437. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms; movie review

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS
Cert PG

99 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild threat

The Wish Upon A Star music and the glowing arch across the entrance to the magic kingdom used to be the signal for the very best in family entertainment.
But, over the past few decades, Disney's main studio has lost its lustre and, sadly, The Nutcracker And The Four Realms epitomises its fall.
Nowadays, it is not enough for a movie just to look good - it needs an entrancing story too.
However, this film which has been credited to Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston (the latter stepped in to take control of reshoots) falls well short.
The premise is exciting enough - a young girl called Clara (Mackenzie Foy) discovers an enchanted land of which her recently deceased mother had been queen (apparently, this would have been possible because time moves very slowly in the four realms).

So, Clara is now a princess in a world which is troubled by the divisive activities of Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren).
Leading the forces of good against evil alongside Clara is Sugar Plum, played by the almost unrecognisable Keira Knightley.
This is an interesting contribution from Knightley - her high-pitched squeakiness is quite different from anything we have heard from her before.
Anyway, Clara is faced with myriad dilemmas as she tries to emulate the standing of her mother in this dazzling new world.
Meanwhile, she is in danger of being manipulated by those who have their own designs on power over this particular magic kingdom.
Fortunately, it is not all serious. There are comedy cameos from Jack Whitehall, Omid Djalili and Meera Syal and among the other big name contributors are Morgan Freeman and Matthew Macfadyen.
So, all the elements are there but, sadly, there isn't enough fairy dust to make this Nutcracker story sparkle as much as it should.
Indeed, it shows why Disney bought up Marvel and Pixar. The truth is that the Disney my generation remembers is stuck in the past.

Reasons to watch: There is probably enough in it for young children
Reasons to avoid: Falls short of the old Disney magic

Laughs: One
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5.5/10

The big question - Did the studio executives see something was missing?



                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

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