Once I’m With The Wizard
A screening of Disney’s Oz, the Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi was held on Monday, March 4, and we were lucky enough to attend. Oz is a prequel to the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Like the 1939 film, it also is based on the works of L. Frank Baum. This prequel chronicles how the wizard arrived in Oz and the rise of the Wicked Witches.
The film opens on Baum’s Circus in Kansas, in sepia toned black and white homage to the 1939 film. Early on it is made clear that Oscar, (known as Oz), the magician of the circus is a greedy, egotistical selfish conman. When he is swept up into a tornado and away to the magical and colorful Land of Oz, he begins down a path of transformation of both mind and soul.
In Oz Oscars meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), Finley the flying monkey (Zach Braff), and Evanora (Rachel Weisz). It’s clear that one of the sisters is destined to be the green Wicked Witch of the West and the other the Wicked Witch of the East. Weisz plays her role superbly. She is sinister and conniving, willing to double cross her own sister and lie to Oscar. Theodora has a penchant for losing her temper, but is also naïve and romantic. Although we all know what happens to these sisters (spoilers: One gets crushed by a house and the other is melted by some water), it is interesting watching them grow in their evilness.
The sisters send Oscar, along with the friends he has made in Finley and May, the China Doll (Joey King), out to defeat the “evil” witch, who is actually Glinda the Good. Michelle Williams does a fantastic job portraying Glinda. She still wears a crown, waves a wand, and travels by bubble like her 1939 counterpart, but this Glinda appears more street smart and savvy. With Glinda’s help, Oscar comes to realize that the sisters are double crossing him. Glinda is kind and true, and Williams’ casting is so spot on, it is easy to imagine her traveling by bubble throughout Brooklyn. The epic concludes with an final battle and a kiss (it is Disney after all), and the wizard we meet in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the wizard of hologram and projection is born.
Casting James Franco as the Wizard was an interesting choice. Franco and director Sam Raimi have a long history together dating to their days on the Spiderman set, which is clear in the ways that Franco shapes Oscar in his own likeness. The actor brings charm, haplessness, and a bit of wit to the role; however, he never fully disappears into it. He does well enough, but there is still a pervasive sense that you are seeing James Franco portraying the Wizard. With Weisz, Kunis, and Williams, this is not the case. Each of these women makes her character her own, and completely disappears into her. For all of Williams’ similarities with Glinda, you never feel as if you are watching her acting out the role of Glinda. She is Glinda through and through.
Oz the Great and Powerful is a fun film that boasts incredible 3D cinematography and CGI effects. Danny Elfman’s score is equal parts dramatic and magical, and complements the central conflict of the film extremely well. Although the graphics and effects were visually stunning, there are parts of the film where it is easy to feel that the entire thing was shot on a green screen. In reality, it was not, but it is hard to remember that when Oscar’s two sidekicks are all CGI all the time.
Oz, the Great and Powerful is a solid prequel to The Wizard of Oz, but it suffers from the fact that it attempts to prequelize a movie that is so beloved. It is an entertaining, fast paced thrill ride of a movie, but whether it will remain in the shadows of Wizard will be decided by the viewers.