Long before Dorothy dropped in to Oz, there was an earlier visitor from Kansas.
Disney’s The Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, out in theatres today, tells the story of Oscar Diggs (James Franco), who goes by the moniker “Oz”, a Kansas native small-time magician in a travelling circus who spends more of his time charming the local ladies than performing actual tricks. After the townsfolk learn that he is a fraud, cue Oscar’s great escape via a hot air balloon which is sucked into a twister.
After landing in Oz, Oscar meets the naïve and seemingly innocent young witch Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes that he is the great and powerful Wizard that Oz’s former King had predicted would arrive to save the land from the wrath of the Wicked Witch. Theodora’s sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) is doubtful that there will be a savior for the enchanted land, and grows even more dubious after the arrival of the “wizard.” The third witch, Glinda, was the former Princess of Oz, until Evanora overthrew her after discovering that Glinda poisoned her father in an attempt to take over the throne. Oz is sent on a journey to liberate the citizens of Oz; becoming their Wizard and the “Great” man he has always dreamt of being.
The film begins in a black-and-white toned Kansas, paying homage to the 1939 The Wizard of Oz, but upon Oscar’s arrival in Oz, the world is technicolor à la Dorothy’s landing in Munchkinland.
The new Oz is not unlike the magical land in the Judy Garland classic, save for the new computer generated and 3D effects. The new Oz is much more expansive than the world we see in The Wizard of Oz. In addition to Emerald City, Oz also visits Glinda the Good’s castle in the South of Oz, the cemetery-infested Dark Forest, and the new addition of China Town which is laden with miniature china dolls who live in ceramic teapots. The film is also sprinkled with special effects that play off of the movie’s 3D ability. Oz stays mostly true to the creatures and landscape in the original, only heightening the intensity of some elements, such as changing the Witch’s flying monkeys to the more frightening flying baboons which really pop in 3D.
But there are all of the beloved old elements of The Wizard of Oz with careful attention paid to revealing how and why they exist in Oz.
“I tried to move forward [in creating the film] with the utmost respect for the original and tell our story with as much passion and energy and truth and sense of humor as I could,” director Sam Raimi told Entertainment Weekly. Raimi, along with the principle cast, cites himself as a colossal fan of The Wizard of Oz.
During battle, Oz, who is obsessed with inventor Thomas Edison, instructs the tinkers of Oz to create constructions out of tin and fake “soldiers” out of straw; thus paving the way for the Tin-Man and Scarecrow’s arrivals in Oz. There are also the famous munchkins of Oz and Glinda still travels via bubble, and of course to get to the Emerald City, one must follow the signature yellow brick road. The newly-minted Wicked Witch even says: “I’ll get you my pretty [one].”
The biggest storyline of the prequel is which witch will turn green.
Oz is fed various storylines by the three witches and as we venture deeper into the Land of Oz, we don’t know who is truly good and who is evil. Although it is obvious that one of the three witches will have to become the Wicked Witch of the West, transforming into the hideous green creature, broomstick and all; there are twists and turns as to who it will be. And of course we learn why the witch is as heartless and wicked as she is when Dorothy drops in.
The only thing missing? Dorothy’s famous ruby-red slippers! Turns out there are elements of the original that are copyrighted to Warner Brothers, and so Disney had to stray away from the dead witch’s powerful (and gorgeous) heels. When the Wicked Witch of the West turns green, her coloring was also altered from the jade shade in the 1939 hit, to create a hue that was slightly different enough.
Oz: The Great and Powerful is a heart-warming prequel to everyone’s favorite childhood story with the brain to incorporate a fresh point of view, and the courage to try something new. The film is not only an entertaining tale of how everything we know and love in Oz came to be, but also manages to didactically teach that while greatness is good, goodness is great.