This holiday season, it’s hard to imagine a better movie for (almost) the whole family than Disney’s The Nutcracker and The Four Realms. A re-envisioning and semi-fusion of the original 1816 children’s story by E.T.A. Hoffman (The Nutcracker and the Mouse King) and the classic ballet, the film’s dense visuals fill the screen with elaborate CGI images, rich jewel tones, magnificent sets and luxurious costumes. Tchaikovsky’s iconic music is sampled throughout, lending gravitas to all the visual finery. There is great imagination and cleverness, kids will love it, and for that much credit is due.
But…
For those who love a live Nutcracker ballet performance (like those by the amazing Colorado Ballet!) and expect something similar on the big screen, they may be disappointed. The storyline of the Nutcracker ballet is silly and full of artifice; yet the ballet satisfies even jaded viewers with the artistry of skilled dancers accompanied by Tchaikovsky’s magnificent music. Ballet and other dance genres use body movement to tell a story, convey ideas and evoke emotion; without words, much is left to the imagination of the viewer. Despite the lack of spoken words, ballet is as powerful a storytelling device as any other. Dance taps into a primal human understanding of body language, offering a universal and timeless art form.
Disney abandons this idea, crafting an overly complex storyline with a predictable approach that does not challenge the viewer’s imagination as would a ballet; it comfortably slips into the storytelling grooves of typical big budget film productions.
When Clara (admirably played by Mackenzie Foy) leaves wintry London through a mysterious portal and enters the fantastical Four Realms, the transition offers an opportunity to transform the word-based storytelling of the “real world” to a more balletic approach in the parallel fantasy universe. But it does not. This Nutcracker offers but a snippet of ballet (performed by the magnificent Misty Copeland) as well as a couple of ballroom dance scenes; for lovers of dance as art, there is simply not enough ballet. Sorely missed from the ballet version is the Nutcracker character’s (promisingly played by Jayden Fowora-Knight) transformation from wooden stiffness into a fluid, full human being. In this movie, he is confined to a perpetual state of dutiful, soldierly one-dimensionality.
A sort of German Renaissance Man, E.T.A. Hoffman was (among other pursuits) the author of Gothic horror and fantasy works. His 1816 Nutcracker story inspired the 1892 ballet and musical score by Tchaikovsky. Unlike the classic ballet storyline, Disney’s screenplay is more heavily inspired by Hoffman’s visions of machines and their promise as well as their misuse.
Had Disney balanced the power of ballet with the Gothic horror of the original story’s author, it could have created a transformational film experience. Instead, Disney’s Nutcracker plays it safe and provides a pleasant family-friendly holiday flick. One can dream of the artful masterpiece it could have been.
Stay for the end credits for a traditional and powerfully sexy ballet performance, with a surprising pop-up. Local ballet lovers, don’t miss Colorado Ballet’s grand Nutcracker November 24-December 24, 2019.
— Review by Jim T.
6/10 for a modern take that deviated too much from what made it a tradition in the first place.
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