This humble opinion is brought to by you T. K. Edwards
Director by: Lasse Hallstrom & Joe Johnston
Cast: Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Macfadyen, Richard E. Grant, Jayden Fowora-Knight
A young girl is transported to a magical kingdom where she searches for a key that unlocks a gift given to her by her late mother.
NO SPOILERS BELOW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS was not a good movie, nor was it a bad movie. I literally was sitting there watching each scene pass bye, trying to decide between the two. Is this movie bad? Is this movie good? And honestly…I still can’t decide and that is very frustrating for me (you have no idea). It reminded me of another Disney movie called A WRINKLE IN TIME that was just recently in theaters. Now that one I know is bad, but the reason THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS was like A WRINKLE IN TIME was that both films lacked the “magical” feeling you get when watching a Disney film. For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, I’ll remind you. It’s that feeling you get right at the beginning of the film…even before the movie starts. The screen is black, then an instrumental “Wish Upon a Star” plays. The screen lights up and you begin to float down from the sky through brilliantly colorful fireworks revealing a white castle with the blue rooftops. Then a star shoots from the right side of the castle, leaving a sparkling dust trail until it lands on the other side of the castle. Those giant letters, in his unmistakable cursive handwriting magically materializes into view…and that’s when the kid in you realizes you’re about to watch a movie with Walt Disney. And that’s the “magical” feeling I’m speaking of. When a Disney movie doesn’t give me that to me, then it immediately loses my interest as an audience member. Now, don’t get me wrong…The Nutcracker is an unbelievable ballet. Everything about it projects elegance, grace and when it’s done right on stage…perfect storytelling. But unfortunately, the story does not have the same effect on the silver screen as it does on stage. THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS comes across as a story that is trying it’s best for you to love it as much as it’s stage performance and that simply is just not the case. They are two completely different animals and cannot be compared. Basically, what it breaks down to is this…some stories can’t be told on a movie screen and should be left to being seen only on stage. My suggestion is to skip seeing THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS in theaters and just watch the ballet instead. Until next time, thanks for reading.
P.S. – There is no post credit scene.
MATINEE CHAT with Kathy Kaiser 