Creating a prequel to one of the most beloved films of all time can’t be an easy task. Especially when that film is the 1939 MGM classic The Wizard of Oz. Thankfully, director Sam Raimi and the screenwriters of Oz the Great and Powerful appear to be well aware of the fine line needed to walk in creating a new work while still paying homage to the original. And for the most part, the latest 3D wonder from Disney works.
Oz the Great and Powerful isn’t the first stab at creating a backstory to the happenings in the Emerald City after Dorothy dropped in. Wicked, which was first a novel by Gregory Maguire and then a Stephen Schwartz musical, was the first to corner that market. But if you happen to be a fan of Wicked (which is currently playing in Orlando through the weekend) you need to throw that story out of your mind.
In Oz the Great and Powerful, we meet a young Oscar Diggs (James Franco), nickname Oz, a womanizing carnival magician attempting to get away from the circus strongman ready to beat him to a pulp for playing around with his girl. Taking off in a hot air balloon, Diggs meets the same fate as Dorothy did in the original, getting sucked into a cyclone and transported to a magical land known as Oz.
The opening segment of the film, shot in black and white and utilizing a standard 4:3 ratio, recalls the classic film (although a sepia tone to the proceedings would have been nice). Ironically, the twister from the 1939 film, which still holds up as a special effects marvel, outshines the CGI cyclone conjured up by this special effects team. Once in Oz though, the special effects are top notch.
Upon his arrival in Oz, Diggs meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), who tells him of the prophecy of a wizard coming from out of the sky to rule Oz in the Emerald City. She also happens, as many do, to fall hard for Diggs immediately. Theodora and her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) warn Diggs of an evil witch that he will have to defeat in order to gain control of Oz. In trying to find the evil one, Diggs instead finds Glinda the Good (Michelle Williams) and it soon becomes apparent that the true evil, and the origins of a very green wicked witch, lie within either Evanora or Theodora.
As his companions along the yellow brick road, Diggs is joined by a meek flying monkey named Finley (voiced by Zach Braff) and a fragile porcelain doll named China Girl (voiced by Joey King). Both actors play double duty in the film (reminiscent of the farm hands in the 1939 film), appearing in the film’s prelude as fully human characters. Feisty munchkin Knuck (Tony Cox) and the resourceful Master Tinker (Bill Cobbs, who behind the makeup could be easily mistaken for Bill Cosby) round out the wizard’s rag tag troupe of misfits.
Is this a truly “great and powerful” film? Not quite. Franco seems to lack the comfortable confidence the character needs and often seems too contemporary for a film set in 1905. One can only imagine what Robert Downey, Jr., the rumored first choice for the role, would have done with the character. Kunis is also somewhat of a let down in the acting department, never fully embracing the character of Theodora. But those are fairly minor quibbles. The film’s conclusion is a wondrous sight indeed, making believers out of the citizenry of Oz as well as the audience who have taken the journey.
Score: 3.5 out of 5
Oz the Great and Powerful
Starring James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff. Directed by Sam Raimi.
Running Time: 130 minutes
Rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language.