The Wonderful World of OZ

This was actually a while ago, but I only now found the time to write this blog. In March I won tickets for the Dutch premiere of the movie Oz: The Great and Powerful. It was a contest orgnised by Imagine, the film festival I worked for twice and it was an amazing premiere. It was shown in IMAX 3D, in one of the biggest theater rooms I'd been in and we were asked to come in costume. I went with a friend and our costumes weren't that amazing, but still very festive (I was going for the wizard :P ). There were also some Dutch actors, so it was a pretty big thing. But that's enough about the festivity, let's talk about the movie!!!

The magical story
The story takes place in 1905, Kansas, where Oscar Diggs (James Franco) works as a small-time magician in a traveling circus. As a storm approaches Diggs is fleeing from the strongman - whose wife he slept with - and espcapes in a hot air ballon. A tornado sucks him in and takes him to the Land of Oz. At first he can't believe the world is real, but soon he enjoys the wonders of it. He meets three witches: Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams). The first one believes him to be a wizard prophesized to overthrow the Wicked Witch who killed the king of Oz. Theodora also falls in love with him, after a little flirtation. On their travells he also meets the flying monkey Finley (Zach Braff) and China Girl (a young, living china doll - voice by Joey King), who will stand by him to defeat the Wicked Witch. 
I don't wanna give away to much, so I'm gonna leave it at that. I will say that this is kinda like the prequel to The Wizard of Oz with Judy Garland (1939), so if you've seen that one, you probably already know a lot of what's about to happen in this movie. You'll just get a whole lot more background information. And it's goooooood! 

A Wonderous World
Simply look at the trailer (below) and you know what a fairytale land it is. It's simply breathtaking. The way colour is used in this movie is truly spectacular. Like the flowers. They look so bright, fresh and sharp. But that really counts for anything in the movie. All the wonder in the Land of Oz is shown beautifully, like all the creatures, and fantastic ways the landscapes are shaped. Skies, buildings... you name it. Who wouldn't wanna travel in that world? I'm not a big fan of 3D, but seeing this movie in IMAX 3D was incredible. Everything is so grotesque and captivating that it allows you to really get lost in this world. I think that in this case it really added to the experience but watching it on 2D screens will be just as wonderous ;-).

What I also loved are all the references/winks to The Wizard of Oz (1939). For instance, that movie starts out in black and white and as Dorothy lands in the Land of Oz, the world is full of (techni)color. Just like this movie does. There's also the ratio. It gradually widens from 4:3 (which is what it was way back when) to 2.35:1 widescreen. I haven't read the books, but I love how much everything reminded me of this movie with Judy Garland. There's things like Glinda traveling in giant bubbles, the iconic look of the Wicked Witch of the West, the Emerald City, and the witches being sisters. There are also references to characters, such as the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. What I also love about this movie, is that it doesn't end up with Dorothy waking up and it ending up being all a dream. Talk about suspension of disbelief, because after seeing this movie you really want it to remain in tact.

A lotta laughs!
Besides the fact that it looks amazing and the story is so great, it's also really funny. Take for instance the China Girl. She's a little girl, kinda like a kid, but she's also tough and won't let the wizard and Finley go without taking her with them. She can kick ass just as much as they can, maybe even more so. I guess a lot of jokes are 'in jokes', because there are a lot of references to the other movie. But most of the comedy goes to James Franco, who plays the wizard. He says the funniest things and in a way he is the audience: just as amazed as we are by the Land of Oz. Then there's the technical stuff that he knows. Inventions from around 1905, like the works of Thomas Edison. I personally loved these things, because I studied Film and Television, so that name is very familiar to me as are his inventions.

In short: Yes, if you read the books, seen the movies or musicals or tv shows or what have you, you know how it's going to end. But Oz the Great and Powerful will take you along an a great, powerful, magical and wonderous adventure that will really make it worth your while (and it kinda makes you wish you could stay there a while longer).


Just for fun, the trailer of The Wizard of Oz (1939) with Judy Garland.