Sumith Prasad
Hulu’s comedy-drama film ‘Nutcrackers’ revolves around Justice, Junior, Samuel, and Simon Kicklighter, four brothers who are immersed in grief following the deaths of their parents, Janet and Steve. As they mourn their loss, they seek comfort and distraction in a series of misadventures. Meanwhile, they reconnect with their uncle, Michael “Mike” Maxwell, after a long while. The four boys face separation when Mike fails to find a single family that is ready to accept them as foster children. The heartwarming tale of the Kicklighter boys and the extraordinary chemistry they share with each other make a closer look at their origins worthwhile!
The Kicklighter Boys Are Partially Based on the Janson Brothers
Homer, Ulysses, Atlas, and Arlo Janson—the four actors who play Justice, Junior, Samuel, and Simon, respectively—inspired their respective characters. The four child artists are also brothers in real life. David Gordon Green, who helmed ‘Nutcrackers,’ began developing the foundational concept behind the film while spending time with the four brothers as a friend and former classmate of their mother, Karey Williams. As he started to enjoy his time with them, he realized that there was scope to envision a film about the boys’ lives on their own farm in Blanchester, a village in Ohio. In other words, Green wanted to place a camera in the middle of their property and capture their intriguing day-to-day lives.
The Kicklighter boys and the Janson brothers are similar in various ways. The principal similarity is that the actors and their characters have always lived on a farm. Like their movie counterparts, the real-life brothers are also homeschooled. The significance of ballet in their lives is the next major similarity. In the film, Mike’s nephews are deeply connected to the dance form through their mother, who taught the same. They learn ballet and finally deliver a remarkable performance. The Janson brothers didn’t have to learn ballet to film these scenes. They have been studying the dance form for a considerable while.
In the movie, Junior conceived a ballet production titled ‘The Nutcracker’s Mustache’ based on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker.’ This production was, in real life, the creation of Ulysses Janson, the actor who plays Junior. However, it does not mean that the Kicklighter boys are completely based on the Janson siblings. The latter group continues to live with their parents, Karey and Jeff, who haven’t died in an accident like Janet and Steven. The real-life brothers never had to fear being separated or ending up in a foster home, thanks to their uncle. These are fictional plot elements created by the screenwriter Leland Douglas to craft a holiday comedy based on Green’s concept.
Casting the Janson Brothers as the Kicklighter Boys Ensured Authenticity
When David Gordon Green decided to make ‘Nutcrackers’ partially based on the Janson brothers’ lives, he didn’t have to consider anyone else to portray them. Even though they had never been part of a movie before, the filmmaker didn’t want to miss the authenticity of the sibling relationship they brought to the table. By casting the real brothers, Green was able to capture the actual warmth and strength of their companionship, which evidently enhances the Kicklighter boys’ depiction in the movie. Since the film was shot on the Janson brothers’ farm, they also had the advantage of knowing the location better than the film crew.
Therefore, casting the Janson brothers only benefitted the movie and the production process. “They love each other as brothers,” Green told Screen Rant. “So what cooler way where you’re not dealing with the competitive nature of casting, and you’re not dealing with the typical stage parents or the polished nature of kids that memorize their lines and hit their marks? You’re just saying, ‘This is where you live. What do you do? Let’s hang out,’” he added. To make things easier for the boys, Green rehearsed the scenes a “bit” and explained the same to them. He made sure that none of them overanalyzed the process and thought that they had to hit any sort of marks.
The Janson brothers were able to deliver convincing performances as the Kicklighter boys because they are siblings in real life. The togetherness they share in reality makes the viewers connect with the four brothers we see on the screen. Since they had lifelong experience of living on a farm, they were at ease when making ‘Nutcrackers,’ which makes their portrayal of the boys incredibly authentic.
Read More: Nutcrackers Ending, Explained: Why Doesn’t Mike Leave His Nephews?
