I would
rate this PG due to fighting scenes. This film with its all-star cast is not your typical happy Christmas movie
but a drama fantasy adventure – coming of age. It deals with things like legacy, bravery, confidence and
biblical conviction and grieving. Clara
pursues the key to open her mother’s gift and to find the meaning of her
note. As in the real-world truth can be
elusive not because its hiding, but because lies and falsehood are vying for
credence at every turn and distract us if we are not careful.
Clara
nearly gives in to doubt and discouragement but remembers her mother’s parting
note — the four realms adventure helps her realize her mother’s legacy. Her mom was telling her she had within her
the Holy Spirit and the things they had already taught her – all she needed to
face the world and the be the person she's meant to be. Though God is never mentioned in the movie
similar to the Chronicles of Narnia and the book of Esther the influence of God
is implied. You can only miss the true
message if you desire to. Its easy to
spin things to your own evil purposes like the media and sales people do to get
people to buy what they don’t need and watch made-up sensationalized news shows
otherwise no one would watch and their ratings would go down because truth is
often boring and downright hard to swallow like medicine.
The film
is essentially asking us all – how will you choose to live? What legacy will you leave your
children. We all have a sphere of
influence for good or bad. Will you
throw your kids to the wolves to influence for selfish lazy & false motives
or teach them absolute truth against which there is no law. To live life their way or God’s way. Evil would like objective truth to fade from
existence, but it never shall as shown in this fantasy film. We are shown how circumstances and
surroundings are out of our control while we are growing up. Spoiler alert: Sugar plum is the turn coat -- seemingly
innocent and kind and asking Clara for help, but when opportunity knocks, she
seizes the opportunity to overthrow the other 3 realms. Earlier in the film she complains of the
so-called dangerous and rebellious Ginger Mother who in reality was the only
realm who knew who posed the true danger.
As in real life danger can come in all kinds of packages with fine
sounding arguments. Their ignorance and
inability to discern the truth almost cost everyone their freedom. We see how important it is to protect our
young and show them the correct path and not leave to society or their teachers
to learn morals and ethics. It is the parent’s responsibility before a
righteous God. Why would anyone trust our precious children to strangers on how
to live and what to believe? The
prophets of old lost their lives to bring the biblical message to all
mankind. Evil rarely looks evil on the
outside, but is insidious striking when we are most vulnerable, and at our
weaknesses. Sugar Plum could have also
chosen good, but had given her heart over to darkness and despite the truth
offered her could not accept it when the moment of truth came and she as the
move portrayed suffered the consequences for her actions -- which is as it
should be. Good offered her a chance (as
it always does) to change and she would not.
Clara
gradually gains an understanding of who she is enabling her to fulfil her
unforeseen role --reminiscent of what life does to all of us. The film draws you into her character and
somehow your own story as you watch it.
Clara must overcome her doubts and anxiety and trust her God given gifts
and strength by faith. It’s wonderful
how they tie in reliance on friends and trust and loyalty. This film does a great job of dealing with
grief and how it can keep us off balance if we don’t remember who we are in
Christ and what our parents taught us – the implication being good biblical
character since we are in the Christmas genre.
It brings out how difficult and disorienting death can be in a family
and how we must be patient and understanding while helping other family members
cope with the loss as well. It depicts clearly how working together &
fighting for right is good and worth the effort in the end when our cause is
just though the way may be hard to discern and navigate. It’s the old adage ‘evil prospers when good
people do nothing’. God forces us to face
life head on and to ask the hard questions and seek for answers until we find
them. We ignore God (truth) to our own
demise as depicted in the film.
Finally
recognizing her mother's desire was for her to embrace life to the fullest Clara realizes
that means making tough choices and fighting for right. Sometimes a peaceful solution is not on the
table. And that she is free to remember the past while
always striving forward to be the person God made her to be. She doesn't allow herself to be paralyzed by grief,
evil, and the complexities of life. She
sees her mother’s legacy of mercy, unconditional love, patience, loyalty,
kindness, bravery, duty, and family. Spoiler alert: toward the end Clara realizes she had misjudged her
father. He simply grieved differently at
the loss of his wife (her mother) than she did.
Not less, just differently. This
is a splendid adventure with a moving theme for all ages. It forces the viewer to think which is why I
recommend this one whether you’ve experienced a death in the family or
not. Enjoy! Some may ask why the 7
rating with such positive comments, but when you’ve seen thousands of movies
you realize everyone sees things differently and you must leave room for the 8s
9s and 10s.
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