5 Reasons Disney's The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a Beautiful Holiday Movie

Looking for a new classic movie to watch this Christmas season? See these 5 reasons why Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a beautiful holiday movie!

Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS is now in theaters everywhere! As a lifelong fan of the story of the Nutcracker and the Nutcracker ballet, I was so looking forward to seeing the Nutcracker movie and I can tell you – it’s beautiful!!

I shared with you yesterday about how my experience at The Nutcracker and the Four Realms red carpet premiere was so magical, well – that magic continues into the movie itself! Here are 5 reasons Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a truly beautiful holiday movie:

Set Design

With the amazingly fantastical sets in The Nutcracker and the Four Realms red carpet premiere you are carried away to another time and place. From the beautiful mansion of Clara’s godfather Drosselmeyer, to each of the Four Realms, the sets are filled with intricate details to create a breathtaking view anywhere you look. I loved the glimpses at each of the realms and wanted to see more.

Costumes

The costume design by Jenny Beavan is amazing, especially considering how many costumes are in the film! The beautiful party clothes on the many guests at the Christmas party at the beginning of the movie are quickly surpassed by the elaborate costumes of the leaders of the Four Realms. The Sugar Plum Fairy is a wonderful example with a dress that seems to float on its own.

Makeup

While Clara’s look is soft, feminine and pure, the makeup goes to the extremes for other characters. Richard E. Grant as Shiver is turned into a walking icicle and Eugenio Derbez as Hawthorne look as flowery as his realm. Helen Mirren becomes a terrifying Mother Ginger thanks to a jagged break on her face and deathly white skin.

Music

The score of THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS is wonderful. Recorded with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, it is based on themes from Tchaikovsky’s classic 1892 ballet score. I loved picking out strains of my favorite Nutcracker melodies throughout the film. The last song on the The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Soundtrack, “Fall on Me”, performed by Andrea And Matteo Bocelli is enchanting!

Misty Copeland’s Ballet

My favorite scene from the movie has to be Misty Copeland’s performance as the Ballerina Princess in the pageant to celebrate Clara’s arrival to the Four Realms. As expected, her performance is radiant and a true highlight of the film.

About THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS:

All Clara (Mackenzie Foy) wants is a key – a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift. A golden thread, presented to her at godfather Drosselmeyer’s (Morgan Freeman) annual holiday party, leads her to the coveted key—which promptly disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. It’s there that Clara encounters a soldier named Phillip (Jayden Fowora-Knight), a gang of mice and the regents who preside over three Realms: Land of Snowflakes, Land of Flowers and Land of Sweets.

Keira Knightley is the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mackenzie Foy is Clara in Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS.

Clara and Phillip must brave the ominous Fourth Realm, home to the tyrant Mother Ginger (Helen Mirren), to retrieve Clara’s key and hopefully return harmony to the unstable world. Starring Keira Knightley as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Disney’s new holiday feature film “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” is directed by Lasse Hallström and Joe Johnston, and inspired by E.T.A. Hoffmann’s classic tale.