Something that I have been highlighting throughout my look at witches is that they can often be used as boogeymen to scare children. And one of the most popular places this is seen within fairy tales. This brings us to the world of Oz. As Oz contains quite a few witches and in 2013, Sam Raimi directed an Oz prequel for Disney. The history of Disney and Oz fascinating as it goes back a long way, you can read about it more here. Of course, there have been Oz movies from Disney such as Return to Oz. Which went for a darker tone than the MGM film that most people grew up on. I'll admit that I went back and forth on whether or not to include that for this event but ultimately decided against it. With that outta the way, let's begin.
Actress
Rachel Weisz
Weisz in this role was quite scary and that was good. She embodied what Evanora was meant to be and showed a person that was evil, cold and calculating. It also helped that you could that she played the character as though, she were the smartest person in Oz. And in some cases, that was true.
First Appearance
To quote her entry from the Villains Wiki.
Evanora first appears guarding the throne when her sister Theodora introduces Oscar Diggs, the fabled "wizard" to the throne room that previously belonged to her father and the king, who was supposedly murdered by the wicked witch Glinda
Even here, there is a sense of coldness to Evanora that she carries throughout the movie and as though, she has no emotion. And only runs on cunning awareness of how to dupe those around her.
Personality
This has been hinted at already but Evanora is very cruel, vindictive, cold and uncaring towards those around her including her younger sister. After all, she was the one that turned her younger sister into the Wicked Witch of the West.
Only someone with no love in their heart would stoop this low. Consider how true some people actually thought this to be of witches for a moment. When people were scared of witches and accused of them any and everything just to get them out of the way, they truly thought witches didn't have the capacity to love anyone. It's a heartbreaking thought but one that makes too much sense. And we see it on display here with Evanora.
Grand Desire
Her grand desire is quite simple. She wants to keep ruling Oz at any cost necessary and will do whatever it takes to hold onto this power that she has. Which ties back into how underhanded and evil she is. This is seen by how she lies about Glinda having killed the previous ruler when in reality she was the one that killed Glinda's father.
Lackey
Winged Baboons
The Winged Baboons that under the control of Evanora are just a take on the classic Ozian flying monkeys.
However, they look at more threatening here in Raimi's film as they are about to enter a war but the flying monkeys are still a scary idea and that is seen in how Evanora commands them.
That is just a chilling image that sends shivers down my spine.
Most Evil Deed
I feel that I hinted at this already but in my mind, it has to be her turning her sister into the Wicked Witch of the West.
Yes, her killing Glinda's father is pretty bad and I could go with that but I wanted to go with something that demonstrated her evilness in the movie. And she did this under the guise of helping her sister when that couldn't be further from the case. It's just so harrowing that she could do this and this set Theodora down on her path of evilness.
Demise
Evanora's demise is pretty cool as we get a witch fight between her and Glinda. It was really fun to watch.
You think for a moment that she'll get the upper hand but that is not the case as observed with this.
Evanora, in a weakened state, tries to kill her with her magic, but realizes her magic pendant is gone, Glinda having accidentally broken it. Horrified, Evanora falls to the ground, and tries to crawl away. As she struggles, she turns into her true form. The real Evanora is revealed to be wrinkled, hag-like and ugly without her magic. Without regret, Glinda banishes her from Emerald City. In anger of her fall, Evanora attempts to lunge at Glinda as a final attack, but Glinda fires a beam that slams her out of the window. However, she is saved by her baboon minions, and swears revenge against Glinda and Oscar as she flies away with the remnants of her army.
The big thing to focus on here for me is her true appearance.
Her demise reveals her actual appearance is as ugly as her personality was throughout the whole movie. And is quite frightening but fitting with who Evanora was as a person. She had outer beauty but was a vile being through and through.
Is Evanora a Good Villain?
Honestly, I'd say that she is. She's scary and you see how she'd stop at nothing to get what she wants. She's quite different from the Sanderson Sisters as she comes across as an actual threat and you get the sense that it would be boneheaded to think of her as anything less than a threat. Join me next time as we look at her younger sister...
Theodora
No comments:
Post a Comment