The Nutcracker, it’s my favorite classical music of all time. As a child, I would listen to The Nutcracker every night (and it didn’t even have to be Christmas time.) The music was magical, transporting me to another world where I was a ballerina dancing gracefully to the lilting melodies of the album.

In November of 2018, Disney released a live-action adaptation of the classic Nutcracker story and it was bombarded with awful reviews by the critics. It currently has a 33% critics and audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and sits at a 5.5 out of 10-star ratings on IMDb. Pretty dismal right?

Don’t believe the haters.

I watched this film very recently and I was like, “What’s so terrible about this film?”

Yeah, it isn’t the best Disney movie I’ve ever seen but it wasn’t as horrible as everyone seemed to claim either. The same thing happened with A Wrinkle in Time. People said it was a horrible film but when I watched it I was pleasantly surprised.

Both of these films have predictable storylines, yes, but these are children’s movies. They are designed to inspire, not win Oscars for Best Picture. For children, especially little girls, films like The Nutcracker and the Four Realms and A Wrinkle in Time celebrate the power of girls and how we can find ways to be heroes against all odds.

If you’re a parent and you have little children I highly recommend you watch this with your family this holiday season. I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised. And besides, who doesn’t love The Nutcracker?

I’m giving this film 87 out of 100 and 3.75 out 5 stars. Like I said, it isn’t the best Disney movie I’ve ever seen (not b a long shot) but it is way better than people are saying.

I thank you for reading and I hope you have a lovely day.