Movies

A Wondrous and Magical Teaser for ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ has Arrived

The trailer gives off some serious ‘Alice in Wonderland’ meets ‘Narnia’ vibes.
The Nutcracker And The Four Realms Keira Knightley
By  · Published on December 20th, 2017

The trailer gives off some serious ‘Alice in Wonderland’ meets ‘Narnia’ vibes.

Disney has dropped a new trailer for yet another astonishing spectacle. Keira Knightley and Mackenzie Foy star in the visual feast that’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, and you can watch the trailer for it below.

The teaser itself doesn’t reveal much of the plot. Instead, it focuses on the various set pieces that visually define the world Foy’s character, Clara, steps into on her quest. In a time of “mystery and expectations,” Clara finds herself walking deeper into a house of seemingly endless possibilities. It’s easy to draw a parallel between Clara entering a frosty realm and being enamored by a glowing light and Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia film from literally over a decade ago, but there’s more to The Nutcracker and the Four Realms than that. A “dark side” lurks behind the curtains of the classic ballet come to life.

The official synopsis goes as follows: “All Clara wants is a key – a one-of-a-kind key that will unlock a box that holds a priceless gift from her late mother. 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.”

Although not described in the synopsis, Knightley stars as the Sugar Plum Fairy and features heavily in the trailer alongside Foy. Like preceding Disney films of recent years such as Maleficent, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms creates a princess narrative with a significantly more eerie twist. Whether the story of the latter actually delves as darkly as the former did is another story. Maleficent had a rape scene that wasn’t glossed over or deemed unimportant. Other fairytales gone dark in live action include the Snow White and the Huntsman series, although those films eventually strayed from the princess angle and focused on their male protagonist. Nevertheless, they were never particularly praised for their storylines in the first place.

For now, the footage from The Nutcracker and the Four Realms frankly echoes many other movies as there is no shortage of resilient princess films. Yet, that might be the exact vibe that the teaser trailer is going for. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms certainly packs a serious punch with its elaborate sets and lavish costumes, but we await more snippets about the film’s plot in the months to come.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms hits cinemas November 2, 2018.

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Sheryl Oh often finds herself fascinated (and let's be real, a little obsessed) with actors and their onscreen accomplishments, developing Film School Rejects' Filmographies column as a passion project. She's not very good at Twitter but find her at @sherhorowitz anyway. (She/Her)