Anticipation comes in many degrees for Disney and director Sam Raimi’s "Oz the Great and Powerful," a prequel to the classic "The Wizard of Oz." The curiosity from fans of the original, Mr. Raimi’s reputation as a director of blockbusters and Disney’s stock all have a stake in this movie. The story, in most ways, mirrors "The Wizard of Oz" but without the original’s charm, memorable scenes or creative story-telling. Technically the movie holds the attention but the storytelling bates the intellect to ask many questions.
It’s the story of a philandering magician (James Franco) who found himself in Oz and managed to wrestle the Emerald City from two wicked witches. The magician had just completed a botched performance when he is threatened by a jealous husband who is unappreciative of the attention paid to his wife. Preoccupied with his getaway, the magician doesn’t notice the change in weather and jumps into a hot air balloon. Caught up in a tornado he is swept away to the Land of Oz. There he is greeted by a beautiful woman, Theodora (Mila Kunis). She believes him to be the wizard of the prophecy who will rescue the land from the wicked witch. Theodora escorts the wizard back to the Emerald City to meet her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz). Along the way the wizard saves a winged monkey, Finley (voice of Zack Braff), who pledges his life long devotion as repayment. During the trek Theodora falls for the wizard’s advances and they plan to marry so she can rule Oz by his side.
Evanora offers the wizard all of Emerald City’s gold if he can destroy the wicked witch’s wand- the source of her power. Aroused from a chance at a comfortable living the wizard sets off with Finely to find the wicked witch. They make it to the Dark Forest and find Glinda (Michelle Williams) whom they were told is the wicked witch but turns out she is a good witch and explains that it is Evanora who is the true wicked witch. Glinda introduces the wizard to the Munchkins, the Tinkers and her people the Quadlings- all of who live in fear of the witch- and although they cannot offer the wizard a secure future they convince him to assist her in disposing of the evil sisters. Through her crystal ball Evanora shows Theodora the wizard and Glinda growing closer. Jealousy overcomes Theodora and Evanora offers her a special apple to harden her heart. The poisonous apple (apples need better PR representatives when appearing in fairy tales) sets off a transformation in Theodora and she becomes the wicked witch we know from the original "Wizard of Oz." The rest of the movie shows how the wizard and Glinda, by using ingenuity, sleight of hand and a little old fashion modern technology (it is 1909), defeat the witches and set the stage for "The Wizard of Oz."
It is an odd and unfortunate choice to make the wizard such an unappealing figure. The origin of the Wicked Witch of the West is made possible because of the wizard’s womanizing and he is given a chance to redeem himself at the end but I wish the screenwriters David Lindsay-Abaire ("Rabbit Hole," "Rise of the Guardians") and Mitchell Kapner ("The Whole Nine Yards") would have built the story around an honorable man especially in a children’s fable based on the books of L. Frank Baum. Luckily Mr. Franco’s performance keeps our attention spans interested in the wizard. Mr. Franco comes equipped with an entrancing smile that would get him an acquittal from any jury. Ms. Weisz and Ms. Williams are wily veterans who bring their characters to life without much effort. Ms. Kunis is game playing the wizard’s hurt lover. None of the characters stand a chance, however, when the best written character happens to be a winged monkey and along with Mr. Franco’s smile keeps the movie watchable.
"Oz the Great and Powerful" is eye candy with a story littered with distractions. The film is fun to watch in 3D but not necessary unlike "Avatar" or "Hugo." The production design is beautiful and imaginative. The Emerald City, the wizard’s room and throne, Munchkin Land and even the poppy field where the Yellow Brick road travels through to the Emerald City seem to have the same landscape shaped precisely as in the original movie. But bits and pieces of the production and script distract attention from a scene and the movie as a whole.
Mr. Lindsay-Abaire and Mr. Kapner didn’t outline the world they were writing about and many questions spring from the holes they created. When the wizard first encounters Theodora she walks out to meet him from the middle of a forest. The first thing that comes to mind is not where she came from - this is the place where Kansans regularly fall from the sky- but how did she get that big brimmed red Edwardian hat and those black leather pants she’s wearing? Evanora and Glinda are dressed in traditional fairy tale dresses, one black and one white. The Munchkins and Tinkers are dressed similarly to early 1900’s American Midwesterners that correspond with the original movie. So it becomes distracting trying to figure out how Theodora became a fashion diva. Another production decision that becomes distracting is to figure out where the Asian and African-American Munchkins and Tinkers came from. And then we watch the wizard addressing them about their rights to be free while holding his stove pipe hat and wearing a black frock coat. Is he campaigning for the wizard of Oz or the sixteenth president of Oz? Then there is the missing piece of a major plot point. For years Evanora has been able to convince her sister that Glinda is the wicked witch. How? Glinda’s behavior doesn’t arouse suspicion. She doesn’t even look like a wicked witch.
The movie throws enough money on the screen to make it visually enticing. Unfortunately there are no characters around that we would want to spend over two hours with even though Oz is full of wizards, witches, Dark Forests, china girls and Munchkins- with the exception being a winged monkey.
Directed by Sam Raimi; written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire, based on a story by Mr. Kapner based on the works of L. Frank Baum; director of photography, Peter Deming; edited by Bob Murawski; music by Danny Elfman; production design by Robert Stromberg; costumes by Gary Jones and Michael Kutsche; visual effects supervisor, Scott Stokdyk; produced by Joe Roth; released by Walt Disney Pictures. Running time: 2 hours 9 minutes.
WITH: James Franco (Oscar Diggs a k a Oz), Mila Kunis (Theodora), Rachel Weisz (Evanora), Michelle Williams (Annie/Glinda), Zach Braff (Frank/Voice of Finley the Monkey), Joey King (Girl in Wheelchair/Voice of China Girl) and Tony Cox (Knuck).
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