Oz: The Great and Powerful - Part 1

[terry78]

Was the 1939 version all that scary to us? Back then for that audience she was probably terrifying, but he had to capture that same amount of "scary" from 1939.

 

[Ultimatehero]

The flying monkeys were traumatic to several people back then, but never heard anything about the witch.

Also a couple of kids in the audience were afraid of these baboons, I heard one four-five year old tell his dad "I'm scared."

So Raimi really couldn't have made them that much more intense. You don't really want to make that many kids scared. On a kid level it was intense.

 

[rayc1971]

80 mill can you say hit!

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Was the 1939 version all that scary to us? Back then for that audience she was probably terrifying, but he had to capture that same amount of "scary" from 1939.

The original wicked witch was frightening but not horror movie scary, just the right touch. I do understand the point of this being a family film but if thats the case why did Raimi have the flying baboons so blood-thirsty or the witch reveal at the end so horriffic?

My point stands is that Kunis just didn't come off as a threat, you can reference that they used the book more than the 1939 film as their basis but most people have that film engrained in their mind from childhood, the wicked witch is an iconic and memorable part of that and people expect something special for that role. Kunis was not special and did not show me she was anywhere near worthy for the full role. Maybe if she actually made a performance out of it and cha ged up her voice and her mannerisms she would of been better, but what she did was pretty medicore acting at best.

 

[LOBO3315a]

Can't say enough good things about this movie. Visually, it was stunning. Nice to see they took time to really make Oz look ile a true fantasy land.

The CGI was well done, China Girl in particular looked great.

The story was a well adapted interpretation of one of Baum's story about how The Wizard became to be. Who better to take on true practitioners of magic, than a slight of hand con artist?

The actors were well cast, in my opinion. Kunis transformation was great, but I do wish they had changed her voice a tad, just to make her more menacing. Franco did a decent job of tell the story of a man who was only out for himself, finding true purpose and meaning in his life. Williams was a wonderful Glinda, and Weisz, was deliciously evil as Evanora.

Great nots to the original characters in the scarecrows, and the lion. And the ending had me in tears. When he gave China Girl her gift, the tears started flowing.

I'm really hoping they continue making Oz movies in this fashion. Really glad I saw this.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Loved the foreshadowing with the Cowardly lion. After he ran away from Oz's smoke trick, the look of fear on the lion's face was priceless. On that statue with the previous Wizard of Oz, he had a lion beside him. Could that have been the cowardly lion in a better time? Perhaps.

Also the hinting towards Scarecrow with the scarecrow workers and the dummy soldiers.

Perhaps the tinkerers are hinting at Tin Man?


Now that Oz has convinced the people of Oz he's no longer a man, I don't see how he could personally go after Theodora without her finding out the truth. Maybe the Wizard of Oz won't be the third movie, but it may be coming sooner than I thought, the second movie instead. Perhaps the third movie will be Dorothy returning to Oz.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

And I liked Dorothy's mom being in this and doubling as Glinda. That will bring a new depth to the old Wizard of Oz when I watch it eventually and see Dorothy with Glinda. It's also good that Oscar wasn't good enough for her, because if he had gotten with her like she wanted, then Dorothy would have never been born.

 

[terry78]

I did like how much of a man ****e they made Oz out to be as far as they could with a PG rating.

 

[Mike_D202]

I really liked it. I believe Raimi has found his new franchise, his style of filmmaking just works VERY well with this franchise. He's very cinematic and noir-esque, old school. I hope they make a deal with WB and get some of the elements from the original for these new movies, I was expecting "over the rainbow" to pop up at the end credits.

 

[SuperBatman]

While I haven't seen this yet, I wish they would have used this movie to set up a new Wizard of Oz movie.

Who said they aren't? I mean Disney announced already before the # even came out that they are planning a sequel. Could be a New Trilogy in the making,.

 

[oakzap425]

Can someone clear something up for my mom and I?

We just got back. I don't know if it was the 3d glasses or the theater projector. But this movie was God Awful.

I went in looking for something like a Technicolor Dream. This movie looked damn near black and washed out. The colors were a damn mess and barely noticeable. At one point, even through the glasses, I could see the 3D lines in the film through my glasses.

Was the movie dark and not very colorful or did we miss something?

 

[Mad Ones]

Sounds like there was something wrong with your projector... or something. There were so many colours my eyes couldn't take it at some parts. Unless you're talking about the beginning, before he went to Oz

 

[oakzap425]

Sounds like there was something wrong with your projector... or something. There were so many colours my eyes couldn't take it at some parts. Unless you're talking about the beginning, before he went to Oz

There were so many times we wanted to walk out.

No one else was complaining though, so we couldn't figure out if we were crazy, or Raimi ****ed up.

I'm tempted to go see it at another theater, but I'm afraid of wasting my money again

 

[godisawesome]

Here's a question; after seeing this movie seem successful with a Wizard of Oz prequel, do you think anybody in Hollywood is thinking of fast tracking a Wicked movie? Seems like if Warner Brothers or somebody wanted to steal Disney's thunder, that'd be the way to go.

If there was one huge glaring problem with this movie seeking to be a spiritual prequel to the classic 1939 film, it would be the lack of music. I could see someone trying to make the musical's themes just as iconic as the movies.

 

[ThePhantasm]

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I was worried about Franco's performance but I thought he did great. Lots of laughs and fun to be had. I'd rate it 8/10.

 

[Liam_H]

With the success of this and Les Mis I am hoping the chances of a Wicked movie increased.

 

[Angel_Faerie]

I'd still have preferred a Wicked movie to this.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

Im sure we can all agree visually the film is beautiful and made the land of Oz really work. The only thing that bothers me is sometimes the green screen backgrounds when the actors are in front of them especially with the 3D it really is noticeable and fake looking.

 

[Man in the Suit]

It kind of reminded me of the matte paintings in the 1939 movie.

 

[chaseter]

Here's a question; after seeing this movie seem successful with a Wizard of Oz prequel, do you think anybody in Hollywood is thinking of fast tracking a Wicked movie? Seems like if Warner Brothers or somebody wanted to steal Disney's thunder, that'd be the way to go.

If there was one huge glaring problem with this movie seeking to be a spiritual prequel to the classic 1939 film, it would be the lack of music. I could see someone trying to make the musical's themes just as iconic as the movies.

No I was rolling my eyes when they started to sing and luckily Franco cut them off.

As for Wicked, that's a tough one. Les Mis is pretty iconic. They would have to really cut down the budget compared to Oz for it to be successful.

 

[<(o_o)>]

How does The Wizard get out of Oz? In the 1939 movie The Wizard appears to be out of Oz & back to his normal life but after Dorothy is transported to Oz he is already there & doesn't leave again until the end, so at some point he must be able to come & go at will.

 

[Majik1387]

I really cannot undertand the people saying Kunis was great, regardless of the source material she just was not frightening or threatening which is what her character is supposed to be.

Sounds like someone never read the book. The character was never really frightening nor threatening in the book, just more of a menace if even that. Both this movie and the original showed a more menacing witch than the book ever did. Even the show Wicked has her more menacing.

With the success of this and Les Mis I am hoping the chances of a Wicked movie increased.

Co-sign.

I'd still have preferred a Wicked movie to this.

I prefer having both.

How does The Wizard get out of Oz? In the 1939 movie The Wizard appears to be out of Oz & back to his normal life but after Dorothy is transported to Oz he is already there & doesn't leave again until the end, so at some point he must be able to come & go at will.

In the book he leaves by Hot air balloon.

 

[DaRkVeNgeanCe]

I didn't read the book just as most of the general audiences seeing the film havent read the book either. As I stated in my above post the film is so classic and engrained in peoples minds and thats what they'll reference when watching the new film just as I have.

 

[DarkSovereignty]

Didn't he leave oz at the end of the movie too? It's been a while but didn't he accidentally drift off without Dorothy in his balloon?

 

[sueb1863]

In the 1939 film they took the attitude that Oz didn't really exist, it was just a dream Dorothy had. Hence the Wizard character in Kansas, Professor Marvel, never really left Kansas and went to Oz. Dorothy just dreamed that she saw him there. He did float away in the balloon from the fair (although it says 'Omaha' on it so I guess he was in Nebraska, not kansas!) at the end of the movie but that was simply part of Dorothy's dream and never really happened.

In the books, as in Raimi's film, Oz is a real place and Dorothy really went there. It doesn't sound to me like the 1939 film and the new one are connected in any way except through the original source material.