OZ The Great And Powerful Movie Review ? Now In Theaters ...

If you?ve been reading Mom Knows It All for a while then you know that I went to LA in February for the red carpet premiere of the Disney movie OZ The Great And Powerful. The movie opens in theaters today, so I can finally share some of my thoughts about the movie with you.

First let me start by saying that OZ The Great And Powerful is not a remake of the movie The Wizard Of Oz. The author, L Frank Baum, wrote a whole series of books bout the land of Oz. OZ The Great And Powerful is based on those books as well, and is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz. It is the story of how the wizard got to the Land of Oz, and how he became the wizard.

The scenes in the beginning of the movie, all done in black and white, take place at a small carnival in Kansas. This is where we meet Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a magician. We learn that Diggs is a ladies man and a cad. We see that he doesn?t care for most women, and isn?t especially nice to his assistant Frank. His magic act seems to be a sham, with the audience calling him out on the fact that one of his tricks uses wires. They turn nasty when Diggs refuses to help a crippled girl walk again, chasing him out of the circus tent. The only woman he seems to have any feelings for is Annie, who has just arrived for a visit to tell Diggs that another man has asked her to marry him.

When a jealous bodybuilder discovers what Oscar has been doing he chases after him, causing Oscar to cut his visit with Annie short and get into a hot air balloon in order to escape. A tornado grabs the balloon and whisks him off. When the balloon finally comes to rest the setting is the land of Oz, and the movie switches to color.

In the Land of Oz, Diggs meets the witch Theodora (Mila Kunis), who explains to him that a prophecy said a man named Oz was going to save the land from the wicked witch. On their way to the Emerald City, they encounter Finley (Zach Braff), a flying monkey. Oz saves Finley, at which point Finley vows to serve Oz for life a as thanks. Once they are in the Emerald City, Oz meets Theodora?s sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz). He also learns that if he kills the Wicked Witch he will receive a fortune in gold and become the king. He sets off to find the witch, with Finley in tow. While on the quest to find the Wicked Witch, Oz and Finley meet China Girl (Joey King).

Oz finally arrives at the location of the Wicked Witch. But, it turns out that she isn?t the Wicked Witch, she?s Glinda the Good Witch (Michelle Williams). Glinda explains to Oz that Evanora is evil. We learn that not everyone is what, or who, they seem to be. Glinda convinces Oz that he must help save the people of Oz, from the Munchkins to the Tinkers to the Quadlings. Everyone is in danger, from Theodora, Evanora, and the mysterious green witch. Oz must come up with a plan before it is too late. You?ll be wondering right up until the end what?s going to happen next.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. I recommend it highly. I think all of the cast members were very well suited for their roles. All of the witches were perfect, Glinda is sweet and good while the others are bad, very, very bad. Finley and China Girl are hysterical. You can see how well they feed off of each other in this fun video interview they did together.

The film is very colorful, once they reach the Land of Oz. Everything is bright and vivid. The 3D effects in this movie are very well placed, they really help bring the movie to life. There are some references to the original film scattered throughout the movie. I thought the costumes and graphics were both fantastic.

Here?s a Featurette called World of Oz ?Costume and Make-Up?.

And here?s the trailer, just in case you haven?t seen it yet.

?Oz The Great and Powerful? opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013. THAT?S TODAY!!!

Synopsis ? Disney?s fantastical adventure ?Oz The Great and Powerful,? directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum?s beloved wizard character. 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 wizard but into a better man as well. ?Oz The Great and Powerful? is produced by Joe Roth, with screen story by Mitchell Kapner and screenplay by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire. Grant Curtis, Palak Patel, Josh Donen and Philip Steuer are serving as executive producers. ?Oz The Great and Powerful? opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013.

OZ Website and Mobile site: www.Disney.com/TheWizard

OZ The Great And Powerful on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OzTheGreatAndPowerful

OZ The Great And Powerful on Twitter: https://twitter.com/disneyozmovie

THIS IS PART OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES.

HERE IS THE COMPLETE LIST OF INTERVIEWS PUBLISHED SO FAR.
Interview with James Franco ? OZ
Interview with Mila Kunis ? Theodora
Interview with Mila Kunis ? Theodora ? OZ Spoilers
Interview with Rachel Weisz ? Evanora
Interview with Director Sam Raimi
Interview with Michelle Williams ? Glinda
Post on the OZ Premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in LA

Here are some fun extras for you.

I attended this event as a guest of Disney, with all expenses paid. As always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own and have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.

Source: http://www.valmg.com/index.php/2013/oz-the-great-and-powerful-movie-review-disneyozevent/

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