“Oz, The Great and Powerful” (Disney) opens with great promise. The mood is set by a dazzling title credits sequence (in black and white, no less), that will make you want to strap on those uncomfortable 3D glasses. Kansas—poor Kansas!—is once again presented in all of its black and white (but mostly grey) glory. Storm clouds gather over a traveling circus where magician and ladies’ man Oz (James Franco, looking more out of place than he did when co-hosting the Oscars) is bent on practicing his most successful trick: making his tongue disappear into the mouth of his young female assistant.
Oz is having a particularly gloomy day. Occasional girlfriend Annie (Michelle Williams) comes to tell him that she plans to marry a “feller” by the name of Gale (read: foreshadowing). Then, following an especially unsuccessful performance—where he’s unable to honor the request of a little girl (Joey King) in a wheelchair to make her walk (more unsubtle foreshadowing at work)—Oz must make a hasty exit when the circus strongman discovers that he’s been messing with his girl. Good thing his assistant Frank (Zach Braff) notices that there’s a hot air balloon nearby.
Setting sail just as one of those dang Kansas twisters arrives, Oz is whisked off to the vividly colored Land of Oz (hey, that’s his name, too!), where his arrival has been anticipated. There, he is greeted by Theodora (Mila Kunis) who fills Oz in on the details (Wicked Witch, evil minions, citizens living in fear and despair—you know the drill). The good people of Oz are counting on his magic to restore peace to the kingdom. Only then can he take his rightful place on the throne, with Theodora by his side, and lay claim to all the riches. Naturally, his first act must be the destruction of the Wicked Witch and her dreaded wand.
But which “witch” is it? Is it Annie-lookalike Glinda (Williams), who claims to be good? Is it Theordora’s sister, the slinky Evanora (Rachel Weisz)? Or could it be the short-fused Theodora herself? While Oz tries to figure that out, he amasses a Dorothy-style team, including winged monkey Finley (Braff), whom he rescues from what turns out to be a ‘cowardly’ lion, and China Girl (King), a living porcelain doll that Oz repairs. As it turns out, it’s Finley and China Girl who end up with the best lines in the whole movie.
Anyone (parents included) who was terrified by the winged monkeys that appeared in the 1939 version of “The Wizard of Oz” should be warned that in the new film the Wicked Witch’s computer-generated winged baboons are far more ominous and terrifying (just ask the girl who was seated in the 12th row while I was watching it; she spent every scene in which the monkeys appeared with her head under her mother’s arm).
The 3D effects are put to good use here, although they do come close to being abused. The best effect is the use of foreshadowing, one of the few things screenwriters Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire got right. Oz’s obsession with Thomas Edison, for instance, plays an important role in the wizard’s future use of projection.
Even with one thankfully abbreviated musical number, the movie is at least 30 minutes too long. Why is it necessary to drag out scenes containing physical violence? In a lot of ways, “Oz, The Great and Powerful” feels similar to the way Disney treated “The Muppets:” It stuck its fist deep inside (are you following?) and came out empty-handed. No one involved, including director/horror-master Sam Raimi, seems to be up to the task here. As unnecessary prequels go, this film is near the top of the list. Put plainly, “Oz, The Great and Powerful” is neither.
Someone please hurry up and make the “Wicked” movie.
(“Oz, The Great and Powerful” is now playing in theaters.)
