The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Feature Trailer (2018)

Feature Trailer for The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, starring Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, Matthew Macfadyen, Mackenzie Foy and Helen Mirren.

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. 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.

The film is based on the story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" by E.T.A. Hoffmann.

This may not be obvious, but this is Helen Mirren's second Disney film after Monsters University where she was the voice for Dean Hardscrabble.

This is actually the second film based on the Nutcracker that Richard E. Grant has starred in, this and 2010's The Nutcracker the Untold Story.

Well this film definitely has the similar look that we saw in Maleficent and Alice in Wonderland. Disney goes for the darker and cooler tones along with sensory overload. They have a formula that so far has been paying off, so they keep the ball rolling.

For me the main concern here lies in the story line. Unlike all the other live action remakes, this one comes with majority of people not knowing the backstory, so it is up to Disney to make sure that the audience, especially children, can follow along. I have never been a fan of these live action remakes and not sure this one will be any better.