Trailer Trashin’: We’re off to See the Wizard in Oz The Great and Powerful
It’s almost here, Bat-fans. After four long years of waiting, the release of The Dark Knight Rises is mere days away. And appropriately, the past week has brought us the first look at the new cinematic incarnation of a franchise that has been a fixture of popular culture even longer than Batman. This week’s Trailer Trashin’ takes a look at the upcoming fantasy film Oz: The Great and Powerful.
Premise: When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician of 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 – until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who aren’t convinced that he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the problems facing 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 must somehow transform himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, but into a better man as well.
My take: As I imagine is the case for many people, I love The Wizard of Oz (1939), and it was one of my earliest childhood memories related to movies. More than seventy years after its debut, the film is still regarded as a classic. And with recognizable brands being more important than ever in Hollywood, it was inevitable that we’d see new Oz stories brought to the screen. First out of the gate is Disney’s Oz: The Great and Powerful, a prequel about the origin of the Wizard himself. Now, the first trailer for the film has arrived, and I think it looks really cool.
Obviously, the main focus is on James Franco as Oscar Diggs, the man who will become the Wizard of Oz, and I think all indications point to him doing a good job. Franco has proven how talented he is many times, and it’s nice to see him finally get the lead in a big studio film – I know he was technically the lead in Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), but let’s be honest, he was playing second fiddle to Andy Serkis as Caesar. Besides Franco, the only other members of the main cast we see are the three witches: Mila Kunis as Theodora (the Witch of the West), Michelle Williams as Glinda, and Rachel Weisz as Evanora (the Witch of the East). The one that appears most prominently is Mila Kunis, and while I’m still not sure how I feel about her in this part (more on that later), I’m eager to see how she goes from how we first see her to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. Michelle Williams certainly looks the part of Glinda, but I can’t tell anything about how she’ll play the character based on what we see here. Weisz is the one who intrigues me the most; she doesn’t have any lines here, either, but she’s such a striking presence that she still makes an impression. She looks incredibly beautiful of course, and it’s cool to see her play a villain, which I don’t think she’s done in this way before. It looks like we’ll have to wait for the next trailer to see more of the cast. And I’m still waiting to find out who or what Bruce Campbell is going to play.
Ever since I was introduced to him by Spider-Man (2002), I’ve been a big fan of Sam Raimi. So many of his films have a quirky, slightly off-kilter feel to them, and a film like this is a perfect outlet for that. By its very nature, the Land of Oz lends itself to crazy, out-there stuff, which really fits perfectly with Raimi’s filmmaking style. The look of the creatures we see here, especially the snapping plant-things, definitely puts me in the mind of the monsters from Evil Dead II (1987) and Army of Darkness (1992). And knowing Raimi’s penchant for putting his main characters through physical punishment – a la Bruce Campbell in the Evil Dead films, Tobey Maguire in the Spider-Man trilogy, and Alison Lohman in Drag Me to Hell (2009) – it’ll be interesting to see what kinds of abuse Oscar will have to endure.
Michelle Williams in “Oz: The Great and Powerful.”
And how awesome is that “stinger” shot at the end of the trailer? That is a perfect use of how ingrained the imagery of The Wizard of Oz is in our collective culture. Anyone with even a passing familiarity with the old film knows what this is, and what it means for the story of this film. And considering Rami’s use of witch/crone/hag-type characters in his horror films, I’m anxious to see what he’ll do here.
As I mentioned, I’m still not sold on Kunis as Theodora. Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch of the West from the 1939 film is one of the most iconic villains in film history, and I feel sympathy for anyone who is asked to take over the role. Just based on what we see here, I’m not sure if Kunis will have the kind of presence and menace this character needs. However, Raimi and company cast her because they believed she could do what the role called for, so I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. And I think some of the landscapes and environments look a little CGI-heavy, but that seems to be Disney’s house style for their live-action fantasy films these days.
All in all, this is certainly a splashy way for us to get our first look at the film. It’s great to see Sam Raimi working on an epic scale again, especially with something where he can really let his imagination run wild. If it lives up to its potential, Oz: The Great and Powerful could be a real treat in the early part of next year, and I can’t wait.
ANTICIPATION: Come March, I’ll be “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at my local theater.
Release Date: March 8th, 2013
Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, Zach Braff, Joey King, Abigail Spencer, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Tony Cox, Tim Holmes, and Martin Klebba
Director: Sam Raimi
Writers: Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire
P.S. I am so psyched by the news that came out of San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend. The new Marvel Cinematic Universe films – Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Ant-Man. New info about Man of Steel and Pacific Rim. And perhaps most impressive of all, a proof-of-concept trailer for the new Godzilla. I’d better start socking away money now, because there’s a lot of awesome movies coming our way these next couple years.
Timothy Monforton
