When did we start thinking that rainbows were the place we all want to be for happiness? Credit for that goes to L. Frank Baum, who wrote a heartfelt children’s story 113 years ago that has echoed throughout pop culture.
Multiple versions of plays and films have kept the original piece alive and well. The most famous is, of course, the 1939 film version starring Judy Garland and her belting “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” in the farms of Kansas. From there, Dorothy’s journey down the yellow brick road and the ruby slippers she skipped in became infamous to everyone who saw it, whether in the theatre or anywhere else.
“The Wizard Of Oz” grew in the public mind over many years, and some saw it as something to build off of. The first popular spin off of Oz was 1978’s “The Wiz”, featuring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. It managed to help “The Wizard Of Oz” cross over into the African-American population, only furthering the legacy of Baum’s work. It had a less-successful revival with 1985’s “Return To Oz.”
Oz was only seen as a classic novel and staple of American film, or at least adaptation. This is a great accomplishment on its own, but some still saw that Oz could be continued. It started with the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire, in which the Wicked Witch is seen as a neutral member of the Oz community and how she became disliked. This turned into the musical “Wicked”.
From there, “Wicked” became a smash hit on Broadway starting in 2003. It still remains a hit on the great white way, only furthering Oz’s stay in the public mindset. The legend is now being given another life after focusing on Dorothy and the witches. Now, director Sam Raimi is giving audiences a look into the mysterious wizard before the girl from Kansas came to town.
“Oz: The Great And Powerful” puts Oscar nominee James Franco into the shoes of Oz, a circus magician just barely getting by in dusty Kansas. Oz, as cunning as he is mischievous, is caught in a tornado on a hot-air balloon and whisked into the bright and magnificent world of Oz.
Oz is greeted by the witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), who is charmed by the supposed savior of her land and hopes for a happy future with this man (much to the dismay of the swinger Oz). Brought to the Emerald City, he is then requested by Theodora’s sister, Evanora (Oscar winner Rachel Weisz) to kill the dreaded Wicked Witch and free the land from tyranny.
In exchange, Oz will become king of the land and given all the witches in the world. Although he is well aware his “magic” is not authentic, Oz takes up the challenge and the company of a flying monkey (Zach Braff) and a China doll (Joey King). After further persuasion by Glinda (Oscar nominee Michelle Williams), Oz attempts to go above and beyond to save the people of Oz and prove that he is the great man he wants to be.
Although Franco was not the first choice for Oz (Robert Downey Jr. and Johnny Depp were options, but couldn’t do it), he pulls off Oz as a womanizing con man. What is missing is the heart that must come with the part to make Oz an interesting person to watch. It comes in bits at the beginning and end, but there is still plenty of room for more.
Weisz and Kunis are alluring as the witchy sisters, and Williams is radiant as always. But, surprisingly, these lead actors are nearly trumped by adorable turns from Braff and King. What the film lacks in character development certainly makes up for in visuals. The look and spread of the land of Oz will leave audiences in awe.
The colors of the Emerald City will pop out at the viewer, which is marvelous considering how most films today tend to move toward darker tones. Director Raimi knows how to sell a movie, but one might wish for him to work on adding a soul to the movie along with polishing it up to make it shine.
Nevertheless, “Oz: The Great And Powerful” is a magical step forward for the franchise and an appropriate origin story for the wizard. It really is not that surprising that Oz has remained a cultural staple for more than 100 years. What keeps Oz alive is its basis in simple wonder and imagination. There is a certain comfort in the story of a land where anything is possible, and as long as that is still in people’s heads, there will always be a need to look for the wizard.
