Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Average Rating: 6/10
Reviews Counted: 228
Fresh: 136 | Rotten: 92
It suffers from some tonal inconsistency and a deflated sense of wonder, but Oz the Great and Powerful still packs enough visual dazzle and clever wit to be entertaining in its own right.
Average Rating: 5.2/10
Critic Reviews: 44
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 29
It suffers from some tonal inconsistency and a deflated sense of wonder, but Oz the Great and Powerful still packs enough visual dazzle and clever wit to be entertaining in its own right.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 127,198
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Movie Info
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
Cast
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James Franco
Oz, The Wizard -
Mila Kunis
Theodora/Wicked Witch o... -
Rachel Weisz
Evanora -
Michelle Williams
Annie/Glinda -
Zach Braff
Frank/Finley, Oz's Assi... -
Bill Cobbs
Master Tinker -
Joey King
Girl in Wheelchair/Chin... -
Tony Cox
Knuck -
Stephen R. Hart
Winkie General -
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Bruce Campbell
Winkie Gate Keeper -
Ted Raimi
Skeptic in Audience. -
Tim Holmes
Strongman -
Toni Wynne
Strongman's Wife -
Rob Crites
Firebreather -
William Dick
Front Gate Barker -
Gene Jones
Wild West Barker -
John Lord Booth III
Oz's Tent Barker -
Suzanne Keilly
Concessioner -
Shannon Murray
Girl in Wheelchair's Mo... -
Ralph Lister
Girl in Wheelchair's Fa... -
John Michael Manfredi
Disgruntled Kansas Man -
Robert Stromberg
Disgruntled Kansas Man -
Channing Pierce
Coochie Girl -
Brian Searle
Clown -
Russell Bobbitt
Mr. Baum -
Julie Gershenson
Quadling Greeter -
Daniel Nelson
Quadling Man with Flowe... -
T.J. Jagodowski
Quadling Mayor -
John Paxton
Elder Tinker -
Melissa Exelberth
Quadling Woman with Bro... -
Steve Forbes
Quadling Farmer -
Arnold Agee
Quadling Blacksmith -
Deborah Puette
Quadling Baker -
Julius Kline
Quadling Scarecrow Make... -
Theresa Tilly
Quadling Seamstress -
Betsy Baker
Quadling Woman -
Ellen Sandweiss
Quadling Woman -
Isabella Shepard
Quadling Child -
Sasha Reynolds
Quadling Child -
Ja'vonne Cousin
Quadling Child -
Victoria Lurz
Quadling Child -
Dashiell Raimi
Quadling Bugle Boy -
Oliver Raimi
Quadling Drummer Boy -
Brandon Hamilton
Singing/Dancing Munchki... -
Stevie "Puppet" Lee
Munchkin Carriage Drive... -
Martin Klebba
Munchkin Rebel -
Danielle Ragland
Female Munchkin Rebel -
Bart McCarthy
Emerald City Man -
Timothy Patrick Quill
Emerald City Man -
Nicholas Lindsay-Abaire
Emerald City Boy -
Bill E. Rogers
Emerald City Citizen -
Mia Serafino
Emerald City Citizen -
Mikayla Bouchard
Emerald City Citizen -
Emma Raimi
Emerald City Citizen -
Jay Schwalm
Emerald City Citizen -
Jim Bird
Emerald City Citizen -
Chester Guilmet
Emerald City Citizen -
Jim Moll
Emerald City Citizen -
Danny Hicks
Emerald City Citizen -
Lanika Wise
Emerald City Citizen -
Nellie Ann Pristine-Lower...
Emerald City Citizen -
Jayne Violassi
Emerald City Citizen -
Wendy Cutler
Emerald City Citizen -
Kenneth D. Ciszewski
Emerald City Citizen -
Bob Buck
Emerald City Citizen -
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Oz the Great and Powerful Trailer & Photos
All Critics (228) | Top Critics (44) | Fresh (136) | Rotten (92)
An imaginative mix of live-action and CGI that pays homage to the iconic images and timeless sense of wonder in the classic The Wizard of Oz without being too deferential.
Top CriticOz the Great and Powerful is entirely serviceable family entertainment. Problem is, serviceable doesn't quite cut it when you're talking about the magical land of Oz.
Aside from a trio of witches that can hold its own with Eastwick's in the dishiness department, Oz the Great and Powerful is a peculiarly joyless occasion.
Let us take a moment to praise two great and surprisingly powerful characters: a winged monkey and a wee girl made out of china. Because so much human wonder resides in these two creations of make-up, puppetry, digital effects and lovely performances.
The new Oz falls short of the 1939 Oz in charm and innocence, and certainly in songs. But as family entertainment, it's hard to fault such a rapturous spectacle and astute, suspenseful piece of storytelling.
Oz the Great and Powerful somehow manages to be both slavish to its hallowed template (when convenient) and completely tone-deaf to the magic that made it a one-of-a-kind cultural milestone.
Raimi's 'Oz' is nothing more than a grand theft of a 74-year-old vision, thinly veiled in over-saturated colors and populated with action-figure friendly characters sure to set the Mouse's cash registers ringing.
True...the odds were stacked against Raimi in his film that has some moments but hardly seems momentous.
big and splashy but tin-eared
Looking backwards in more ways than one.
Stunning visuals, some suprising plot twists, dreadfully mediocre dialogue delivered by a woefully miscast James Franco.
Sam Raimi has managed to recapture the feel and charm of the original 'Wizard of Oz'... and that may be the greatest compliment of all.
The script is the real problem, lacking in humor and wit (not to mention jaunty musical numbers) and emphasizing the type of sensory overload that seems to pass for family entertainment these days.
Raimi tries to go all in, but the update can't match the character of the original
There were things that offered promise... but one after the other, they blended into the blandness of the storytelling.
That the female roles are the most memorable is intriguing since Oz the Great and Powerful is arguably at heart a broadside against male chauvinism
It took courage to believe anything could and should be added to The Wizard of Oz. It took brains to create such a sumptuous fantasia with pixels and keyboard swipes. Now, if it only had a heart.
When a movie is as beloved as The Wizard of Oz, making a prequel would seem a foolhardy enterprise. Put one foot on the Yellow Brick Road and you risk stepping on your viewers' memories and dreams. Yet Raimi rises to the challenge with dash and dazzle.
Oz the Great and Powerful should probably have been titled Oz the so-so and Kind of Entertaining or Oz, At Least It's Better than The Wonderful Land of Oz.
You've got to love any movie that features an army of rollicking Munchkins getting halfway through a Danny Elfman song before, basically, they're told to shut up.
[Director Sam] Raimi fills every square centimetre of the frame with aggressively attractive images...Simply put, Oz is simply beautiful to behold.
It's Mila Kunis! And she's dressed like she took the wrong tornado on the way to F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Oz The Great And Powerful is as good as it could be.
You know, its heart was in the right place.
Just like Dorothy's technicolour journey before, this trip through Oz is once again smeared by this ill deserving charlatan.
If you liked Hugo you'll be pleased with Oz's coterie of zoopraxiscopes and praxinoscopes and zoetropes (Oh, my!).
Audience Reviews for Oz the Great and Powerful
Super Reviewer
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- Oz: You can have a nice pile of bananas!
- Frank/Finley: Oh, I see, because I'm a monkey I must love bananas!
- Oz: You don't love bananas?
- Frank/Finley: Of course I love bananas, I'm a monkey! Don't be ridiculous!
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- Evanora: I'm not the one who's underestimating her cleverness. Or maybe it's you I'm underestimating. Have you finally joined her side, sister?
- Theodora/Wicked Witch of the West: am on no one's side. You know that. I simply want peace. That's all I ever wanted and the wizard can do that. He's a good man.
- Evanora: What do you know about goodness? Deep down you are wicked!
- Theodora/Wicked Witch of the West: I am not wicked!
- Evanora: I am not wicked!
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- Girl in Wheelchair/China Girl: Why don't you just use this?
- Frank/Finley: It's got a knife
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- Evanora: All it does is take one bite.
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- Annie/Glinda: The shield allows a good-hearted person to pass.
- Oz: I'm gonna die!
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- Girl in Wheelchair/China Girl: Great. Let's go kill ourselves a witch!
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| An unexpected comedy gem. | 7 days ago | 8 |
| James Franco is getting trashed! | 10 days ago | 80 |
| What is it with people and keyboards...? | 14 days ago | 3 |
| Awful Green Screen | 35 days ago | 29 |
| Mila Kunis/ Wicked Witch | 39 days ago | 30 |
Latest News on Oz the Great and Powerful
March 19, 2013:
Date Slate: Spring has SprungKerr Lordygan had the luck of the Irish on his side at the Regal Cinemas LA Live this March. Oz The...
March 17, 2013:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oz Powerful, Burt Not-So-IncredibleMoviegoers cared about only one magician as the blockbuster Oz the Great and Powerful easily led the...
March 11, 2013:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: Oz Racks Up Enchanting DebutThis weekend, Disney's big-budget Emerald City gamble paid off as the expensive 3D prequel Oz the...
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Foreign Titles
- Die fantastische Welt von Oz (DE)
- Oz The Great and Powerful (UK)
Film begins with a lovingly created black and with sequence which introduces us the Oz the wizard and his assistant. They work in a circus and earn money with their bag of magical tricks. None of these tricks are actually real but they are impressive enough to make living for both of them. Then a series of events makes the wizard an refugee and he escapes from the circus with unfortunate results. His escape with a big balloon throws him straight in the middle of the tornado and he has just enough time to make his final wish before the storm tears him apart. What happens after then can be seen as a kind of afterlife for our magician or just plain fantasy story with endless imagination. This is one of the first masterstrokes in this succesfull adaptation. Another is the brilliant production desig of the world of Oz which has to be one of the greates fantasy worlds ever created on a film. This is world full of witches, strange talking creatures and enchanting places like Emerald City or the perfectly eerie Dark Forest. It is quite awesome what Raimi has pulled off here. He has made his vision alive in a way that not many other artists could have not. While Peter Jackon's The Hobbit might still be the greatest looking 3D-film ever created, Raimi's film comes straight after that as a second best.
The cast plays their roles intentionally over the top and the characters are obvious caricatures. Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz are the film's most richest characters as opposite witches with different agendas. Mila Kunis is also delicious as Theodora the Witch, but at times it feels that she is not completely comfortable in her role. If there is a one major flaw in this film, then it is James Franco as a Oz the Magician. Franco is terribly miscast here and his performance seems too forced and too calculated most of the time. Franco cannot gain enough sympahty for his character and that is a shame.
Overall Raimi has done marvelous job here. His camera, and Peter Deming cinematography, does wonders here. There are some of the trademark shots from Raimi to be found here also. Those who are familiar his stylistics with Evil Dead films will notice these elements. When it comes to fantasy films it is quite difficult to make them as more entertaining than here. While Oz the Great and Powerful is not a film wihtout it's flaws it still is a great ride and good entertainment for the whole family.