![]() But her new BFF is Sugar Plum, the perky leader of the Land of Sweets, played by a nearly unrecognizable Keira Knightley. Having said that, the gorgeous and ornate dresses from veteran costume designer Jenny Beavan, a two-time Oscar winner and 10-time nominee (“ Mad Max: Fury Road,” “A Room With a View”), are among the film’s few highlights.Ĭlara gets some guidance from the head of the flower realm (a flamboyant Eugenio Derbez) and the ruler of the snowflake realm ( Richard E. Because it wouldn’t be a Disney movie without a deceased parent and/or a princess, or at least some sort of princess merchandise to sell. The rest is garish kitsch.)Īnyway, turns out that Clara’s mom was the queen of the Four Realms, and Clara, as the princess, must stay and restore the place to its former peace and harmony. (The gifted cinematographer Linus Sandgren, an Oscar-winner for “ La La Land,” shot this, which you’d only know from the visually striking dance sequence that plays during the closing credits. It’s one of many CGI set pieces that are awkward, unclear and not nearly as thrilling as they aim to be. Early on in the film, Clara and her nutcracker friend and guide, Phillip (newcomer Jayden Fowora-Knight), are attacked by a giant mouse made out of mice, reminiscent of what the Minions do when they climb on top of each other in a feeble attempt at being helpful. They are the Land of Flowers, the Land of Snowflakes, the Land of Sweets and the Land of Amusements-the last of which is a fearsome, abandoned place where the cruel Mother Ginger ( Helen Mirren) reigns with the help of her army of mice. When she follows a long, golden thread through a tree trunk and finally arrives there, she finds it’s actually composed of four realms-hence the title. Before her passing, Claire's mother arranged an extra-special Christmas gift for her this year: an ornate, egg-shaped box, which she can only open using a key that awaits her in a magical, parallel world. (Foy, who played offspring Renesmee Cullen in the “Twilight” finale and a young Jessica Chastain in “ Interstellar,” has an engaging presence, but her British accent is iffy.) Nevertheless, she must trudge to the elaborate holiday soiree she attends annually with her father (Matthew Macfadyen) and her siblings ( Ellie Bamber and Tom Sweet) at the palatial home of her godfather, Drosselmeyer ( Morgan Freeman). Mackenzie Foy stars as Clara, a girl who’s understandably struggling to enjoy Christmas following the death of her beloved mother. What’s clear, though, is that there is simultaneously too much going on here in the script from first-time Ashleigh Powell, and yet not enough.Īllow me to try to explain. Maybe that’s why the film feels so unfocused, so herky-jerky tonally. Hallstrom (“ The Cider House Rules,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?”) was the original director, but then Johnston (“ Jumanji,” “ Captain America: The First Avenger”) was brought in to helm significant reshoots with extensive visual effects when Hallstrom had a scheduling conflict. When a pesky mouse runs off with her key, Clara teams up with the Nutcracker soldier (Jayden Fowora-Knight).In an unusual move, this “Nutcracker” is credited to two veteran directors, Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston-although they didn’t work on the film at the same time. Mirren looks a bit Vivienne Westwood as Mother Ginger, a wily old harridan terrorising the kingdom. ![]() Knightley is deliciously silly as Sugar Plum, the baby-voiced ruler of the Land of Sweets. ![]() Clara’s inventor godfather ( Morgan Freeman) leads her to the key and a magical kingdom where toys, miraculously brought to life, greet her as royalty. On Christmas Eve she is given a mechanical silver egg, a final gift from her mum – but upsettingly the key is missing. The production design presents a gorgeous Christmas-card vision of Victorian London where clever, science-mad Clara (Mackenzie Foy) is grieving the death of her mother. It’s like a Hollywood panto has come to town. (And what frocks – Jenny Beavan’s costumes are ravishing.) Keira Knightley and Helen Mirren lead the starry cast, though everyone is upstaged by some terrific CGI mouse-acting. But princess fantasies and frothy frocks are a hard habit for Disney to kick. The heroine here, fiercely independent and brave, follows the Disney-princess-gone-rogue template set by Emma Watson in Beauty and the Beast. W ith this sumptuous ballet-lite live action retelling of The Nutcracker, Disney is having its feminist mince pie and eating it.
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