Over the weekend, I went off to see The Wizard.
Specifically, I watched "Oz: The Great And Powerful", released by Disney and re-teaming star James Franco and director Sam Raimi (from the Spider-Man trilogy). Filmed pretty much as a prequel to the 1939 MGM classic "The Wizard Of Oz", this film tells the story of how Kansas con man Oscar Diggs (Franco) is swept up by a tornado and dumped into the wondrous land that bears his nickname--Oz. Once there, he has to decide which of three beautiful witches is, in fact, the villainess who murdered the good King at some point before his arrival. Along the way, he slowly transforms from a self-centered, gutless lout to a man of honor and courage.
Over two hours long, the film is never dull, keeps you engaged, and has bits of fun nods to the 1939 original. Best of all, it takes one of cinema's most sinister characters--the Wicked Witch of the West--and has you feeling sympathy for her by film's end. After seeing this, next time you watch Margaret Hamilton's portrayal in the earlier film, you'll wish the witch could have found redemption.
When Diggs first arrives in Oz, he is met by the beautiful Theodora (Mila Kunis) who believes he is a great wizard foretold in prophesy Theodora is kind and gentle, and believes the lies of her sister, Evanora (Rachel Weisz) who has told her the King was murdered by his own daughter, Glinda, the Witch of the South. Because the audience knows (from either the Oz books or the 1939 movie) that Glinda is a Good Witch, it's pretty clear on the outset that Evanora is evil.
Oscar and Theodora are obviously interested in each other, much to Evanora's dismay. She goads Oscar into traveling to the home of the 'evil' Glinda, for the purpose of destroying her. If he does this, she tells Oscar, the fabulous wealth in the Oz treasury will be his, as will as the position of King. She also suggests to Theodora that Oscar has made advances towards her (which he had not). By the time Theodora realizes her sister is the villainess of the story, she already is convinced--wrongly--that Oscar has betrayed her. In immense emotional pain, she willingly takes an apple offered her by Evanora knowing it will transform her to evil as well, taking it only to end her torment. It is then she transforms into the Wicked Witch of the West, with a striking similarity to Margaret Hamilton's appearance in the original film. This is also when we realize Evanora is the Witch who is inadvertently killed when Dorothy's house lands in Oz in the MGM classic.
The end of the film has Oscar and his new friends using Oscar's stage tricks to dupe the people of Oz, as well as the evil sisters, into believing he is the wizard they were expecting, as he manages to rescue Glinda. The witches are defeated and banished, though Oscar--still playing the part of a powerful sorcerer--gently tells Theodora--the Wicked Witch of the West--that should she find goodness within her again, she would be welcomed back. Her bellowing "Never!" as she flies away via broomstick is heartbreaking, as we know that was her last chance.
The film ends on an upbeat note, as Oscar and Glinda are embarking on a new romance, and he has cemented the friendships we made in the film.
Pay attention to the credits--as in "The Wizard of Oz", several of the actors seen in the black and white Kansas sequence play different characters in the rest of the movie, set in Oz.
There are several homages to the 1939 film as well, including catch phrases similar to classic lines in the earlier film, this time with different meanings ("I'll get you, my pretty!"). A lion appears early on, as does a reference to scarecrows. My personal favorite, in this film that is NOT a musical (as the 1939 one was) comes when Oscar meets the Munchkins for the first time, and they break out in a song-and-dance number which would have fit right in with the earlier film...until an annoyed Oscar manages to stop it.
This is a family film, which anyone should be able to enjoy. If you're a fan of the original, then so much the better. For prequels done right, be off to see this wizard.
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Email Uncle Steve at geekyconservative@gmail.com
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