The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Gives Viewers the Cold Shoulder

Six Things I Enjoyed about The Nutcracker and the Four Realms:

1. Young actors Mackenzie Foy and newcomer Jayden Fowora-Knight have bright futures ahead of them. 

2. Helen Mirren

3. The look and design of the four realms and the denizens are colorfully creative. 

4. Helen Mirren

5. Less embarrassing than The Nutcracker in 3D and gave Richard E. Grant a better role. 

6. Did I mention Helen Mirren?

Clara (Mackenzie Foy) and Captain Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight).

The story of the Nutcraker is a simple children's tale of a young girl aiding a cursed prince in reclaiming his throne from the evil Mouse King. So why does Disney feel the need to make it a dark and epic adventure every time they get their hands on an existing fantasy property? Judging by their past list of Narnia rip-offs including Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Sam Raimi's Oz: the Great and Powerful, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Maleficent, I can only guess they are attempting to capture the magic and box-office success of the first Narnia movie.

Sorry, Narnia is through the Wardrobe. 

Don't believe me?  Look at the premise of this recent iteration of the well-known Christmas fable: Lucy Pevensie-I mean-Clara Stahlbaum(Mackenzie Foy), finds herself in the snowy world of Narnia-I mean-The Four Realms inside the house of the wise Professor Kirke-I mean-Godfather Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman). Being the daughter of Eve-I mean-Queen Marie (Anna Madeley), means that Clara is the true ruler of this magical land and destined to defeat the White Witch I-mean-Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). 

The Three rulers: Shiver (Richard E. Grant), the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightly),
and Hawthorne (Eugenio Derbez) meeting Clara.

I'm all for artistic change and expansion, but why this fantasy epic route especially for stories that were never meant for that type of genre. Sort of the opposite for Disney, especially with its animated roster in which they tone down the darker aspects of the source material and make it family-friendly.

The Fourth Ruler: Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren).

Nothing here feels like The Nutcracker; I kept forgetting this was based on the famous ballet until the mention of some familiar names. Clara is never even given the titular doll by her godfather. At least The Nutcracker in 3D (also known as The Nutcracker : The Untold Story on DVD) stuck to the standard story of the original albeit its abysmal execution. Good job movie you had me say something nice to an even worse adaptation.

A ballet performed for Clara, that's more interesting than the movie.
Better yet, I 'd be better watching a live ballet show of the Nutcracker instead.

Like its lesser counterpart, the costumes, make-up, visual look, production design of the magical world and a few supporting players are nice; it just a shame it's lent to a generic fantasy product plagued with a dozen Disney cliches from the deceased mother, disapproving father, and cute animal sidekicks. There's even a surprise villain that in his review of The Four Realms film critic Steven D. Greydanus said it best on the use of this tired troupe:

...an increasingly hackneyed Disney/Pixar device that used to be actually surprising back in the days of Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. It was no longer surprising in Toy Story 3 and Wreck-It Ralph, but the last straw for me was Hans in Frozen, who wasn’t even meant to be the villain until they decided that Let It Go was too catchy for the Snow Queen to be the villain. 

These days it’s everywhere: Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Coco. It’s gotten to the point where the villain not being a surprise is a surprise.

And a surprise it wasn't, halfway through the film I quickly guessed the secret villain. Let's just say it brings out the cynical and negative aspects of the Shrek series in its portrayal of fairy tale characters.
Listen to your own popular song Disney and "let go" of this cliche while you still can.

Available in Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse on both Netflix and DVD)

If you want to see a good take take on Disney's Nutcracker that is charming, funny, less scary and more faithful to the Christmas fable, I highly recommend the Mickey Mouse short and skip this Holiday dud.

Final Verdict: D+