In “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” Clara travels along a golden thread, presented at Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual party, eagerly searching for a one-of-a-kind key that will “THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS” unlock a music box that holds a priceless gift. Destined to become an annual viewing tradition for adventurers of all ages, the film arrives home instantly with never-before-seen extras and deleted scenes on Digital and Movies Anywhere, and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD Jan. Hoffmann’s classic tale and the beloved ballet “The Nutcracker”-carried audiences alongwith14-year-old Clara ( Mackenzie Foy) to a magical, mysterious world with breathtaking performances by Misty Copeland plus sweets, snowflakes, soldiers, scurrying mice… and no shortage of surprises. This would be fine if it were a richer movie or gave its “strong female character” more to do than just be “strong.” Like with Tomorrowland, Disney is spending A-level money on glorified homages to their B-movie past.Disney’s dazzling adventure “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”-inspired by E.T.A. Alleged $130 million budget notwithstanding, this is a slight movie and, if anything, feels from a time when Disney’s big-budget fantasies weren’t expected to rule the world. She’s a science whiz, but she also accepts these impossible worlds without batting an eye. Foy is as good as allowed, but she gets very little in the way of witty dialogue or specific personality. The film is badly missing what should be its middle act, during which the characters might have character-revealing conversations and further explore the lovely fantasy world. However, since The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is lacking in much else, the few moments of forbidden flirtation between these two ridiculously good-looking kids can’t help but stand out. I wouldn’t usually care if a movie like this had a romance. Jayden Fowora-Knight is the Nutcracker Prince, tagging along mostly for IP purposes and not even exploited as a potential love interest. But she’s mostly an exposition machine, while Morgan Freeman (as the kindly inventor in the real world who sends Clare on her way) and Helen Mirren have mere glorified cameos. Keira Knightley goes for it as the Sugarplum Fairy, and she’s clearly having fun in the film’s final third. Once Clare enters “not-Narnia,” the characters mostly stop talking to each other. There’s bits and pieces of Narnia as well, even as the brief (93 minutes, plus credits, with only an hour set in the fantasy worlds) feature is far more concerned with world building and exposition than with character work. It plays like a stripped down and less chaotic variation of that Sam Raimi film’s “ Army of Darkness… for kids!” sensibilities. This one is closer in spirit to Oz: The Great and Powerful, in that it isn’t a straight-up remake and isn’t explicitly related to a prior Disney animated classic. When I talk about how Disney struck gold when they stopped trying to rip off Pirates of the Caribbean and started trying to rip off Alice in Wonderland, I wasn’t intending to be this literal. It takes the IP and offers a loose remix of Wizard of Oz and Disney’s blockbuster Alice in Wonderland adaptation that started this whole live-action fairy tale sub-genre. That it’s not terribly faithful to the Russian ballet goes without saying, even with a mid-film digression featuring Misty Copeland. Whether it be good or bad, it’s primary purpose is to include certain fantasy tropes, including a stereotypically empowered young female heroine who doesn’t get much to do beyond fulfilling her destiny, for Disney to have its own carefully-engineered and brand-specific version of The Nutcracker. The film’s opening scene involves a Rube Goldberg machine, and that opening seems to exist as a metaphor for the film itself. Yes, it is as generic a “You’re the special!” story as presumed, with little in the way of context or danger to enliven the proceedings. Not only is her mother a beloved figure in the four realms in question, but it may be Clare’s responsibility to save the proverbial day. After being forced to attend a lavish Christmas party, she ends up in a fantasy world with apparent links to her dead mom. Dad is clearly in pain as well, but he’s doing his best to keep up appearances, which is interpreted by his daughter as ignoring or not caring about their recent loss. It’s Christmas Eve, and Clara (Mackenzie Foy) is buried in mourning for her recently deceased mother.
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