First of all, and perhaps most importantly, it\u2019s not the real<\/em> story of The Nutcracker<\/em>. It actually has nothing to do with that classic tale at all, other than that the girl and the toymaker have the same names. And there are toy soldiers and mice. Lots of mice. Lots and lots of mice.<\/p>\n So, for Nutcracker<\/em> purists, like myself, just pretend that you\u2019re seeing a totally different story because you\u2019re not going to be happy otherwise. While the real<\/em> story of The Nutcracker<\/em> is about a girl whose toy nutcracker becomes a handsome prince, and leads her through an enchanted moonlit forest, where they encounter magical beings, all dancing fabulously for them, this is how Disney describes their weirdo new take on it: \u201cAll Clara wants is a key–a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key–which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip, a gang of mice, and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers, and Land of Sweets. Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger, to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world.\u201d<\/p>\n While the actual written story, which goes back to 1816, and the libretto for the 1892 ballet vary a bit, neither one is even close to the very idiotic story this new film is putting out. This one is annoying and tedious. I was shocked to learn later that it\u2019s only an hour and forty minutes; it felt like at least three<\/em> hours! Worst of all, especially for a holiday and\/or Disney film, it\u2019s absolutely soulless.<\/p>\n Clara flanked by her father and sister at the Christmas party.<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s being marketed to families, like children know what a \u201crealm\u201d is!!! Guess what? They do not. So even the title is stupid!<\/p>\n And this ludicrous story has absolutely nothing to do with the actual toy nutcracker!!! At all! In any which what way! In any shape or form. (I think you get the picture.)<\/p>\n And some of it is downright frightening. In the opinion of this<\/em> former teacher, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms<\/em> is definitely not for kids, (which is a shame since it\u2019s trying to be one of the big holiday films.) Or musophobes! I had to stop eating my popcorn because the mice were making me queasy. (And that\u2019s saying something!)<\/p>\n And don\u2019t get me started on the music! Throughout the entire debacle, there are just a few short strains of the magnificent original ballet score by Tchaikovsky! It\u2019s basically just in the background every now and then. That superior symphony is mainly replaced by an inane new<\/em> score. (It may get nominated for awards this season, but it pales in comparison to Tchaikovsky.)<\/p>\n The most egregious offense of all is that\u2014there\u2019s hardly any dancing! Who goes to see any<\/em> version of The Nutcracker<\/em> not expecting to see lots of beautiful ballet??? That answer is\u2014no one!<\/p>\n Misty Copeland.<\/p><\/div>\n No wonder The Nutcracker and the Four Realms<\/em> has been a complete bust! Well, financially, anyway, with it just about breaking even worldwide at this point.<\/p>\n To be completely fair, there are<\/em> a couple of good things about the holiday film. First and foremost is that it\u2019s visually spectacular. For me, they could have just turned-off the sound and allowed me to revel in those pictures. Leave it to Disney to come up with images like these. They\u2019re all truly amazing, (a word I rarely use.)<\/p>\n Then there are the brief moments of Misty Copeland\u2019s exquisite ballet dancing. I highly suggest we all always<\/em> take any<\/em> chance to see Misty Copeland dance, even if it\u2019s for just these few minutes.<\/p>\n And I really appreciate that The Nutcracker and the Four Realms<\/em> opens with a nod to Fantasia<\/em>, Disney\u2019s third animated feature, by having the conductor begin the proceedings, just like in that early film.<\/p>\n There is one line early on in the script with which I totally identified. Clara\u2019s father tells the children, \u201cChristmas comes whether we like it or not,\u201d because this is the first Christmas without their mother, who had passed away earlier that year. (Another nutty deviation from the original tale, but it\u2019s the incident on which the entire saga is based, so oh well.) That\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve<\/em> had to deal with in the past seven years since my<\/em> mother died…on<\/em> Christmas, which had always been my favorite holiday. That\u2019s a trauma one does not ever get over, trust me.<\/p>\n Mackenzie Foy as Clara. Look at the black line over her lip!<\/p><\/div>\n Speaking of traumas, this comment is not about the actual film, but visuals in it reminded me of this: It always boggles my mind when I see that, in the olden days, people decorated Christmas trees with…live candles! How did everyone\u2019s homes not go up in flames, thus canceling the holiday for all time? And how did the masses not realize how dangerous that practice was?!<\/p>\n Now, as to the performances in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms<\/em>, I was not the least bit impressed with the lot of them, even Helen Mirren, who just seemed a bit lost in there. I\u2019m sure that other critics are making a fuss about Mackenzie Foy, the young girl who played Clara, but she did nothing for me. And perhaps they should have de-fuzzed her upper lip a bit. She was rocking an actual black line on it, like a man\u2019s pencil \u2019stache. It looks like she drank a big mug of hot chocolate before every scene, and forgot to use a napkin! That begs the question\u2014whyyyy??? (Obviously, not the best make-up people on this film.)<\/p>\n Speaking of upper lips, what is up with the nutcracker\u2019s gold above-the-lip-lipstick??? I kept hoping he would wipe his mouth every time they showed the dude!!!<\/p>\n![\"nutcracker_fourrealms-580x326\"](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/nutcracker_fourrealms-580x326.jpg\")
<\/a>Outside of the absolutely stunning visuals, which really are special, there\u2019s nothing else to recommend it.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>