James Franco plays the starring role as the manipulative and unscrupulous carnival con man Oscar Diggs. These are the elements that make up a prequel of sorts to the classic 1939 MGM film “The Wizard of Oz.”īut Disney’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” also dishes up plenty of 3D eye candy and fanciful scene painting that will keep the kids entertained, earning its place as a family film, despite some darker moments.įans of the original (and who isn’t?) will appreciate this visit to Oz and a storyline that explains how things came to be the way they are when Dorothy eventually takes her first step on to the yellow brick road. A weak man in search of his nobler self and a battle between magic and an illusionist whose only tools are a bag of tricks and turn of the century technology. But Franco’s less-than-stellar work combined with maybe one too many endings keeps this “Oz” outing from being the great and powerful film it could beĪ woman scorned. in the title role as originally planned, or an actor of his comedic charm and ability, this film may have reached a higher status. Had the makers of “Oz the Great and Powerful” managed to cast Robert Downey, Jr. Zach Braff voices Finley, a flying monkey in a bellhop suit who after being saved by Oscar, pledges his loyalty to him as well as a promise not to reveal the truth about Oscar not really being a Wizard! Braff, like some others in the cast doubles up as Frank, Oscar’s assistant in the black and white opening sequence, again an homage to the earlier film.įinley is charmingly animated by computer imagery along with China Girl, a small broken porcelain doll who Oscar repairs thanks to some glue, which goes a long way in convincing all that Oscar is the great Wizard who has been prophesized to come.Īll of this combined with Glinda the good witch portrayed here by Michelle Williams, makes for a magical outing that although is in no danger of replacing the original films classic status, is sure to delight generations to come. Like the original Oz film, Oscar in place of Dorothy discovers some magical friends along the way, two of which are as every bit as charming and magical as the Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow were in 1939. Kunis gives it her best, and is bound to produce nightmares in children for years to come, but like Franco, suffers from the outstanding work of her predecessor who put her mark on a character that still lasts almost 75 years later. Theodora is played by the busty Mila Kunis, who later turns into the Wicked Witch, played so perfectly in 1939 by Margaret Hamilton.
It’s here in Oz that Oscar meets Theodora, a good witch who’s part of a trio of witches all vying for control of their late father’s kingdom including the famed Emerald city. The film starts out in Kansas, a generation or two before Dorothy was born, where the former Professor Marvel (as he was called in the original film) is now Oscar Diggs, a traveling carnival magician who goes by the name of “OZ: The Great and Powerful!” Shot in black and white and in the same square screen ratio as the original film’s opening, it’s only after another tornado transports Oscar to the magical land of “Oz” do we switch to color, widescreen and in stereo. Frank Baum “Oz” Books except the original, is behind this new movie.
Having said that, what remains is a delightful homage to the classic MGM film, only this time Walt Disney Pictures, who owns the rights to all the other L. What was needed here was an actor with the same charm, and ability as Frank Morgan to carry an entire film and be believable as the character he’s trying to play. The problem here is that Franco, unlike Morgan is too 21st century in his demeanor, speech and mannerisms. James Franco is an Oscar-nominated actor with many talents, but passing himself off as a carnival charlatan from Kansas, is not one of them. Frank Baum, this new “Oz” outing is a loving tribute to that 1939 classic, whose only misstep is the miscasting of it’s star.
Of course, Morgan’s legendary performance was one of many in that film, and his work and the work of his cast-mates were heavy on my mind while watching, “Oz, The Great and Powerful” which opened in movie theaters nationwide last weekend.ĭirected by Sam Raimi of “Spiderman” and “Evil Dead” fame, and written by Mitchell Kapner, David Lindsay-Abaire and based on the works of L. “Who rang that bell?” screeched Frank Morgan as the guardian of the Emerald City Gates in the original 1939 MGM classic, “The Wizard of Oz!” Morgan played “Oz” of course as well as a few others in that 74 year old film, and it took a veteran character-actor of his caliber to pull it off.