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® THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS (PG) TCHAIKOVSKY’S ballet The Nutcracker meets C.S Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe in this charming Disney fantasy.
We begin in the company of a grieving Victorian family. As this is the first Christmas tomboy Clara Stahlbaum (Mackenzie Foy) has spent without her mother, she is in no mood to go to the annual party held by her rich god-father Drosselmeyer (Morgan Freeman). She perks up when she learns that her mother has left behind presents for her and her two siblings.
Clara receives an eggshaped music box with a note that reads “everything you need is inside”.
Surprisingly, the box is locked and there is no key but Clara notices an inscription which reveals that it was made by Drosselmeyer.
Suddenly, she is pestering her father (Matthew Macfadyen) to take her to the ball.
There her godfather has hidden presents for the children in his mansion.
When Clara finds she’s been gifted a key, she is transported to a magical world called The Realms which is peopled by human-sized, living toys.
The costumes and the fantasy worlds are beautifully designed and the score beautifully riffs on themes from Tchaikovsky’s ballet.
Director Lasse Wallström makes sure that the delightful action scenes are just scary enough to bewitch younger children.