THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS Trailer
A Christmas classic is getting a big screen adaptation with The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, the latest in Disney’s sumptuous live-action fantasies.
If you’re like me, then you recognized that the film is based off The Nutcracker but quickly realized that you don’t actually know the plot of The Nutcracker. It was a ballet, yes, but it was a story by E.T.A. Hoffman before that. The film pulls from both, weaving together a tale of a girl who must care for a nutcracker while exploring the magical world her mother created.
This seems to be a spare no expense style production, with lots of elaborate costumes and CGI effects bringing the oft-imagined world to life. So much is going on that two directors were brought on to handle the behemoth, each with their own set of skills. Joe Johnston was likely hired for his success with effects-heavy movies like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Captain America: The First Avenger. Meanwhile, Lasse Hallström provides a seasoned hand with lighthearted tones. Or at least, that’s probably how Disney is hoping to sell their pairing, skimming past the fact that Johnson was brought on for a long reshoot when Hallström was unavailable.
Hopefully the final film doesn’t have a disjointed feel with all the cooks in its kitchen, because it looks quite impressive from the outside. Who doesn’t want to see Helen Mirren and Keira Knightley hamming it up in fantastical costumes while hopefully leading the promising Mackenzie Foy to a star-making turn. And there’s even exposition from the master himself, Morgan Freeman.
Sure, the troubled production could mean we’re in for a lump of coal, but there’s enough positive aspects to hold out hope for a present.
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston. It stars Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, and Eugenio Derbez. It will be released in the US and the UK on November 2nd, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think this will be a magical time at the movies? Let us know in the comments.
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