![]() Things go awry once we get to the Four Realms, with Knightley’s high-pitched performance as Sugar Plum a shockingly over-the-top turn by a normally reserved actress and the voice is incredibly grating. The tech credits are lush, with gorgeous cinematography by LA LA LAND’s Linus Sandgren and a capable cast. It’s too bad that THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS devolves into a clone of the Tim Burton ALICE IN WONDERLAND (or more accurately – the less impressive sequel) as the first part of the film isn’t bad at all. ![]() It seems like this was an attempt to bring the poetry of the ballet to the mainstream, but then, Disney turned around and made it into an action film, with the second half ditching ballet in favor of tin soldier armies, a whip fight and other silliness. Hallstrom’s version of the film seems to have been a touch artier, with long ballet sequences involving dancer Misty Copeland and a lush score by James Newton Howard heavily skewed to Tchaikovsky, with conductor Gustavo Dudamel sharing equal billing. Clearly Disney had second thoughts about the movie they were making pretty late in the game and the finished product in incredibly fractured for a modest fantasy running a scant ninety minutes. All in what’s supposed to be a fantasy adaptation of Marius Petipa’s famous ballet. Here you have the director of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES being succeeded by the director of CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. A curious mix of high art and commerce, the tell-tale shared directing credit held by Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston tells you all you need to know about the movie’s production. ![]() REVIEW: THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS is a fascinating curio for both what it is and what it isn’t. Her quest to find the key to the egg leads her to a parallel kingdom her mother once ruled, but which is now in the midst of a war being waged between the Sugar Plum Fairy ( Keira Knightley) and Mother Ginger ( Helen Mirren). PLOT: A young girl (Mackenzie Foy) is left a mysterious locked jeweled egg by her late mother.
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