Wow. Could it be? A Disney movie that doesn't suck? (I'm of course talking present day Disney. Old school Disney movies are far superior in my opinion.) Why yes :) Oz the Great & Powerful was really good.
The movie begins much like the classic 1939 movie. It's in black and white, then once you get to Oz it's in color. It tells the story of a Kansas magician/conman named Oscar "Oz" Diggs (James Franco) who one day, gets transported (via hot air balloon) to the magical land of Oz. Because of a prophecy, pretty much everyone believes him to be the great wizard that will defeat the wicked witch and bring peace to the land. He sets out to achieve this, at first for less than noble reasons but eventually he becomes the character we all know today.
This is directed by Sam Raimi, whose previous works include the original Spiderman trilogy. He does an amazing job bringing this whole world to life. Everything looked gorgeous. I highly suggest you watch this in 3D (which for once is really good). You really feel like you're in Oz.
The whole cast did a good job overall. I'll admit, I'm not crazy about James Franco (although I liked him in Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and wasn't sure if he was the right choice to play Oz. At first I wasn't too impressed with his performance (not that it was terrible or anything) but he eventually won me over. He's quite charming in this. I especially loved his scenes with the little China Doll girl (voiced by Joey King) , which I'll admit had me a little teary eyed. Michelle Williams was the perfect choice for Glinda. I enjoyed watching her scenes. Zach Braff does the voice for Finely, an adorable flying monkey (not a scary flying monkey we're use to, although there's plenty of them in this) who acts as Oz's faith servant and aides him on his journey.
I guess I should talking about how it compares to the 1939 movie. Is it as good? Well, it's hard for me to say either way. But it's definitely a worthy prequel/reinterpretation. There's even a few nods to the original which I thought was nice. What's great is this movie fits into that universe too. But just to warn you, this is not a musical. Infact, not counting the wonderful musical score by Danny Elfman, there's only one song (which is very brief and sung by the munchkins).
There were a few flaws, but nothing too major. The only one that really stood out was the Wicked Witch of the West's origin story. I wasn't crazy about the reason they gave for what made her who she was.
Overall this is a very sweet movie that can be enjoyed by all. I'd say it's one of the best family films I've seen in awhile. There a few scary moments which some young kids might not like, although the ones at the showing I went to seemed okay with it. Anyway, Oz the Great & Powerful is well worth seeing :)
My Rating: 8/10
Nice review Adrianne. While it likely won't impress fans that are very much in love with the original classic, it does pay gentle homage to its predecessor while embarking on its own unique tale.
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