Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

A small-time magician is swept away to an enchanted land and is forced into a power struggle between three witches.

Director:

Sam Raimi

Writers:

Mitchell Kapner (screenplay), David Lindsay-Abaire (screenplay),

Stars:

James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Franco	...	Oz
Mila Kunis	...	Theodora
Rachel Weisz	...	Evanora
Michelle Williams	...	Annie / Glinda
Zach Braff	...	Frank / Finley
Bill Cobbs	...	Master Tinker
Joey King	...	Girl in Wheelchair / China Girl
Tony Cox	...	Knuck
Stephen R. Hart	...	Winkie General
Abigail Spencer	...	May
Bruce Campbell	...	Winkie Gate Keeper
Ted Raimi	...	Skeptic in Audience
Tim Holmes	...	Strongman
Toni Wynne	...	Strong Man's Wife
Rob Crites	...	Firebreather

Storyline

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

---

Plot Keywords:

Magician | Wizard | Illusion | Circus | Kansas | 

---

Taglines:

In Oz, nothing is what it seems

---

Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 March 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oz, el poderoso

Filming Locations:

Michigan Motion Picture Studios, 1999 Centerpoint Parkway, Pontiac, Michigan USA

Box Office

Budget:

$215,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$79,110,453 (USA) (8 March 2013)

Gross:

$203,119,402 (USA) (3 April 2013)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Pictures, Roth Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the second time Zach Braff has starred in an Oz themed production: in the Scrubs episode 'My Way Home' he plays the role of Dorothy in a Wizard of Oz parody. His Scrubs character JD also mentions that he appeared in his school's production of the musical version of The Wizard of Oz titled 'The Wiz'.

---

Goofs

When Oz is painting the glue onto China Girls's legs to fix them the brush is clearly dry.

---

Quotes

Oz: Theodora, I know your wickedness is not your doing! And should you ever find the goodness within you, you are welcome to return!
Theodora: NEVER!

---

Crazy Credits

The closing credits are seen behind a stage curtain (at first in different colors, then for the remainder it stays green).

---

Connections

Referenced in Bum Reviews: Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
movie is reviewed

---

Soundtracks

"Almost Home"
Performed by Mariah Carey
Written by Simone Porter, Justin Gray, Lindsey Ray, T.E. Hermansen (as Tor Erik Hermansen), Mikkel S. Eriksen (as Mikkel Eriksen) and Mariah Carey
Produced by Mariah Carey, T.E. Hermansen (as Stargate) and Mikkel S. Eriksen (as Stargate) for 45th & 3rd Music LLC
Mariah Carey appears Courtesy of Island Def Jam Music Group/Universal Music Group

User Reviews

Both lovingly referential and delightfully imaginative, this is a vivid, colourful and enchanting tale of whimsy and wonderment

To attempt a follow-up to a beloved classic such as 'The Wizard of Oz' would seem entirely foolhardy; yet there is sheer magic in Sam Raimi's 'Oz: The Great and Powerful', an always engaging, consistently entertaining and utterly bewitching fairy tale fable that elegantly evokes the 1939 classic while being entirely in tune with the sensibilities of modern-day audiences.

As clear reverence to that legendary picture, it opens in black-and- white and framed in Academy ratio with the traveling magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) at the Baum Family Circus in 1905 Kansas. It's no secret that Oscar will eventually become the Wizard; all that matters is how he gets there, and what follows is a beautiful journey imagined by screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire of how an ordinary man can become a great man with a good heart and a little bit of faith.

As such tales do, this one starts with who Oscar isn't – and that is, an honest and reliable person. No doubt as a magician, Oscar will always have a trick up his sleeve; but Oscar hasn't simply been hoodwinking his audience. Instead, the smooth talker has also been fooling any beautiful lady whom he meets; even as one such lady (Michelle Williams) hopes to persuade him in his trailer to marry her, the relative of another broken-hearted woman gives furious chase, forcing him to climb into his hot-air balloon for escape.

That is the first of many narrative sleight-of-hands in which fans will immediately recall Victor Fleming's original. Here, a giant tornado whisks him right into its eye, where he watches with wide-eyed horror as every manner of debris flies dangerously around him. Once again taking a cue from the original, this sequence is filmed for maximum thrills – especially so with an added dimension – with an exhilarating ride down a gushing waterfall added in for good measure.

As Dorothy was in 'The Wizard of Oz', Oscar is greeted by a kind and beautiful witch, Theodora (Mila Kunis), who is immediately spellbound by the possibility that he could very well be the great and wonderful wizard that an ancient prophecy had foretold. Those familiar with the tale will recall that Theodora is but one of the witches of Oz; besides her, there is her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) as well as the supposed evil one called Glinda (Williams again) whom Evanora accuses of murdering her father.

The fates of these pivotal witches of Oz is intertwined closely with Oscar's transformation from an opportunistic and self-centred trickster to a revered hero of the people of Oz, and like Dorothy, Oscar is joined on his adventure by two unlikely companions – a flying monkey (Zach Braff) and an all-porcelain China Girl (Joey King). Along the way, fans of both Baum's novels as well as the original will recognise the other cleverly placed narrative sleights – including flying baboons, singing and dancing Munchkins, poisonous-scented poppy fields, and floating magic bubbles.

Yet at no point do these plentiful references ever feel slavish; rather, building on a solid foundation from Kapner and Abaire, Raimi creates a visually resplendent world wowing in its lovingly rendered details that feels fresh and original. The effect is, we dare say, just as magical as that audiences in the past were transported on when Fleming's Technicolour visual effects fantasy was first unveiled, and perhaps even more so with the wonder of today's CGI advances put to work.

There is of course much more than just visual bombast on display; in fact, Raimi uses these in service of a story that is full of heart and nerve. Cast as an unprepared man whom destiny calls to greatness, the Wizard is a surprisingly poignant character study of a flawed hero who eventually finds it within himself to rise above himself. That change of heart is portrayed in a befittingly heart-stopping climax engineered on illusion and ingenuity, a grand magic show set right in the heart of Emerald City that again brings to mind the revelation at the end of 'The Wizard of Oz' of the Wizard's identity.

If there is one blemish to an otherwise outstanding accomplishment, it is James Franco's casting as the Wizard. While he does bring a slippery charm to the Wizard, he lacks the dramatic stature necessary to make the character a more compelling one. Among the three witches, it is Williams and Weisz who steal the show, the former's radiant goodness a perfect complement against the latter's icy malevolence. And though we do not see him after the film's extended prologue, Braff's voice-over for the Wizard's winged companion brings much spirited humour to the proceedings.

So like 'The Wizard of Oz', this prequel is good old-fashioned family entertainment. And just because this comes late in Hollywood's recent obsession with fairy tales should not at all deter you from making a beeline for it – because this is hands down the best of them (even better than Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' in fact). True to its title, it is great and wonderful, an ageless and timeless fantasy deserved to be enjoyed in history with its forbearer.