[adrotate banner=”1″]I was wary and cautious, but now I want to see Oz the Great and Powerful. Whether or not it will be good, I do not know, but it will be interesting at least. There is enough imagery that can work both with the 1939 film classic and with the original books. There are flying monkeys both good and evil, witchcraft and magic, and even that city made of ceramics that I sort of vaguely remember but might be confusing them with Utensia and other Oz cities I remember more clearly. Time to reread all the books thanks to the magic of public domain! Raimi is a good story teller when he’s not trying to jam too much into things thanks to studio interference. Let’s just ignore the fact the landscape vaguely resembles that Alice in Wonderland flick from a few years ago. As an Oz snob, I shall be looking at this with a more picky eye than usual. And if this films sucks I’m going to take my army of kalidahs and woozies and burn down Hollywood. Again.

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot–fame and fortune are his for the taking–that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity–and even a bit of wizardry–Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Oz the Great and Powerful stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Zach Braff and directed by Sam Raimi