There’s even more big budget Disney CGI action next, with 2018’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, brought to life with an impressive all-star cast by the visionary directorial double team of Lasse Halstrom and Joe Johnson. This is a Return to Oz style quasi-sequel/reimagining of E. T. A. Hoffmann's 1816 short story ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,’ itself adapted as numerous different films, musicals and, of course, the famous ballet with that unmistakable Tchaikovsky score.
In this glossy incarnation, on the eve of Christmas in Victorian London, young Clara discovers that her deceased mother left her with an inheritance that will unlock the door to the mystical Four Realms, a land of fairies and living toy soldiers and stuff. Clara gets whisked away into a colourful adventure and discovers that she alone may hold the key to the fate of this fantastical land.
As you’d expect from a big budget Disney production the design work on this is amazing with loads of dazzling sets, gorgeous costumes and weird and wonderful creatures. It’s a little twisted and sinister too, looking like something you might expect from a Tim Burton film, but not quite as messed-up.
The critics appear to have savaged this, but I feel a lot kinder. Perhaps after watching so much low budget mince recently I’m grateful to see something lavish and mega, with loads of that sweet Disney money chucked at it. I find this very festive and full of inspired ideas, revisiting some cherished characters, showing them through fresh eyes with polished modern effects and production design.
The film squeezes in some gorgeous ballet scenes, with a magnificently choreographed routine led by the outrageously talented Misty Copeland that smartly and quickly recaps the original Nutcracker story. Then, once in the Four Realms, Clara encounters some rather nightmarish baddies. You might think that some mice wouldn’t seem like some very formidable enemies, but in this, the rascally rodents swarm together to form huge, menacing ‘mice men’. They’re pretty horrific and the effects work is a real feast for the eyes.
Keira Knightley is a great choice as the Sugar Plum Fairy even though she talks in a high-pitched voice that feels a little off and she’s ill-served by more of that hackneyed ‘Seize them!’ dialogue. The character ends up a lot more fun when (SPOILER!) she’s actually revealed as the film’s Big Bad.
Elsewhere, Helen Mirren is typically ace as the fearsome Mother Ginger and, though she’s not given a lot to do, she does get to pilot an awesome gigantic clockwork steampunk robot avatar that does her bidding in some cool set-pieces. Don’t remember that bit in the ballet.
Oddly, Jayden Fowora-Knight as the titular Nutcracker, Philip who guides Clara on her journey, gives a pretty wooden (pun intended) performance, never really making you care much about him. I keep thinking it’s weird he isn’t given more to do, considering the film is named after him.
Everything builds up to a spectacular all-action climax, though the baddies are defeated a little too easily for my liking. This also reminds me of how sad it is that some major conflicts have been fought over petty little slights and squabbles – the fairy gets a bit jealous, essentially, so lots of people have to go to war. In the film it seems silly until I remember that this sort of stuff goes on all the time. I’m looking at you again, Mr Trump.
Still, it’s a beautiful film that I find impossible to hate. There’s always something visually interesting going on and Clara is a strong, feisty role model for young girls. The men in this are mostly ineffective, dim, or helpless preening fops, leaving the tough girls to take care of business. This had been unfairly described as a ‘soulless’ rendition, but I disagree. Maybe because I’m a father to a brave little girl who recently worried about losing her own mother – Katie had a health scare last year that thankfully turned out to be nothing – but I feel there’s a lot of soul to find in this well-crafted tale. I pretty much adore it.
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