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I was hosted and sponsored with an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles to cover #DisneysNutcrackerEvent. Thank you Disney for the opportunity! 

So one of my favorite parts of attending a Disney press trip is screening the movie and interview the celebs for the role. The bloggers and I got glammed up early before the actual Red Carpet for the event, to interview Mackenzie Foy and Misty Copeland. I think it was cute we interviewed them both in our formal wear, and we interviewed Mackenzie Foy first. Makenzie Foy plays Clara, the leading lady in Disney’s Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Read below on the great interview we had with Mackenzie!

Her feeling on becoming a classical holiday character.

It’s really fun. What’s beautiful about the Nutcracker that it’s such a beloved story throughout many, many years, so it’s really, really, really fun to be able to play a character that so many people all over the world can relate to and have this childhood connection from seeing the ballet when they were young, and I think that’s really important to be able to do.

On getting the call that she would be playing Clara in this film?

When my mom ran in, and she was like, the director’s on the phone. I was like, oh my gosh, okay! I put a towel on, and I answered. The director asked, “Would you be our Clara?” I said, “Oh my goodness, yes! Thank you so much!”

She shared how the audition process went to get the role for Clara.

The audition process was actually quite long. It was two months, which, it isn’ really long, but it is more than usual.  I did a screen test where they flew me to London to do it in full costume, hair, and makeup with a partial set and a real camera.  I didn’t really have too many details about the story of the character when I first got the audition. I  knew that it was a British character and that immediately, piqued my interest.  I went further into the actual process, learned more of what the story is, and what the character was. I kind of got to go a little deeper into her, and then when I was booked, I was fully immersed in Clara, which was fun.

Keira Knightley is the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mackenzie Foy is Clara in THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS.

Her favorite costume to wear in the film.

“My favorite costume…I wear quite a few costumes in the film which was really fun. They were all handmade- all very, very intricate, which is really amazing. But I really love the purple party dress because that one has a bustle- and it’s really fun.  It was very beautiful, there’s a lot of detail that went into the costume design, from the tights, to the shoes, to the many skirt layers, the bodices, and the corset. So, I have a very high respect for all of the costumes.  They have kind of a different character to them, and they go with Clara’s evolution, which I really like.”

Keira Knightley is the Sugar Plum Fairy and Mackenzie Foy is Clara in Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS.

On getting prepped and her glam process on becoming Clara.

Well, every character, no matter how big or small has its own challenges because they’re all unique, and you have to do the research in order to properly create them. But I would say with Clara, and her being a main role, there was definitely- this is the story- it follows my character, so I have to make sure that everything is in line. I have to make sure the past is in my head, and I have to make sure I know where she’s going – the character’s emotional complexity; all of those things. So with the bigger part, you have to go more in detail to all those things, especially how they relate to every single character in the film.

Mackenzie Foy is Clara, Keira Knightley is Sugar Plum Fairy, Jaden Fowara-Knight is Phillip, Eugenio Derbez is Hawthorne and Richard E. Grant is Shiver in Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS.

On how she could see this film as being one of those traditional holiday movies that families will continue to watch together every year.

“Well, I definitely hope it is something that people want to see every year. I think the film really captures the spirit of the holiday season.  When it starts to be cold, you just have that joyous feeling. I think it really captures that.  It also has elements of the book and the ballet to where if you are older, and you have seen it many times, you have that nostalgic feeling, but it also has kind of a new twists and turns that brings in the younger you and all ages. It kind of brings everyone in together to watch it. So, I hope that families like it, and that they go and see it every year.”

Mackenzie Foy is Clara in Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

Which was her favorite realm out of the Four Realms?

Which realm? It’s everchanging. Right now I really love the Land of Snowflakes just because it’s very blue and shiny, and very sparkly, because it’s still kinda hot here. I’m dying for winter weather and winter cool.

Explaining how playing Clara was different from playing her other characters.

Well, every character, no matter how big or small has its own challenges because they’re all unique, and you have to do the research in order to properly create them. But I would say with Clara, and her being a main role, there was definitely- this is the story- it follows my character, so I have to make sure that everything is in line. I have to make sure the past is in my head, and I have to make sure I know where she’s going – the character’s emotional complexity; all of those things. So with the bigger part, you have to go more in detail to all those things, especially how they relate to every single character in the film.

Misty Copeland is the Ballerina Princess in Disney’s THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS.

Sharing her favorite moment of the film. 

Misty Copeland performs a dance scene in this, and it’s really, really quite beautiful. What’s really cool…the sets in that scene…were real. So when she’s in the trailers, you see she’s walking through and this castle pops up, and the flowers open in the ground. Those were real. Those are real people really making it all work. And so that’s actually a really cool thing about that.

And if you look in the background behind, the chairs, all of the extras are color-coded, and so they had an ombre effect. Wrapped around the set was this canvas of night sky, and they actually poked giant holes in it and then shone lights behind it so it looked like stars. And so the sets in this film are very, very intricate, and that one was one of my favorites just because it was so beautiful.

Advice she is giving to young girls looking up to her and following in her footsteps.

I hope they see that Clara is unapologetically herself. She’s this young inventor in her time period, it wasn’t really socially acceptable, but she still- this is who I am. This is what I love to do, and I’m gonna do it! I hope they see that and know you can do that. You can be interested in science, you can be in interested in mechanics, and you can still wear dresses and like those kinds of things.

It was a pleasure interviewing Mackenzie Foy for her amazing leading role as Clara in Disney’s Nutcracker. This movie came out a week before her 18th birthday! She is so articular, poised and fun to interview. See us in our formal wear, I still think it was hilarious we did the entire interview with her in our dresses! She did amazing with her first leading role as Clara in Disney’s Nutcracker and it nice to know she will be part of longevity recognition with a holiday classic.

TRAILER

THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS 

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Disney’s Nutcracker in theaters November 2nd #DisneysNutcracker

Will you see Disney’s Nutcracker this holiday?