“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is a delicious visual feast. At one point, the Sugar Plum Fairy (Keira Knightley) even plucks something from behind her head and eats it. It turns out to be a piece of pink cotton candy.
The production design makes you feel you’ve entered a toy store before Christmas day. The attention to details is made obvious when the four realms are being presented. The Land of Sweets is made of gingerbreads and gumdrops, marshmallows and candies. It looks like something you top a cake with. The Sugar Plum Fairy is its regent.
Its extreme opposite is the Land of Amusement, presided over by Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren). It reflects its regent’s physical look. The broken and neglected look of the carnival rides gives an ominous feeling. You expect something sinister in every corner as the forest has consumed a big chunk of the land.
The regent of Land of Flowers is Hawthorne (Eugenio Derbez). Hawthorne’s land is colorful with floral blooms. It is flamboyant and cheerful. The Land of Snowflakes headed by Shiver (Richard E. Grant) is a winter wonderland. It completes the holiday atmosphere of the movie.
The costumes are works of art. Shiver has long icicles and Hawthorne is a bouquet of flowers. Mother Ginger is dressed as a pirate. But nobody sparkled brighter than the Sugar Plum Fairy and her voluminous and over-the-top Victorian dresses. In this version of “The Nutcracker,” Sugar Plum is fashion-forward and vain. It is said that the skirt of the dress is too wide to pass through doors and that Knightley could not sit in the dress. She had to perch on a stool between takes.
Adding to the pageantry and visual delight is the wonderful ballet performance of Misty Copeland. Her storytelling through dance is one of the highlights of the film.
The “Four Realms” is nothing like the Nutcracker ETA Hoffman wrote in 1816. It happens after Queen Marie dies and the world where toys come alive is neglected. It makes use of the familiar characters like Godfather Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman), Mouse King, Louise (Ellie Bamber) and Fritz (Thomas Sweet).
Captain Phillip Hoffman’s (Jayden Fowora-Knight) greatest quality is his loyalty. It takes him out of his comfort zone, makes him act courageously because he is fiercely loyal to Clara Stahlbaum (Mackenzie Foy), daughter of Queen Marie.
Clara is at the center of everything. She stands out amid the loud colors in the film because she looks refreshingly simple. From the start, it is established that she is strong-willed and smart. This is why she is entrusted with such an amazing world behind the clock. As someone who tinkers with machines, she fits right in the steampunk Victorian theme of the movie.
The “Nutcracker and the Four Realms” does not have the strongest plot, but it is pleasing visually.
Disney’s “The Nutcracker” and the Four Realms” is now showing in cinemas.