Alice and the Four Rea- I mean, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a 2018 big-screen adaptation of the classic novella/ballet "The Nutcracker" produced by Disney. And, by "adaptation", I mean there were about three similarities that I noticed. Now, I'll be the first to tell you that I don't know the full story behind "The Nutcracker". I don't know if there's enough there to warrant a movie tie-in. That being said, what we did get was not very good. Not very good at all. Granted, I wasn't expecting much in the first place, so I can't say I was disappointed. The movie stars Mackenzie Foy as Clara Stahlbaum, Keira Knightley as Sugar Plum, Morgan Freeman as Drosselmeyer, Jayden Fowora-Knight as Captain Phillip, Helen Mirren as Mother Ginger, and a bunch of other characters that weren't important. It was directed by Lasse Hallstrom and written by Ashleigh Powell, with reshoots done by Joe Johnston. To it's credit, they did they to give us something good with the material they presented. Unfortunately, they failed. Pretty hard. And I'll explain how.
First of all, let's talk about the actors. They were bad for the most part. I only cared about three of the characters: I cared about Drosselmeyer, Captain Phillip, and the mouse. I was fully invested in that mouse's performance. Everybody else was a bland, cookie cutter character that I had absolutely no interest in, including Clara. The main character. Mackenzie's performance wasn't bad, it just wasn't very immersing. It wasn't her fault, though. She did okay with the poor screenplay she was given, but not good enough to save it. Morgan Freeman was great, but that's because he's Morgan Freeman. It is physically impossible for Morgan Freeman to be a bad actor. Newcomer Jayden Fowora-Knight was actually pretty good. He plays the only Nutcracker soldier in the movie that wasn't a CG effect, and he does a good job. This was his first movie in which he plays a lead. His only other acting credit is as "Boy Playing Tennis" in Ready Player One, so I'm really looking forward to seeing where his career goes from here. Keira Knightley was annoying. Her voice was so shrill, so high-pitched, it was very difficult to listen to. And she plays her character as this overly-cutesy fairy that's trying her hardest to be likable, but she just wasn't. When it's revealed that Plum was the villain the whole time, I became hopeful that Knightley's performance would improve and become more menacing. But it didn't. She kept the same voice and demeanor that she had for the rest of the movie. It actually somehow got worse, cause she had to add a forced villainous tone to her obnoxious voice. And the rest of the actors/characters didn't leave that big of an impression on me. They were bland and forgettable. That mouse was awesome, though.
The story presented in this movie was rather odd, to say the least. Clara is given a locked egg-shaped box as a Christmas present from her deceased mother (because it's Disney. Of course there's a dead mother). She needs the key for it, which she finds in this vast Narnia-esque world that is apparently just in the back of Drosselmeyer's house for some reason. It's never explained. She follows a rope into a dark section of a room and exits through an open tree trunk, but, later on, her and Sugar Plum briefly reenter the real world on the mechanisms of a clock. And, also, while they're in the real world, it's revealed that time moves slower there than it does in the realm world. How do we know that? Because Sugar Plum says it exactly like that. And then never explains it. We're just supposed to just accept it. Good start, movie. Clara is revealed to be a princess (because Disney) and she has to band together with Phillip and some other characters that I don't care about to save the Four Realms. Which she does, cause, y'know, that's how movies go. The whole third act is the most visually interesting part of it, but it falls flat on it's face in every other regard. I really wanted to be invested, but I couldn't be. Everything about it, save for the visuals, was boring. The action wasn't interesting, the dialogue was lame, none of the actors (save for Jayden) looked like they cared about what they were doing. It wasn't a very good climax, which was a very disappointing payoff to an admittedly pretty decent buildup. The few things that work about this movie actually did cause it to kinda pick up as it went along, which made the finale all the more of a letdown.
There were also a few attempts at humor throughout the film. I say "attempts" cause that's what they are. Attempts. They don't work 80% of the time. There are two characters that were supposed to be the comic relief of the movie. I never caught their names, but one of them was chubby and the other was skinny. They have the majority of the jokes, and one of them works. They volenteer to help Clara get the key back from Mother Ginger, the skinny one says he's a good soldier, he throws his weapon up in the air, and doesn't catch it, grabbing the air instead. That was the only joke that worked with those characters. This movie also has a ton of freaky imagery in it. Hundreds upon hundreds of mice combining together to take the form of one giant mouse, the lifeless faces of the CG Nutcracker soldiers, Mother Ginger's huge robot that she created in her image. But, by far, the scariest part of it was the freaky, disturbing clown things that Mother Ginger keeps in her robot home. The first shot we see of them is a jumpscare. And the way they move is not human. Jumping in and out of each other, opening up their bodies like matryoshka dolls, retracting their limbs back into their bodies and rolling around to get from place to place. I don't like them.
I've been hard on this movie, cause it's bad and not entertaining, but I will give it credit for looking beautiful. The set and costume designs in the Realms are absolutely immaculate! This movie had a budget of $120 million, most of which clearly went towards designing the setpieces and costumes. And it shows in spades. The Realms are gorgeous! All the locations we visit throughout the movie are immense, elegant, and amazing. On top of this, the costumes that are worn by the citizens of these four realms are really cool. They look like people that would exists in this universe. The residents of the Realm of Snowflakes have light blue clothes with icicles hanging off of them. The citizens of the Realm of Sweets all wear bright and colorful outfits that look like you could take a bite out of them. And the CGI Nutcrackers, despite how scary their faces are, look really good in terms of design. The score was very good, too. When it wasn't sampling snippets of the "Nutcracker" music, presumably to remind the audience that they're watching a "Nutcracker" movie, the original music is very pretty and adds to the tone of the scenes it appears it.
And, while I'm on the topic of positivity, there are a few other things about this movie that I got some enjoyment out of. I really liked the chemistry between Clara and Phillip. They become very good friends as the film progresses, even to the point where Phillip becomes visibly sad when Clara has to leave after Plum is defeated and the Realms are saved. And what was in the egg box that Clara's mother left for her? She left it with the phrase "Everything you need is inside". When Clara finally opens it up, she finds a mirror that shows her her own reflection. It's cliche, but it's one of the few genuinely charming moments in this movie. And, when this Nutcracker movie actually does the dancing, it's wonderful! The dancers they chose really nailed it. The dancing is seen in a five-minute moment when Plum explains the Realms to Clara, and then it's reprised during the end credits. It's one of the few things that actually make the movie worth watching, it just sucks that there's so little of it. Clara dancing with her father at the end was nice, the actress chosen to portray Clara's dead Mom was good. But do all of these good things outweigh the bad? I'm afraid not.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a weak movie from a strong company. Disney's put out some very good movies this year so far. Avengers: Infinity War, Christopher Robin, Black Panther, Incredibles 2, Ant-Man and the Wasp, I'd even argue that Solo was better than this. This movie could have been another Disney classic, but it isn't. It has the same problem that A Wrinkle in Time had. It's an intriguing concept with great visuals and the occasional good performance, but everything else about it falls flat on it's face and brings the whole project down. I did get some enjoyment out of this movie, yes, but it was ultimately nothing too special. I'm gonna give The Nutcracker and the Four Realms a 5/10. It would've been lower if not for the incredible set designs. I'm really hoping that Wreck-It Ralph 2 doesn't suck, because we're gonna need something to wash this movie down with.
