Oz the Great and Powerful

The amazing Technicolor dreamworld of Oz, as originally imagined at the turn of the 20th century by children’s author L. Frank Baum, was unforgettably brought to life in the iconic 1939 screen musical “The Wizard of Oz,” a groundbreaking masterwork that would enrich and live on in childhood memories for decades to come — just think of the glimmering green towers of the Emerald City or the swirling golden spiral that births the Yellow Brick Road, and feel that flood of sweet nostalgia wash over you and cleanse your soul. Seven decades later, we return to director Victor Fleming’s fantasy wonderland in “Oz the Great and Powerful,” Disney’s spiritual prequel to the MGM classic, which — copyright issues kept in mind — rebuilds the land brick by yellow brick, albeit with more than a little help from computerised jiggery-pokery.

Of course, this is not the first time Oz has been paid a grand revisit by Hollywood — 1978’s “The Wiz" retold Dorothy Gale's tale with a Harlem-inspired urban environment, while 1985’s “Return to Oz" continued her adventures with a dark and twisted steampunk edge — but not since the Golden Age has it been so richly detailed, elaborately designed and vividly realised. Director Sam Raimi, whose blockbusting “Spider-Man” trilogy was a technical marvel, seamlessly blends practical sets with computer-generated imagery and presents Oz in carefully orchestrated 3D that bursts out from the screen — here, Oz is as immersive as the alien moon Pandora in James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

Journeying with us through this magical realm is James Franco (“127 Hours”) as Oscar “Oz" Diggs, the one destined to become the “man behind the curtain.” Oscar is an ambitious, small-time carnival magician and charlatan who, in 1905, is whisked away from humble Kansas to the magnificent Land of Oz when his hot air balloon is consumed by a vicious cyclone — this is achieved in a dazzling sequence during which the film makes a startling transition from Academy-ratio monochrome to widescreen Technicolor, surely an affectionate homage to Oz’s wondrous introduction in Fleming’s original. Upon arrival, Oscar discovers he is prophesied to free the locals from the tyrannical Wicked Witch of the West and become the rightful ruler of Oz, a task he reluctantly takes on in the name of fame and fortune.

Joining him on his perilous quest is Finley (voiced by Zach Braff, “Scrubs”), a winged, scene-stealing chimp in a bellhop’s outfit, and an adorable two-foot girl made of china (voiced by Joey King, “Ramona and Beezus”), whose shattered legs are repaired by Oscar in a touching scene following an attack on her porcelain village. Both Braff and King appear physically as human characters in the Kansas-set prologue, just like the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion in Fleming’s film, but with slightly less impact: the intended effect isn’t quite the same when actors reappearing from real-world Kansas are merely providing voices for their characters in Oz.

As in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth," there are three witches in this origin story. Michelle Williams (“My Week with Marilyn”), a stand-out, is bubbly and wise as Glinda the Good Witch; Rachel Weisz (“The Bourne Legacy") is deliciously menacing as the ruthless and conniving but ever so elegant Evanora; while Mila Kunis (“Black Swan”) gets the film’s meatiest role as the naive and easily manipulated Theodora, whose tragic descent into the dark side (or should that be the green side?) is a little unconvincing; though Kunis plays both sides of Theodora marvelously, the set-up of her character’s physical and psychological transformation is far too rushed, the end result failing to pack the necessary punch.

As for our fated wizard, though Franco grants him a roguish grin and a rascally charm, one can’t help but feel the fizzily charismatic Robert Downey, Jr. — an early candidate for the role — would have been better suited in Oscar's top hat and waistcoat. The real star of the show is the infectiously enthusiastic Raimi, whose kooky visual quirks are on full display throughout and whose horror roots are showing: remembering the fear struck into the hearts of many a movie-goer by those barbaric flying monkeys in 1939, he here uses the winged beasts for one or two inspired frights — after all, what’s a trip to the movies without a good scare?

What’s most remarkable about “Oz the Great and Powerful” is the degree to which Raimi has provided for audiences of all ages; here is a family movie truly suitable for all the family, capable of entertaining the young and the old in equal measure. Considering its unblinking commitment to breathtaking spectacle and its luscious, vibrantly rendered fairy tale setting, comparisons to Tim Burton’s crushingly disappointing “Alice in Wonderland” are unavoidable, and Raimi’s film thankfully comes out on top: for behind all its whiz-bang special effects and sensational production design is something Burton’s dead-eyed dud was crucially missing, a key ingredient that keeps us engaged and enchanted right from its black-and-white beginnings all the way through to its explosive finale — a healthy heart beating away inside its chest.

7/10