Oz the Great and Powerful.

Welcome to the land of Oz.

Finally it's the weekends and of course, time for a movie!

 

I was looking forward to this movie for quite some time already, since I first saw the trailer. What can I say? I was deeply attracted to the beautiful scenes and those posters and backdrops in the cinemas. It's all so magical and fantastic!

I can't say that I've read all the books in the Wizard of Oz series by L. Frank Baum, neither could I say that I know all the stories but I CAN definitely say that I love this prequel to the Wizard of Oz.

Lyman Frank Baum, is truly a person that thinks ahead of his time. Who'd ever think of laptop computers and wireless phones in the 1900s? He wrote 13 sequels to The Great Wizard of Oz and the last one is pretty much the darkest one he's ever wrote, most say it's due to his failing health. Many other writers continued his work and there are a list of books related to Oz in the past 100 or so years.



From the director of the Spiderman trilogy and the producers of Alice in Wonderland (another spectacular movie, if I may add), Oz the Great and Powerful takes us back to 20 years before Dorothy, Toto, the tin man, the lion and the scarecrow arrived in Oz. Who is Oz?

Oscar Diggs, whose nickname is Oz, got sucked into a cyclone and is brought to the land of Oz. He was then found by Theodora the Good Witch. They ventured to the capital, the Emerald City together, where he met Theodora's sister, Evanora. He was asked to vanquish Glinda, who is said to be the Wicked Witch. Will he succeed in his quest? Or will something unexpected turn up? Is Oz up to the challenge?



The opening sequence is in black-and-white and I can say that it's pretty new to me. After looking up on the Net, then only I knew that the original Wizard of Oz movie in 1939 has a monochrome opening and ending too whilst the rest is in technicolour.

The land of Oz is full of magic and wonder. Gigantic bell flowers which chimed like bells, ruby flowers, talking winged monkeys, river fairies... and also witches and flying baboons.

There was also one part where the audience can feel the rush of the river and there was a 4D-ish effect when Oz went down a waterfall. It was pretty thrilling. I felt as if I was on a roller coaster. The special effects are of course, marvelous and dreamlike. I can simply feel the magic in the land of Oz through the scenes in the movie. And also, the movie is full of excitement and I can't really help myself but awe at the beauty of it.



Cast (picture above left to right):

Milla Kunis as Theodora, a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West. I couldn't help but recognise her as Lori from the movie Ted, which was quite a hit last year.

James Franco as Oz. He also plays Harry Osborn in the Spiderman trilogy and Aron Ralston in 137 Hours. Charming guy too.

Michelle Willis as Glinda the Good Witch and also a woman who Oz genuinely loves back in Kansas, Annie. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, which won quite a lot of awards back in 2011.

Rachel Weisz as Evanora, or widely known as the Wicked Witch of the East. She played Evelyn Carnahan in The Mummy series.



Kids love this movie, adults love this movie, teens love this movie. Even my brother who often sleeps in the cinema finished this movie and said that he loved it.

No one is too old for fairy tales. Oz was once a conman in a travelling circus but in the end, he is the most respected person in the land of Oz. The thing I love most about Disney: dreams and fairy tales. 
Everyone can make their own dreams come true, as long as they strive hard enough for it. Hope that you'll enjoy the movie too!

pics Googled, trailer from Youtube