Disney just released the latest trailer for their upcoming film titled “Disney’s The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” and viewers are already giving it a thumbs down.
Set for a November 2nd release, this film will be a live-action retelling of E. T. A. Hoffmann’s ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.’ According to Deadline, director Joe Johnston – of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Jumanji fame – will co-direct the film with Lasse Hallström. Morgan Freeman, Keira Knightley, Eugenio Derbez, Mackenzie Foy, and Helen Mirren will serve as the lead cast.
Despite the initial praise and fanfare the first trailer generated, some critics have labeled this latest sneak preview as ‘dull’, another goes as far as saying the ‘magic looks like it could fizzle.’
Much of the reproof stems from the fact that the latest trailer paints the film in a more generic light than we were first led to believe. It’s safe to assume most people are familiar with The Nutcracker, however, Disney usually has the ‘magic touch’ and reshapes familiar plots into new stories such as they accomplished with Lion King, Mulan, and countless other classics.
Nevertheless, the new trailer makes The Nutcracker and the Four Realms feel like it’s set to be an unimaginative ‘chosen one’ movie that follows a familiar plot line that other great films such as The Wizard of Oz have already explored.
Going further, industry analysts have suggested Disney will likely face fierce competition, considering several other blockbuster films are expected to release around the same date. One such film is Universal’s ‘The Grinch.’