Who knew that there was more to The Nutcracker story than what we’ve all experienced every holiday season with the Tchaikovsky classic ballet? Turns out, there is, and it is a dazzling adventure from the folks at Disney. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is out now on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K and various digital download formats.
Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s classic tale (and of course the beloved ballet), The Four Realms takes us into a quartet of worlds that all are threatening the natural order of things in Clara’s (Mackenzie Foy of Twilight fame) universe.
Clara just wants a key that will unlock a box that possess a gift from her late mother. During the family’s annual Christmas fete, she gets a golden thread which will lead her to that elusive key. At first, it, it leads her to a strange, beautiful and mysterious parallel world. She encounters a gang of mice (those cannot be good, if you remember the first Nutcracker), a secretive soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight) and the regents who oversee three realms: The Land of Flowers, the Land of Sweets and the Land of Flowers. Phillip and Clara must go through all those realms before entering the fourth realm—where the evil Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren) resides. Then if, and only if, they successful make it through these quartet of challenges, can Clara hope to find the key to her holiday happiness.
Joining the stellar cast members is Morgan Freeman (as Drosselmeyer,) Keira Knightley (as the Sugar Plum fairy—impeccably cast!) and recent Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant as Shiver.
The production design on this film is absolutely stunning. It is seriously one of the more gorgeous motion pictures we’ve seen in the last few years. Now, the drama is a bit wonky as we progress through the realms, and there is (in my opinion) not enough dancing to delight longtime Nutcracker fans. But this is no question a title to bring home on home video and to be played on the finest equipment to fully experience the visual marvel that has been created in directors Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston’s beautiful journey into Hoffman’s wildly expansive imagination.
Foy has come a long way since she first played Bella and Edward’s child in the Twilight series. Sometimes a child actor can just be one role and lucky for us Foy continued to work at her craft, and she makes quite the announcement in Nutcracker and the Four Realms as an actress whose future is quite bright. We also adored Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tackling a beloved character can be a double-edged sword. The British thespian tackles it and makes it her own. It is pure sugary delight.
The highlight of the bonus features, for this long-time appreciator or ballet, is the chat with American Ballet Theatre’s Misty Copeland. In On Pointe: A Conversation with Misty Copeland, the dancing icon chats up her part as the Ballerina Princess and dishes about her many years being a part of countless productions of The Nutcracker and how this film was a culmination of everything she’s done prior. Copeland also goes back to the beginning and shares her story as to how she became a dancer—it is inspiring.
Given the astounding and mind-blowing sets in the film, one has to next dive into the bonus feature entitled, Unwrapping The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. It is in this featurette that viewers learn the secrets behind the magic of the priceless production design, as well as the costumes and sets. All of these elements are integral in turning a ballet that everyone knows into a mind-blowing cinematic spectacle.
Now, there are a few deleted scenes included, and they add a bit more to the story. Among my favorites are The Stahlbaums Arrive shows the Stahlbaums enter the Christmas Eve ball, the butler tries to announce them to the party’s guests. Another deleted scene I enjoyed was one involving the great Freeman where his Drosselmeyer cheers on a reluctant Clara to go find her gift. A touching deleted scene, and one can see why it was cut—it doesn’t add too much to the story, is Clara Asks About Her Mother where Knightley’s Sugar Plum gives Clara a tour of her mother’s bedroom. It’s touching, sure, but in the scope of the entire movie’s arc, one can see why the helmers cut it.
Unwrapped: The Visual Effects of “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is a feast for the eyes. It picks up where the production design/set bonus featurette left off and takes us into the special effects of The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. It is basically a full reel that lays out how some of those amazing visual effects were achieved. It’s inspiring to say the last.
Lastly, there are two music videos that are pure joys. Fall on Me features the incomparable Andrea Bocelli and Matteo Bocelli (his son) belting out their beautiful first song as a father-son pair. Yeah, you might need tissues. The second music video is The Nutcracker Suite, which is performed by Lang Lang. It brings home one of the most popular moment in Tchaikovsky’s score for The Nutcracker. The pianist works his magic on the track and is must be seen to be believed the level of excellence achieved.
Film Grade: B
Bonus Features: B+