The first poster for the upcoming Sam Raimi movie, “Oz: The Great and Powerful” hit the Internet and shows a great hot air balloon as it heads towards the Emerald City. The movie is a prequel to the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” and tells the story of how the great Wizard himself ended up in the Emerald City as the all-knowing, all-powerful Great Wizard.
“Oz: The Great and Powerful”
Raimi hasn’t made a movie since his wonderful, campy throw back horror movie, “Drag Me to Hell” in 2009. However, when he returns on March 8, 2013, it will be with a movie that looks to be worth the wait. While calling “Oz: The Great and Powerful” a prequel makes it seem like just another in a long line of retreads, the fact is that Raimi’s film fleshes out a unique character from the original “Wizard of Oz.”
In the original movie, the Wizard was a circus magician swept away from Kansas and into the Land of Oz. Raimi casts James Franco as the young magician and adds Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz as the three witches in the story. The story is a coming-of-age tale about the magician as he discovers his true calling.
“The Wizard of Oz”
The original “Wizard of Oz” is a coming-of-age story as well, as Dorothy is an impulsive young girl, whisked away to the Land of Oz by a tornado. When her house crushes a witch, the witch’s evil sister plots her revenge against the young girl and her dog. Dorothy sets off for the Emerald City to find the Wizard to help her find her way back home, while meeting a Cowardly Lion, a Scarecrow without a brain and a Tin Man with no heart, also looking fill in their missing holes.
The movie veered slightly from the book by making the entire story questionable. Was it real or was Dorothy just dreaming? With characters in her past looking just like those she meets in the Land of Oz, it is just as realistic to believe it was a dream but that ruins the fun. The book and the new movie look to dispel that myth and prove that it all was real.
Other Versions
This is not the first time that Oz has been revisited. In 1978, a very freaky version of the story was made called “The Wiz,” starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Later, in 1985, an unofficial sequel was made called “Return to Oz,” based partially on more books by creator L. Frank Baum. The original movie was scary but this sequel was a straight up horror film.
Even more popular was the stage musical “Wicked,” based on the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” The story follows Elphaba, the Wicked Witch from “Wizard of Oz,” and tells the events of the original story from her point of view.
