The Nutcracker is fine, but that's it, it's just.... fine. It feels like the movie doesn't know what it wants to be. It starts in Victorian London, then goes to what is essentially Narnia. It does have a "nutcracker", but he is just like all the other soldiers, except black. There's a ballet montage, a "battle", and family conflict. There's a very intelligent girl, who's the poster child for girls getting into STEM, which was cool. But, honestly this feels like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe shoehorned into something vaguely resembling The Nutcracker Suite, but not as good. With all the live-action remakes that Disney is making, I was hoping for something a whole lot closer to its namesake. Again, it's not terrible for what it is, but even for what it is, it's just not that exciting or compelling.

I kept waiting for the part where the film becomes detestable, but that part never came. _The Nutcracker and the Four Realms_ is like a tasty Christmas cookie: it has all the right ingredients, is a little too saccharine and looks incredible. While the visuals are extremely Baroque in nature, the story, like the original Tchaikovsky ballet, has clear Romantic influences which mean the plot and the music go together like feet and pointe shoes. MacKenzie Foy was utterly breathtaking in the lead while Jayden Fowora-Knight as the Nutcracker Captain was utterly gorgeous (though the weakest of all performances). My take is, _The Nutcracker..._ is meant for adults who remember what it means to be a child, and for children who want to know how it feels to be an adult.

I thought this film was breathtakingly beautiful, every frame was decadent. The storyline was vastly different to any other version of the Nutcracker I have seen, but it was a refreshing new take which I enjoyed. Think this may be a new Christmas favourite.

Great actors and it was especially a joy to see Mackenzie Foy again. But the plot was really bland and it isn't a very joyful movie, for kids.

An exciting fantasy adventure, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms re-envisions the classic holiday tale. While at a Christmas party a young girl named Claire accidentally crosses over to a fantasy world where toys have come to life and discovers that her mother was once a queen there, and the regents seek Claire’s help to defeat Mother Ginger, a former regent who has gone rogue and rebelled against the others. Starring Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Helen Mirren, and Morgan Freeman, the film has an impressive cast. And the costumes and set designs are incredibly well-done, creating a wondrous fantasy world. Additionally, the score by James Newton Howard has an enchanting quality that helps to set the right tone. However, the plot is rather thin and fairly predictable. Yet it does find a clever way to include and honor the original Marius Petipa ballet. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms has its problems, but overall it’s a fun family film that celebrates the magic of the season.