutcracker was simply beautiful to look at. Seriously: at a minimum, the Academy should pay attention to The Nutcracker and the Four Realms for costume design, if not for set design as well. Second things second: this film deserves an Oscar nomination. Aside from the setting and cast of characters, little in this film resembles the story that most know of Clara and her Nutcracker doll come to life.ĭisney definitely took some liberties with this movie, which is probably why the credits say that it’s simply “inspired by” the classic tale. Warning: plot spoilers ahead!įirst things first: this film is a significant departure from Tchaikovsky’s classic holiday ballet. Starring Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren, with Mackenzie Foy as Clara, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms tells a new tale of Clara’s adventure to an enchanting parallel world.
Credit to Disney Movies.Īt the risk of being “those people” who start the Christmas season too soon after Halloween before Thanksgiving has even passed (Who am I kidding? We’re already “those people” – the Holiday Traditions station is currently the default channel on our Sirius XM), my daughter and I trekked to the local cineplex this weekend and took in a showing of Disney’s new feature, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Clara and Sugar Plum, from Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms.
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