We all know the story of The Wizard of Oz: a girl lands in a fantasy world, overthrows an evil witch and seeks help from a wizard. But there’s one question that’s been on everyone’s mind for quite some time: how did the wizard get to Oz? Luckily, the film “Oz: The Great and Powerful” answers that question while providing a new twist on an old classic. The story sets itself pretty well by providing some outstanding visuals. But maybe the special effects may lead to the film’s downside as well as a few other things. “Oz: The Great and Powerful” is a unique tale on an old classic story that everyone knows.
The story takes place several years before the events when Dorothy landed in the world of Oz. We see the original wizard of Oz (James Franco) as a circus traveling magician. Unfortunately, Oz is not that great of a magician. One day while in Kansas, a tornado comes through the circus and sweeps Oz to the mystical land. Here, Oz is informed that he is a great wizard who will help save land from the Wicked Witch, even though Oz is just a nobody. Can he prove himself by being great and actually saving the land?
“Oz: The Great and Powerful” is a good movie. The story sets itself pretty well by offering some continuity with the original story. The cast does an okay job, yet performances by Rachel Weisz and Mila Kunis as both evil witches were very good. The costumes fit the actors very well and even in the opening sequence, the costumes fit the time period of early 20th Century well. But the greatest accomplishment that this movie has to offer is the special effects. The opening scene is done in black and white, which pays tribute to the original 1939 film “The Wizard of Oz”. The makeup is fantastic as Mila Kunis transforms herself into the Wicked Witch of the West with makeup akin to the original design of the 1939 movie. The whole world of Oz looks amazing as everything looks like a fantasy world should. Yes, it’s done in CG, but you can tell that there were a lot of people who put a lot effort in making and designing these worlds come to life. The movie was shot in 3D, and it works, which kind of hard to believe, but it does; things are coming out of the screen, the camera has a life of its own, it’s not bad.
With that being said, there are some problems with the film. The cast could have had better performances from Franco and especially Michelle Williams who plays Glinda the Good Witch, was kind of bland and not that very interesting as a character. The story has the cliché of the liar, which the film wants to push away quickly, but we as the get it. Finally, while the special effects are good, they kind of take away from the story; they’re somewhat distracting but the special effects are used accordingly.
In conclusion, “Oz: The Great and Powerful” is a nice adaptation of The Wizard of Oz story, even though there are some problems, but overall this movie isn’t that bad and is a visionary wonder.