The Nutcracker and the Four Realms stars Mackenzie Foy as Clara, a curious and inventive young girl. With her family facing their first Christmas without their mother, Clara inadvertently goes on a journey in search of a key that could return harmony to an unstable world.

The story of The Nutcracker is loosely based on the E.T.A. Hoffmann fantasy story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, about a girl who befriends a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and wages a battle against the evil Mouse King.

Young Clara needs a magical, one-of-a-kind key to unlock a box that contains a priceless gift. A golden thread leads her to the coveted key, but it soon disappears into a strange and mysterious parallel world. In that world, she meets a soldier named Phillip, a group of mice and the regents who preside over three realms. Clara and Phillip must now enter a fourth realm to retrieve the key and restore harmony to the unstable land.The Nutcracker and the Four Realms / Film synopsis

Mikko Nissinen's The Nutcracker is based on the libretto by Alexandre Dumas père, titled The Tale of the Nutcracker, which is adapted from E. T. A. Hoffmann's story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

More than any other ballet, The Nutcracker is about children and the magic of childhood. The story is about a child, and many of the dancers in the ballet are also children. For many young Americans, The Nutcracker is their first experience of a professional dance performance.

This Nutcracker Suite became an instant success. Tchaikovsky used a celesta for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy to create the unique bell sound. He smuggled the new instrument into Russia from Paris because of its unique sound. Celesta literally means “heavenly.”

There are 5 Lessons For My Daughter thanks to THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS that I want her to know: Who you are is not determined by others. You decide who you are for youself. You hold the key to unlocking the magic, your unique gifts, inside you.

Mother GingerHelen MirrenSugar Plum FairyKeira KnightleyClara StahlbaumMackenzie FoyMr. StahlbaumMatthew MacfadyenThe Mouse KingLil BuckFlower Realm KingEugenio Derbez The Nutcracker and the Four Realms/Characters

• Clara. A young girl.
• Sugarplum Fairy. A beautiful fairy who resembles Clara's sister Louise.
• The Nutcracker. Clara's toy that comes to life.
• Uncle Drosselmeyer. Clara's mystical Uncle.
• The Mouse King. The mischievous King of the Mice.
• Cavalier. The handsome partner of the Sugarplum Fairy.

According to German folklore, nutcrackers we given as keepsakes to bring luck to the family and protect the home. It is said that they represent strength and power and watches over the family keeping evil spirits and danger away.

It's about a nutcracker doll that's given as a gift to a young girl. On Christmas Eve, it comes to life, battles the Mouse King and transforms into a prince who brings the girl to a magical land. The brilliant Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the music.

It's the familiarity of the whole production, even if you're just seeing it for the first time. It's the ballet's ability to reach out and touch a part of you that triggers a warm holiday memory - that's The Nutcracker.

A nutcracker is a tool designed to open nuts by cracking their shells. There are many designs, including levers, screws, and ratchets. The lever version is also used for cracking lobster and crab shells.

The origin of the Nutcracker, a classic Christmas Story, is a fairy tale ballet in two acts centered on a family's Christmas Eve celebration. Alexandre Dumas Père's adaptation of the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann was set to music by Tchaikovsky and originally choreographed by Marius Petipa.