OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

Credits: 

Director:  Sam Raimi
Writer:  Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire
Source Material:  The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (novels) by L. Frank Baum
Cast:  James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz
Studio:  Disney

OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is a prequel to THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, which describes how a magician / con-man / playboy from Kansas (Franco) became the great and powerful Oz.  The story begins in the 1900's with black-and-white imagery of a Circus and then becomes a vibrant and colorful world as it shifts to Oz.  The main characters from the black-and-white story become fantastical characters in Oz, including small-town good girl Annie, who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch (Williams).  My favorite was the paralyzed girl from the black-and-white, who becomes an animated girl made of china in Oz, the lone survivor of Chinatown, in which the houses were shaped like teacups and made of china.  Child actress, Joey King lent her voice for the role and was brilliant, as was Zach Braff as the faithful assistant turned animated winged monkey, Finley in Oz.  Between the two of them, they delivered some of the best lines in the movie - both the jokes and the tearjerkers.  The rest of the performances were just ok...which leads me to wonder if this would've been a better acted movie had it all been animated.  I really wanted to love Kunis, but her wicked witch was just too campy and formulaic to not have been let in on the joke.  A wink wink nod nod never hurt any bad girl I've seen on the silver screen!!

But where Raimi faltered commandeering performances, he excelled in 3D visuals.  The film was all spectacle - vivid and astoundingly whimsical.  A true fantastical adventure.  It's the kid friendly ARGO, in which an army of merry-men forbidden to kill, overcome evil forces with smoke and mirrors.  

If you have kids or know how to suspend your belief and get in touch with your childish side - see this movie in 3D.  If you are just interested to see what Disney did to freshen up this classic, put it in your queue.