LEAD CAST: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Bill Cobs, Joey King DIRECTOR: Sam Raimi SCREENWRITER: David Lindsay-Abaire, Mitchelle Kapner PRODUCER: Joe Roth EDITOR: Bob Murawski MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Danny Elfman GENRE: Fantasy/Adventure RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming DISTRIBUTOR: Walt Disney Pictures LOCATION: United States Technical assessment: 3
Moral assessment: 3
CINEMA rating: PG 13
MTRCB rating: General Patronage
It is 1902. Small-time illusionist at a small town circus in Kansas, Oscar “Oz” Diggs (James Franco) is a magician of dubious ethics. He is actually more serious about perfecting his skills at oneupmanship than improving his repertoire. Escaping the ire of the circus strongman he had apparently shortchanged, he scampered into a hot air balloon; unfortunately—or fortunately—the balloon gets sucked by a twister that spits him out into the fantastic Land of Oz. He is met by a beautiful witch, Theodora (Mila Kunis), who believes Oz is the fulfillment of a prophecy—the arrival of a great wizard who would save the Land of Oz from the wicked witch. Theodora takes him to the Emerald City where he meets her sister, another beauteous witch, Evanora (Rachel Weisz), who takes him to a cavernous room filled with gold. It would be all his, says Evanora, provided Oz would destroy the wicked witch Glinda the Good (Michelle Williams). Oz sets forth to search for the wicked witch to break her wand—which should spell the end of all her powers.
Directed by Sam Raimi, Disney’s family movie, Oz the Great and Powerful, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. Baum wrote 14 Land of Oz novels but not one of them spoke about the wizard’s origins. Thus, this brave attempt at establishing once and for all the beginnings of this legendary character. Reportedly the third choice for the lead role—after it was turned down by Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp—Franco nonetheless delivers a credible character that combines conman and charmer. Williams’ Glinda is bland, sugary at most, but every inch a Disney witch; by the way, she plays a dual role, first as Oscar’s sweetheart in Kansas, then as Glinda in Oz. Kunis’ Theodora turns from seductress into a harmless Halloween party witch, possessing a nose, chin and hat as pointy as her black talons, cackling her way to vengeance and riding a broom that pollutes the air of the Land of Oz. (Doesn’t it remind you of the exhaust pipes of the smoke-belching buses on EDSA?) And Weisz? She’s perfect as the deceiver-in-disguise, lovely to look at even when she is being at her rotten-best. (But oh, maybe we just have a soft spot for the actress because she was very nice to fans when she was shooting Bourne Legacy in the Philippines). The effects are as good as demanded by a fantasy movie, emphasized by the contrast in color: black and white for the scenes in Kansas, and blooming in full technicolor grandeur for the Land of Oz. Special mention must be made of two non-human characters that have very human characteristics, Finley the flying monkey, and the frail China Doll. They are so well-developed that you can almost take them in as members of your family.
Oz the Great and Powerful is about good and evil, for sure, and the transformation of one man from charlatan to one of character. Oscar is shown as a con artist in his “earthly life” in Kansas. When his sweetheart tells him she is now engaged to another man, he lets her go, admitting the other man is good and will make a good husband. He himself says he is not a good man, but he dreams of becoming a great man, someone the likes of Thomas Alva Edison, his idol. Enveloped by the Kansas twister Oscar bargains with God to give him another chance—he doesn’t want to die without having done something meaningful in his life. Placed by fate in the Land of Oz, he cannot help but confess to his companion that he is not a wizard but simply a carnival magician. The Land of Oz has no army and people are forbidden to kill even in self-defense, Oscar is the reluctant savior who is compelled to employ his magical arts and scientific knowledge—ably assisted by Oz’s tradesmen to carry on a plan to defend their land from the evil witches. At the end, someone smilingly tells Oscar that a great man can also be a good man. That’s a happy enough ending for the whole family. But although CINEMA gives this a PG 13 rating, we warn that some of the images are scary enough to rob very young children of sleep.
