The Nutcracker and The Four Realms

     The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, a fantasy film directed by Lasse Hallstrom and Joe Johnston, is my next favorite, little-known movie. 

     As the name suggests, it is a retelling of the famous Nutcracker Ballet by Peter Illyich Tchaikovsy.  Though the plot is not very similar, a few of the main elements, a nutcracker soldier, a mouse king, and the Sugar Plum fairy are still there. Although I disagree with one of the main themes of the movie, it doesn’t take away from its beauty.

     The story is about a girl named Clara (MacKenzie Foy) who has recently lost her mother.     At a Christmas party, she finds herself transported into a world called the Four Realms. There she finds nutcrackers, sugar plum fairies and ballet. However, as she quickly learns, the world her mother left is far from perfect. The ruler of the Land of Amusements has declared war on the other three realms, Sugar Plum (Keira Knightley) tells her. With a nutcracker, a mouse king and the brain her mother gave her, Clara fights for the Four Realms, hoping to bring back together what her mother loved.

     The music and casting in the movie were also very good. The score, although written by James Newton Howard, contains a lot of Tchaikovsky themes. There are also a lot of piano solos by performer Lang Lang. The blend of Howard and Tchaikovsky is so beautiful, I even have the CD. I think it is well worth listening to, even if you’ve never watched the movie. 

     The actors were also well cast. Mackenzie Foy does a great job playing the part of a confused, lost daughter who desperately wants her mother back. Keira Knightley, the Sugar Plum Fairy, is probably my favorite actress in the movie. Contrary to two of her starring roles (Pride and Prejudice, The Pirates of the Caribbean) she is not a headstrong, disrespectful daughter. Instead, she is one of the older actors in the movie, taking on  the role of one of Clara’s guides in the Four Realms. She is a very amusing character as well. 

     The only thing I dislike about the movie is the theme of self-reliance. It all begins with Clara struggling with self-doubt, self-worth and loss. Her heart aches for the mother she lost and she doesn’t know how to cope with it. Then, as she is in the midst of fighting for the Four Realms, she inadvertently discovers a message that her mother left for her along with a special locked egg.  “Everything you need is inside,” her mother’s note reads, describing the egg. And, when Clara finally gets it open, there is a small mirror on the inside. She realizes that everything she needs to defeat her enemies, win her battles and find out who she truly is is inside herself. This is the part I disagree with.

     Believing in yourself is an extremely popular opinion today: believing that you can be everything you want to be, that you can reach your goals, that you can win your battles—all on your own. This contradicts what the Bible says in many places. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” This verse, Jeremiah 17:9, clearly states that the heart cannot be trusted, despite the popular Disney theme “Trust in your heart.” The human heart deceives and works evil, being “desperately sick.” Playing on the opposite theme of this popular idea today, Psalm 121:2 says, “My help comes from the LORD who made heaven and earth,” and 2 Chronicles 14:11, “O LORD, there is none like you to help, between the mighty and the weak.” We cannot solve our own problems apart from the redemptive work of Jesus.

     Nevertheless, one can disagree with something and still like it. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is a movie I have enjoyed many times with my family at Christmas time. It is beautiful and, though I don’t agree with the theme, warm and family-focused. I highly recommend watching it!