Oz: The Great and Powerful

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney.  If you've followed my Once Upon A Time reviews, you may have noticed that I'm into the fantasy genre or at least the revisionist fairy tale movement as of late.  And Once is easily one of the most popular revisionist fairy tale stories, we have going right now.  For those, that do not know, what I mean by revisionist fairy tale is that  this is where, a classic story is taken and given a new spin.   Sometimes these work and sometimes, they don't.  Earlier this year,  I saw two fantasy films that could be labelled as revisionist fairy tales.  The horrid Jack The Giant Slayer (shame, I wanted to like that one but it felt more like Disney's Aladdin in the beginning and I swear they ripped the bad guy off from Scar)  and my current favorite film of 2013.  Oz: The Great and Powerful.   Oz is a timeless story that has been adapted many times over and it is often cited as America's fairy tale. Can't argue with that.  The most well known adaption of L. Frank Baum's world is the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland as Dorothy.    And while like that film just fine,   I wasn't  all that into Oz until I heard the music from Wicked and attempted to read the book. Couldn't get into that one  but the play on the other hand currently ranks behind Newsies as my favorite theater going experience.   With that little background  out of  the way, let's begin.   By the way, I won't be going over the trailer for this one as I did an entire article on the trailer back when that debuted.  However, there is something else, I would like to talk about.


Teaser Poster

There were two things that really piqued my interest about this film, the first being the trailer and then the teaser poster.  The poster here is just so captivating that I have to know what is going on.  With everything going on,  my mind is just mesmerized by the sight of everything that is shown here.   This is a great poster and one of the best for a Disney film, I've seen in ages.   It gets so much across and it works perfectly.











The Plot


The plot is rather simple in that we see how The Wizard came to be.  We start off the film in Kansas in black and white like the original, I liked that touch.  And there we meet people that will have an effect such as his assistant, Frank, his love, Annie, and a young girl who was in a wheelchair that only wanted to walk.  And after escaping in his hot air balloon running off from a strong man, we see land in Oz.  Oz or The Wizard would later come across people that in the land of Oz that represented these people from his life back in Kansas. Okay, now this isn't really setting up, why I like this film.   Well,  taking a look at these relationships,  I feel they represent what Oz could've had, if he wasn't so self -centered and such a swindler back in our world.  His time in the land of Oz made him a better person.  Because in all honesty, before going to Oz, he was a shallow person that only cared for himself.   But the prophecy of a great wizard  who share the name of the land of Oz over time changed him. Sure, at first, he was only in it for the riches.   But I think the time with his new friends caused him to actually care.   Let's go back to, when he firsts arrives in Oz,  Oscar is still for all intents and purposes, a sleazeball.  I mean,  he used that music box trick on Theodora.   I would probably say that it wasn't until he saw China Girl, that his heart started to change and knew that he had to take down the Wicked Sisters, once he learned the truth from Glinda.  Of course, this was the most obvious connection back to Kansas as Glinda was played by the same actress that played Annie.  Though, why Oz called her Wanda, I'm not sure.    But I will say that I really liked Glinda and I like how The Wizard put his show tricks to work and that ends up taking down the sisters.  Which by the way, Evanora will be going down as one of the most conniving, backstabbing, and ruthless Disney villains in a long time.   All in all, I liked this this film because I found it to be very engaging and I liked the story of  how The Wizard came to be.  Now there have been talks of a sequel to this film and that is something I do not want because this film is perfect at it is. And there's a line delivered by The Wizard at the end of the film that to me shows no need for a sequel.  I couldn't find it online and I"m just going off memory.

In order for The Wizard to live in here, Oscar Diggs had to die out there. 

I mean Oscar to protect the Ozians pretended to die and doing a sequel would go against what he did to help, The Quadlings, The Winkies, The Munchkins,  and The Farmers.  Disney, I beg of you please do not make a sequel to this film and instead get to work on National Treasure 3. Anyways back on topic everything was wrapped up rather nicely in this film.  



Look & Locations



Now before, we get to the characters I feel the need to go over the look and locations.   Because what is an Oz movie without getting the feel of Oz right.


Emerald City

The Emerald City is the first big part of Oz that gets any love and I love it.  It is very pretty to  look at and it does very much remind of the classic Emerald City while being able to stand on it's own. Though,  I will say, the original was much brighter but I think that was because in this film,  Oz was in a time of despair as they had no leader and not having the brightness could reflect that or I'm just looking too much into this.  Though, the brightest I've ever seen the Emerald City was when I saw Wicked. Seriously, they should've warned us, I needed sunglasses during that portion of the play.


China Town

Now I'm not certain but I believe that China Town or China Country as it is labelled on the Oz Wiki had it's film debut in Sam Raimi's take on the land of Oz.  And that is really cool.  And I have to say that it was nice to see part of Oz that had not been represented on screen before.  And this one had quite the tragic look to it as it was broken and in shambles, thanks to Evanora's  flying baboons.  And the only one left there was China Girl.  In many ways, I look at the broken China Town as representing  broken hopes and dreams.

By this, I mean it represents the broken dream of China Girl not being with her family and  to tie this back into Kansas, the shattered China Town can be looked at as the repersantion of the reality that the girl in the wheelchair at Oz's magic show will never be able to walk unlike her Oz counterpart.   Again, perhaps I'm putting too much thought into this.





The Dark Forest

The Dark Forest is creepy.  It is the part of Oz that one does not want  to be caught late at night or by themselves as everything there is not as it seems and let's not forget the crows that  let our heroes know

You'll die. You'll die.

I loved how the darkness contrasted with the rest of Oz in how the rest pretty much was vibrant colors and I even love how the character, they meet in The Dark Forest contrast the darkness of this area as they meet Glinda as she is the repersantion of goodness and purity.    Hence, the lightness of Oz.   It appears that the big theme in this review is going to be repersantion.  






Characters


Now, I'll be breaking this down into, Main, Supporting, & Villains.   With that out of the way, let's begin.



Main Characters


Oscar "Oz" Diggs/The Wizard played by James Franco

Franco was easily the highlight of the actors in this film.    He brought the right feeling of being a con man and a fraud to the role.  In the beginning, Oscar Diggs   is a jerk albeit,  a likable jerk but through his time in Oz and being forced into the role of The Wizard, he becomes a better person and is willing to accept  relationships and not run from his problems.  Sure, you could make the argument that he ran during the final battle with the sisters but that's not true as he knew he had to sacrifice himself (but not really) for the betterment of Oz.   And as mentioned, he used his showman tricks such as fireworks and moving pictures to con the wicked sisters.   Let's take for instance, when he used the hot air balloon and how Knuck and Finley thought that Oscar was leaving them and running away. That wasn't the case at all, he knew that he couldn't use physical combat against the wicked sisters.  He had to find another way to defeat them and he used what he knew to run them out.  Even though to be fair, he only ran out Theodora.   Glinda defeated Evanora. A perfect example of his growth is the music box,  both in Kansas and when he meets Theodora,  he gives his assistant and Theodora,  his "grandmother's"  music box as a sign of their beauty.  Yeah, that's just him playing with their emotions but look at Annie and Glinda, he doesn't do that because his feelings towards Annie and Glinda are real.  Thus, he doesn't feel the need to put on a show and over time in Oz,   his con man  facade starts to fade




Glinda/Annie played by Michelle Williams

I really liked Glinda in this film.  She came across as being the fair and noble ruler that Oz needed in order to sustain and be a safe haven for her subjects.   She knew that Evanora was not the right person as she was liar and maniacal woman that was only looking to better herself.   Random tangent here but when watching the film again, there was another leader that came to mind.   Who? You might ask.  Princess Celestia.  Yeah, I know.  It's weird but hear me out on this one both Glinda and the Sun Princess will do anything to protect their subjects and go at great length to keep them safe.   They can also both be viewed as the embodiment of all that is good.    So, it wouldn't surprise me if part of Celestia was based on the MGM Glinda but back on topic,  what does Glinda represent from Oscar's old life.   Well, that's easy,  in the Kansas sequence Michelle Williams played  Annie.

The one person that Oscar truly loved and felt he could be himself around but she is the love that he let go and if he had fought for,  could've been happy but then there would've been no Dorothy Gale.  Glinda  represents what could've been, if he had not let Annie go because the love felt between Glinda and The Wizard  is again a repersantion (I'm probably gonna get tired of that word)  of the love that could've  been between Annie and Oscar.   There's a reason, the gift the Wizard gives Glinda is his love.  Also,  I loved the final battle between Glinda and Evanora.  It was just really cool.

That is just so cool  as it was the ultimate battle between good and evil. In the end, good triumphed over evil. And  lest I forget that Glinda is able to see past Oscar's facade and see a good man in him and is one of the few that does.






Supporting Characters


Finley voiced by Zach Braff/Frank played by Zach Braff

I really liked Finley as I thought he was very funny and very endearing.  As he was the type of friend that you'd want to have with you on a journey that Oscar Diggs went through.  Sure,  it started out as just a life debt because Oscar saved him from being eaten by a lion.  Which was more then likely a nod to the Cowardly Lion.    Well,  that is the case over time, Oscar came to care for Finley as a true friend And as The Wizard says, when he hands out his first set of gifts,  he gives Finley something, he had never given anyone his friendship.   And that is all Finley ever wanted.  Okay,  I'm going to say something right here I like the gift giving moment in this film better then the '39 film because a.  it's kinda neat to see The Wizard's first gift giving moment and to me, it's more heartfelt.     And going back to the repersantion angle,  Finley as I said in my favorite films,   represents the friendship that Oscar could've had with Frank back at the beginning, when we see them at The Baum Circus.   Because Frank did consider Oscar, his friend whereas Oscar just looked at him as a trained monkey.  Okay,  I gotta say I love the script's foreshadowing.   It's really fun.

By the way, if you didn't figure it out, Frank's name is a reference to Oz author,   L. Frank Baum.    And interesting fact for the Oz sequences Zach Braff along with Joey King who provided the voice for China Girl were onset with the other actors to provide their lines.   And also  I have to say this film is a billion times better then the last time,  Zach Braff was in a Disney film.  Yeah,  this film is so much better then Chicken Little.



China Girl voiced by Joey King/Girl In Wheelchair played by Joey King

When we first meet China Girl in the film,  she is for a lack of a better word, broken.   And my first thought upon seeing her was that she was going to be a rather solemn character that harbored on the loss of her family.  And while that is present, that is not all there is to this character. China Girl is a character that while she may be small and may be made of china, can defend for herself.   I mean she carries a knife.  She could've crossed into the annoying kid character zone that so many movies do but  thankfully that did not happen with her.  She felt like a real child and there were those moments where she missed her family such as when she asked The Wizard to tuck her in.  Which was rather adorable.  And going on that,  I want to talk about the family aspect of this character. China Girl had just lost her family before Oscar and Finley met her.  And over the course of the film, it felt to me as though she started to look at The Wizard in a somewhat paternal role.  I remember when I saw this in theaters and The Wizard gave her the gift of family,  I had a tear running down my cheek for her.  To be honest,  I half expected her to call The Wizard "Papa" but looking back at it now,  I don't think that would've made sense in the context of the film.  Now relating to The Wizard himself, it's hard to pinpoint what China Girl is supposed to represent from his old life.  We know that she is the Oz doppelganger of the girl in the wheelchair that was in attendance at the magic show but unlike Annie or Frank, there was no preexisting relationship between the two.

So,  I'd almost say that China Girl  is how Oscar learns to be a good man and not just a great man.  Keep in mind that in this film, goodness means more then greatness.   And going off of that, I believe what the film meant by putting goodness above greatness is a good man is someone that will be there for you and do the right thing whereas a great man is just a label that we put upon people or ourselves.   To be honest,  I don't know if I'm getting this idea across thoroughly  but the core of  it is,  goodness sometimes means more then greatness.



Knuck  played by Tony Cox

I didn't care for this character,   Knuck really added nothing of value to the overall story.  I think he was just supposed to be comic relief and the doubter of the group but we already had the first position filled by the much more entertaining Finley and in many respects, Oscar served as the doubter because he doubted himself and his abilities to be The Wizard.   So,  I really didn't see much worth in this character.  Really, the only thing I remember him for is his line of...

I'll blow a fanfare.

Now having said that, going back to the doubter aspect,  he was also as The Wizard called him a sourpuss but I don't think that was ever fully explained or explored.   So really, I feel that this character could've been cut from the film and you would have the same story




Master Tinker played by Bill Cobbs

Now like with Knuck,  I don't really remember much about the Master Tinker.    I mean he was likable but other then that, I don't recall that much about him.    I feel that  the other characters save for Knuck just seem to outshine this character.



Music

Seeing as there is so much music to cover, I've decided to break this section in half.  I'll cover the first 15  pieces of music here on the review and the other 12 on this week's Music Fridays.  So, it's a week of double Danny Elfman here on A Look at Disney.


Main Titles




I think the way, I would describe the Main Title would be by saying that it's mysterious, alluring,  whimsical.   It's  almost as though it is inviting you to come and explore the confines of Oz.  And I'll take that trip because Oz looks gorgeous.


A Serious Talk






This piece is very quiet and reserved in it's nature.   It seems to me that this piece is capturing the tender and real moment that Oscar and Annie had while talking in his dressing room.


A Strange World






This piece is rather exciting and it gives you the feeling that you are about to embark on a grand journey to a land that no one has ever been to before.


Where Am I?/Schmooze-A-Witch

This piece is very romantic yet at the same time and in a strange fitting way, the romantic aspect feels forced and not real.  Such as how The Wizard was putting on an act.

Fireside Dance






To me this is the stand out piece of music from this film. This is easily, the most memorable piece that there is.  It's just so calm and beautiful.



Meeting Finley






Really, not to much to say about this piece.  It's fine and does have a bit of a whimsical feel to it that, I like.   Seems fitting for the moment that this piece is attached to.



The Emerald Palace

Ah, now this more like it.  This piece in it's short time gave me that exciting feeling that I want out of an Oz film especially when dealing with Emerald City. This piece has a rather royal feel to it that fits for the palace.



Treasure Room/Monkey Business






This piece comes when Oscar is shown the treasure room and quick sidetrack,  did anyone else think of Uncle Scrooge, the way Oscar slid through the treasure.  Nah, probably just me. I don't know why but for some reason, this reminds me more of something that James Dooley from Epic Mickey would compose then anything else, I've featured thus far. Don't misunderstand me, it's very good but it seems to have a different sound.







China Town






This piece is very foreboding and you get the feeling that something is amiss in the beginning but as it goes on, it becomes more tragic to reflect what Evanora had done to China Town. This is a very sad and tragic piece that makes me weep for the losses that China Girl suffered.



A Con Job






Okay, the little girl that I believe to be China Girl really threw me for a loop with this one.  The word that instantly comes to mind, when listening to piece is sneaky.  You get the feeling that something is about to go down and can't wait to see what is about to happen.




Glinda Revealed






This one has an almost lullaby like quality to it with how calm and serene it is. Of course, that fits the character of Glinda being the repersantion of goodness and purity.


The Munchkin Welcome Song

And now for something completely different.  This one is just so much that I find my foot tapping and in a way, it reminds of the classic Munchkin welcoming from the MGM film.  I'm trying to look at this film as it's own entity but this really does take me back to that film and the joyous feeling of it.   Because that is what, I get from this song, joy.

Bad Witch

If you listen closely, you can hear the music box in this piece but that is the only comforting piece of music as it is used to contrast the dark tone and nature of this piece.  This piece is very much in your face about what is going on and does not let up.  It is very intense and I'm actually finding it creepier just on it's own then in the film because at least with the film, you had other things you could focus on but when it's just the music, that's a bit much.

The Bubble Voyage

This piece is very exciting and adventurous.   Who would thought of that with bubbles.   No, I am not doing it,  you can get the bubble meme somewhere else but not here.    I really love it as it takes you on this grand adventure and you are wondering, where you'll be going next.

Villains

Theodora/The Wicked Witch played by Mila Kunis

Okay,  I want to back to the repersantion thing here with Theodora and Oscar.   Her seeing Oscar with Glinda by the way, her sister tricked led her to become The Wicked Witch and in many respects,  this to me represents people that Oscar has wronged finally getting their revenge.  He can't run from it as it has finally caught up to him.   Now, as for the character, I liked Theodora because you could feel that she was good, perhaps a little naive but even though her sister told her, she was wicked, it did seem as though she tried to fight and Mila Kunis did a great job selling that.  And then she became The Wicked Witch and became the weak link of the movie.   Okay,  I know that I said that I wasn't going to compare to the classic but I strongly feel the need to bring up two other portrayals of The Wicked Witch to talk about my issues with this one.  First off, Mila Kunis'  Witch did not feel intimidating or scary.  Oh, don't get me wrong,  she had her moments such as her cackle and her arm scratching the table during the transformation but when he saw her as The Wicked Witch for the first time,  my thought was "That's not The Witch!  That looks more like an alien".   Now a good example of a scary witch is Margaret Hamilton from the classic.

She was intimidating and scary. And her threats felt genuine.   Whereas Theodora's threats felt forced.   Now as for her backstory, she became the witch out of a broken heart.  Not bad but you could've done something more with this and made it a bit more tragic.  I mean,  it felt as though, they really dropped this towards the end.  And c'mon, you only knew The Wizard for two days.  Look,  I'm not saying people can't fall in love that fast but that is probably my biggest issue.  If you want to see how a good Wicked Witch with a tragic backstory is done.  Turn to my all time favorite portrayal of this character.  Indina Menzel as Elphaba.

I'm going into more detail about this,  come October during Monstrous Musicals but her tragic backstory works better because was cast aside as an outcast for all of her life.   I mean from the very moment, she was born, her parents hated her just because she was green.    Everyone thought there was something wrong with her. Elphie didn't become Wicked because a man breaking her heart after only two days.  No,  the Oz in that musical cast into that role with their blind hatred.  Which is a far more convincing reason to turn heel then a man you only knew for two days breaking your heart.  Why every other Wicked Witch would tell you to get over it!



Evanora played by Rachel Weisz

While Theodora came up short as a villain,  Evanora made for what her younger sister was lacking.  She was ruthless and cunning and lied like a snake.  I loved her, she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.  She came across as real threat and there were moments, where I thought "If you just off your sister, you can win".     Honestly, if she had got ridden of her sister, I think she would've had a better chance of winning.  And you know in a strange way, she reminded me of Mother Gothel with how she wanted to look youthful and it was a facade.  The necklace was just to paint an illusion as at the end, we see what she really looked like.

Now I've seen people say that this was a reference to another Sam Raimi film,  I wouldn't know as the only other films from the guy, I've seen are the Spider-Man trilogy.  But even if that's the case, it doesn't bug me.



My Final Thoughts


Almost feels wrong to call this My Final Thoughts as I still have the rest of the music to go over but nonetheless.  I've covered enough to close the review.  I love this film.  I find it to be a very good Oz film and just a great film in general.   It is one, that I look forward viewing again and again. Peace!