Starring Helen Mirren, Richard E. Grant, Keira Knightley, Mackenzie Foy, Morgan Freeman

Directed by Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston

Disney, out now

When a young girl is transported to a magical fairytale realm of tin soldiers and a mouse king she realises that she must undertake a quest to fulfil a  destiny that her mother has already instilled in her.

Ok, let’s be clear that this film clearly was not made for me – the demographic is ballet-loving wannabe-princess seven-year-olds – but I’ve seen a fair few of these over the last 25 years thanks to a steady stream of daughters, and Disney’s latest is absolutely what you’d expect it to be. Yes, it’s made to a very well-established formula and the mild peril is so mild that it never has any edge, but it’s such a sumptuous looking film with a gorgeous score (James Newton Howard and Tchaikovsky) that it really doesn’t matter.

As if to prove the point about its intentions there’s a ballet interlude to remind you of the origins, and I have no doubt that the youngsters in the audience will be pirouetting post-performance while dreaming about the sparkly dresses. Helen Mirren and Richard E Grant prance around in fright wigs and no doubt are wondering what they’re doing here, while vamp bitch Keira Knightley chews up the scenery as a boo-hiss pantomime villain.

It’s all terribly derivative – a portal from a stately home goes to a snowy realm, the feisty heroine deals with a bad queen… she even has an owl! So it’s Alice Potter in Narnialand, but it really doesn’t matter, with young lead Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) absolutely selling it as the girl who can change the world, which is such an important message for an impressionable audience.

Verdict: A bit like a tin of Quality Street – colourful Victorian characters, Christmassy setting, very very sugary and sweet to the core. There’s a lovely message in here, and soft adults might even find something in their eyes by the end. Ahem. 7/10

Nick Joy