The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018)

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) is a fantasy adventure film that reimagines the classic tale of The Nutcracker. Directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston, the film follows Clara Stahlbaum, a young girl seeking a mysterious key to unlock a gift left by her late mother.

During her family’s Christmas party, Clara is led to a magical parallel world comprising four realms: the Land of Snowflakes, the Land of Flowers, the Land of Sweets, and the ominous Fourth Realm. With the help of a nutcracker soldier named Captain Phillip, Clara learns she is the rightful princess of this enchanted world.

As conflict brews among the realms, Clara uncovers a plot by the Fourth Realm’s ruler, Mother Ginger, and must summon her courage to restore peace. However, twists reveal deeper truths about loyalty and power, challenging Clara to reconcile her mother’s legacy and her own identity.

With stunning visuals, whimsical settings, and a touch of holiday magic, the film combines action, emotion, and spectacle in a story about bravery, family, and self-discovery.

“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” opens with an owl soaring over an old London celebrating the Christmas season as snow is blanketing the ground, people are ice skating and children await a chance to tell Santa their Christmas wishes.

The owl’s flight brings the audience to the Stahlbaum’s attic where Clara (Mackenzie Foy) and her younger brother Fritz (Tom Sweet) are creating a Rube Goldberg machine to capture a mouse. Moments later and the audience meets older sister Louise (Ellie Bamber) and father Mr. Stahlbaum (Matthew Macfadyen) who are preparing for a Christmas party they are to attend even though the family is still mourning the loss of the mother Marie (Anna Madeley).

Before the party, Mr. Stahlbaum gives his three children gifts that their mother wished for them to receive early. Louise gets a dress, Fritz, a group of toy soldiers and Clara a mysterious egg that is locked and missing a key.

Perplexed at why her mother wouldn’t have left her the key, Clara accompanies her family to her godfather’s party, though reluctantly, where she immediately retreats to his basement where he invents toys and other machines. Her godfather, Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman) finds her and speaks to her about the mysterious egg and soon has her on a quest where she sees the key, but also a world unlike the one she is used to, The Four Realms.

In the Four Realms, she meets a myriad of characters such as the Nutcracker, Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), and the Realm’s rulers: Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), Hawthorne (Eugenio Derbez), Shiver (Richard E. Grant) and Sugar Plum (Keira Knightley).

“The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is an adaptation of E.T.A. Hoffmann’s “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” with additional influences from Alexandre Dumas’ “The History of a Nutcracker.” The movie also uses music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker Suite” and incorporates aspects from the famous ballet that always appears during the holiday season. However, those going into the movie expecting to see a faithful adaptation will be disappointed.