Oz the Great and Terrible

[Lady Revel]

If you know nothing about Oz....I am sure this would be an entertaining film. However, for people like myself.....who are rather well versed in the Oz canon, well, we just cry....and cry. Could they have mangled things any worse? Well, probably, but it was pretty bad.

The computer imagery was lovely. The Wizard was very nice to look at (Lady Revel pauses to fan herself)...but for those in the know....the Wizard was in his fifties, fat and balding when he came to Oz. Certainly not the lead in a romantic story. And the Baum version of the Wizard was not a bumbling con man with a heart of gold, he was a bumbling con man who did some nasty things to become the ruler of Oz. *sigh*

And the romance? Oh, no. So not a possibility. I feel dirty. It is ok for children, it was just a kiss. But....the two involved? Never this side of hell.

If you need a family getaway....and are not picky about details....I recommend this film. There are some scary parts, but the children in the theatre were not scared terribly, more surprised, I think. The age range of children in the audience....well let us just say there were children as young as 4.

If you are a purist....stay away, far away. But, if you know about Oz, you have probably already gone to see it, just as I did. Sorry I was too late to stop you.

[Cameraman Jenn]

Wait... WHAT??? They made another Oz film? When the heck did this happen? Why havent' I heard of it? What the eff?

[I'm Murrin]

I've seen some articles lamenting the fact that although Baum was a feminist (involved in the suffragette movement through his wife) and used female heroes all through his stories, this movie puts a man in the centre with the three witches reduced to love interests competing over him...

[Lady Revel]

I'm Murrin wrote:

I've seen some articles lamenting the fact that although Baum was a feminist (involved in the suffragette movement through his wife) and used female heroes all through his stories, this movie puts a man in the centre with the three witches reduced to love interests competing over him...

Yes, that about sums it up.....well, two of the three witches, anyway. And the one who wins.....well, in Baum's world, the Wizard never would have had a chance....because she was kick ass.

[Orlion]

I don't trust any movie that has Sam Rami directing anymore.

[Damelon]

Perhaps not so farfetched though, considering who the Wizard of Oz was alleged to represent.

Think, perhaps, on the last Star Wars trilogy.

[Lady Revel]

Damelon wrote:

Perhaps not so farfetched though, considering who the Wizard of Oz was alleged to represent.

I have seen this pop up from time to time over the years. I think alleged is correct. Whoever came up with this theory thought a LOT more than L. Frank Baum ever did. If you have ever read his 14 books (and yes, there are a lot MORE Oz books by other authors) you will discover that L. Frank Baum was the LAZIEST writer ever, only wrote to make a buck, and could never remember what he wrote in the previous books, so he was constantly making errors and changing things. He was desperate to stop writing OZ stories, but they paid the bills. He started writing stories where the adventures occurred in other fairylands, only to have Dorothy go and help in the last three chapters or so, so he could call it an Oz book. I recognize this about him, but his style was so wonderful I can forgive him for it. But I highly doubt he had a grand allegory planned when he wrote Wizard. That is my opinion on the matter, and I am sticking with it!

And for heaven's sake! The slippers were SILVER, not ruby!

[Damelon]

I'm aware that Baum wrote several other books based on Oz, I believe they are in the public domain and can be found online. I took a stab at a couple and didn't find it my cup of tea.

Any new movie based on Oz, I think, has to deal with the 1939 movie rather than the books for comparison. Part of the reason I looked up the books in the first place was based on the burning question of where did the red brick road go?

Based on the trailers I'd seen the last few months I'd been curious about the movie. An Oz movie would be an obvious one for this era of film making. However, the reviews I'd seen up to this point could probably be best described as the movie being meh. I still may check it out for myself at the theater if I find myself with some free time the next couple of weeks. If not, I can wait till it comes out on Netflix...

[Vraith]

I'm aware that Baum wrote several other books based on Oz, I believe they are in the public domain and can be found online. I took a stab at a couple and didn't find it my cup of tea.

Any new movie based on Oz, I think, has to deal with the 1939 movie rather than the books for comparison. Part of the reason I looked up the books in the first place was based on the burning question of where did the red brick road go?

When I lived in LA, a used book place near my apt. had a full set of first editions for sale...I think it was 15,000 [in the late 80's]
....so if anyone's the kind who doesn't like free, there are other options out there.

Yea, most folk are gonna compare to the first movie...most folk haven't read even one of the original books.
I can't stand James Franco, and I didn't like the original movie much. [I also thought the modern Witches-view "Wicked" was meh. I'll probably wait till it is free. The whole realm of Ozdom just doesn't seem to do it for me.

[Lady Revel]

I can see how Oz would not be a favorite of men....of course, some men do like it, too. Oz is basically ruled by women. The wizard comes in at 3rd on the totem pole. The women are beautiful and kind and gracious and smarter than everyone else. When I was young (7-8) it was JUST what I was looking for. And I have maintained my love well into adulthood....although, sometimes I try to pick a book up to read for nostaliga's sake, and I usually put it right back down again. The happiness Oz gave me lives much better in my memory.

[Vraith]

I can see how Oz would not be a favorite of men....of course, some men do like it, too. Oz is basically ruled by women.

SEXIST!
I suppose that means I don't like Harry Potter cuz it's ruled by children AND written by a woman....
DAMN KIDS and LADIES!

heh...I'm pretty sure that's not it.
I'm pretty sure it's because [the original movie especially] they're made of fluff and dumb stuff. Nostalgia and falseness.

[Damelon]

I can see how Oz would not be a favorite of men....of course, some men do like it, too. Oz is basically ruled by women.

That had nothing to do with it. I didn't notice one way or another. I just didn't find it all that interesting.

If you found something meaningful, Lady, cool. I can only speak what about what I thought.

[Shuram Gudatetris]

I LOVED the new movie! I know nothing about Oz, so I was very open-minded going into it. My only critique:

Spoiler

Mila Kunis was sort of hard to swallow after she turned wicked. Her acting was too over-the-top as the wicked witch, and for the life of me I can't figure out why they gave her a CGI face rather than make-up and prosthetics.

But it was a beautiful film, and very fun. I liked the story and the characters....The little china doll character--I forgot her name already!--was my favorite.

[Lady Revel]

All right....you guys got me. I'm sorry.

Jenn, I am glad you enjoyed it, and I agree with you about the spoiler.

[Hashi Lebwohl]

It was a movie, not meant to be "canon" for the real stories. It was also a movie mostly designed for kids, not adults, hence the highly-colorful imagery and the relatively shallow plot. Still, it was an entertaining movie.

My wife was curious because the names of the witches were incorrect and the woman who would become Wicked Witch of the West was born green but, as I told her, "it's just a movie". Hollywood often gets things wrong.

I agree with Ceiling Cat's review--meh. The kids enjoyed it, though, which is the only reason we went.

Orlion, I still like Sam Raimi. He just needs the right project and this wasn't it. Strangely, I didn't see any "trademark" Sam Raimi-types scenes or situations. I think he did this movie just to pay bills. *shrug*

Lady Revel, Dorothy's slippers were changed to ruby so that they would really stand out in Technicolor.

This movie did contain influences from both LoTR and Harry Potter. The landscapes had to seem more...awe-inspiring...and the Emerald City reminded me of Imladris.

[Menolly]

I'm with Sharum, I enjoyed the movie very much.

Let it be known thought that I have never read any of the Baum Oz books. But for someone whose only exposure to Oz is the 1939 movie, this works quite well.

There are some things that don't mesh up, such as how Dorothy would have met the Kansas equivalent of the Wizard when she ran away from home, if he was already established in Oz for years, but then the fact that for her it was all a dream doesn't mesh up either.

Spoiler

I did really like how the one serious love interest Oscar had in Kansas before going to Oz turns out to be Dorothy's mother...

...at least, that was the explanation of that whole scene that I came away with. Was that something in the books?

[sgt.null]

likely seeing this saturday...