Oz the Great and Powerful

"I might not actually be a wizard."
"Yes, but they don't know that."

Oscar "The Great and Powerful Oz" Diggs (Franco) is a con man / magician in a traveling circus.  He longs to be more than a good man and dreams of life beyond the circus.  When his hot air balloon is sucked into a tornado, he is transported to the colorful land of Oz.

The people of Oz believe is the powerful wizard from their prophecies.  Not everyone is convinced and soon he is swept into the problems of Oz by three powerful witches, Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz), and Glinda (Williams).  Can he use become the man the land needs?


I have been excited for this film for months.  I have yet to read L. Frank Baum's stories (don't worry, they are in my Amazon.com cart), but I love the 1939 musical The Wizard of Oz (which was our marching band show my sophomore year of high school and a few months later it was also our high school musical, so I know all the songs and own the movie soundtrack).  One of my best friends also wanted to see the film, so we decided to see it opening night, and we loved it!



The film uses the characters from L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” series to tell the story of how the wizard arrived in Oz and gives some backstory on other characters.  The witches do have Baum’s original names, or the names from Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked.”  The story borrows more from the 1939 musical than the books, for example Kansas is sepia toned, while Oz is colorful.

The film captures your attention from the beginning, with an imaginative title sequence, and holds your attention until the curtain literally falls during the closing credits.  It is visually impressive and action packed.
The cast is entertaining and disappear into their roles.  James Franco plays to the balconies as the wizard, doing justice to the larger than life character.  Mila Kunis is the naive witch, Rachel Weisz is the crafty witch, and Michelle Williams is the smart one.  All three bewitching and make each character come to life, even as they change.  Zach Braff adds humor as Finley the flying monkey, and Joey King is irresistible as the China Girl (both actors also appear in Kansas as other characters).  Tony Cox is funny as Knuck the Munchkin.  The Munchkins appear, and sing.

The Wicked Witch of the West makes an appearance in all her green glory, but is never called by that name.  Don’t read spoilers about her identity (and I won't spoil it here), wait and find out in theaters.

Disney Studios had enough faith in this film to greenlight a sequel.


Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) 130 minutes
Director: Sam Raimi
Starring: James Franco as Oscar "Oz" Diggs
Michelle Williams as Glinda
Mila Kunis as Theodora
Rachel Weisz as Evanora
Zach Braff as Frank / Finley
Bill Cobbs as Master Tinker
Joey King as China Girl
Tony Cox as Knuck