Oz (James Franco) is enchanted by Theodora (Mila Kunis) upon his arrival to Oz in "Oz the Great and Powerful".
Creating a new film based on the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz would be quite an undertaking for any director. And given the original film’s surrealistic visuals and absurdly cerebral plot, Sam Raimi is definitely one of a handful of people who could see this vision through properly. And thus it is Raimi who takes us over the rainbow in Oz the Great and Powerful, a prequel that focuses on that infamous man behind the curtain and how he came to be the unwilling savior of the merry old land of Oz.
James Franco plays Oscar Diggs, the sideshow magician otherwise known as Oz, whose parlor tricks are impressive even if they are more slight-of-hand than actual magic. But like any carnie performer, Oz isn’t the most trustworthy person, a fact that is quickly exposed when he is unable to magically make a crippled girl walk, and when the resident strongman (Tim Holmes) realizes that his girlfriend (Abigail Spencer) has been seduced into performing in Oz’s act. Just as Oz scrambles to escape the wrath of the strongman, he and his hot air balloon are whisked away by a tornado.
Finley (Zach Braff), China Girl (Joey King) and Oz (James Franco) plot to steel the witch's wand in "Oz the Great and Powerful".
It’s at this point that it suddenly becomes apparent how much The Wizard of Oz must have influenced Raimi’s aesthetic approach to his Evil Dead films. Oz’s tornado ride is much like that of Dorothy, with recognizable pieces of where he’s going swirling around with the uncertainties of where he’s about to be. But when we see things from the point of view of a section of picket fence flying towards the shocked Oz in his balloon, one can’t help but be reminded of the similarly silly perspectives Raimi offered in his earlier films. (This moment is one of many that utilizes 3-D technology better than almost anyone else has yet to do.) And while the opening credits and frugal quality of the sets are obvious nods to the original Oz film, once Oz is literally (and subtly) carried over the rainbow, we see Raimi’s most obvious ode to Oz as the film goes from black-and-white to vivid color and the narrow aspect ratio expands to a full-screen experience.
Things are not as they appear wth Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Theodora (Mila Kunis) in "Oz the Great and Powerful".
Oz immediately meets a lovely woman named Theodora (Mila Kunis), who devines that he is the prophesied savior of the land of Oz. A natural swindler, Oz plays along with all this wizard stuff, especially once he is taken to the Emerald City and Theodora’s sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) introduces him to the power and treasure that await him as ruler of Oz. After inadvertently saving the life of Finley (a very recognizable flying monkey voiced by Zach Braff, who also played Oz’s circus assistant in Kansas), Oz gains his first sidekick. Tasked with obtaining the wand of a powerful witch in order to claim his thrown, Oz is off for the biggest adventure of his life.
Along the way he finds a China Girl (Joey King) whose entire village has been destroyed by the witch’s evil minions. And to a girl whose porcelain legs have been shattered, the Wizard’s tube of glue seems like real magic when it helps put her back together again she can miraculously walk (fulfilling the task he was unable to do in Kansas). And once Oz tracks down the witch whose wand he’s supposed to deliver to Theodora and Evanora, he discovers that nothing is quite as it seems in Oz (imagine that). Glinda the Good Witch (Michelle Williams, who also plays Oz’s love interest in Kansas) opens Oz’s eyes yet again, introducing him to the Munchkins (look closely and you might recognize Puppet “The Psycho Dwarf” and other Half Pint Brawlers wrestlers), the Tinkerers and other residents of Oz hoping he truly is the one whose magic will bring order back to Oz.
Munchkins tremble at the site of the Wicked Witch in "Oz the Great and Powerful".
As Oz realizes who is truly good and evil, Theodora’s heart is broken, causing her to turn into the green-skinned, pointy-nosed broom rider previously portrayed by Margaret Hamilton. And with his illusionary talents and the resourcefulness of his new friends in Oz, the Wizard is able to not only deceive the Wicked Witches and their army, but he’s also able to convince the denizens of Oz (and himself) that he actually is a powerful wizard, and a good man. Oz’s journey parallels that of Dorothy in many ways and this film incorporates some of the iconic elements of the original (puffs of red smoke, the Wicked Witch’s soldiers, color-changing horses, the yellow brick road). Like Wicked (another Oz prequel that follows a completely different continuity), Oz the Great and Powerful lends an entirely new perspective on the events that take place in the original film. Though this film is not a musical like the original, Danny Elfman’s score provides the whimsy and wonder we’ve come to expect from Oz. And while many might complain that some of the backgrounds and props (both real and green-screened) look artificial, they usually maintain the surreal quality of the what we’ve come to love about the original film. I mean, isn’t it the realistically unreal feel of the original film that has made generation after generation want to visit that dreamlike world of fantasy and wonder? And who better than Raimi to recreate a fantasy rooted in dreamlike realism?