Baum wrote 14 Oz books, and there were dozens of good ones written by other authors after he died, and yet the only adaptations you ever see are the first, second, and maybe a cartoon version of one of the others.
What's the point of writing a completely unrelated prequel that contradicts a lot of what was written in the official canon? I can understand doing this if you have a good story to tell, but this story really wasn't that good. No, I take that back. The story isn't bad, in fact in the right hands it could be great. But it just didn't seem to work and it's hard to pin down why.
The first problem is the Oz character himself (played by James Franco). He's just a very unlike- able protagonist. I know they were kind of going for a Han Solo/Jack Sparrow sort of scoundrel with a heart of gold, but he really didn't have any of the charm or humor that a character like that needs to have. Those types of characters are rarely used as protagonists, so maybe it wasn't all Franco's fault. But his performance is quite awkward at times which didn't help much.
Probably the most interesting character was Theodora (played by Mila Kunis). Theodora's tragic character arc may have sounded great when it was pitched, but it wasn't exactly executed well. Mila Kunis is beautiful and youthful which does help in winning over sympathy from the audience. But, like James Franco, she seems a little awkward in this role. There's a major turning point for this character that just seems off and doesn't seem to work. I'll come right out and spoil it, basically she gets tricked into becoming the wicked witch of the west. I can see what they were going for, and again, in the right hands it could have been brilliant. But it felt rushed, poorly written, and the acting was mixed. Mila Kunis can act and had some great moments, but also some very bad moments in this film.
Also her story is so tragic that I wonder if it's too hard a pill to swallow for young kids. Especially if they see the 1939 film after this one. In fact, it really puts a damper on the happy ending of the 1939 Wizard of Oz and really makes Oz look like a villain. If you remember, Oz sends Dorothy to kill The wicked witch of the west, and Dorothy pretty much does it without question. The witch never gets the chance to redeem herself and be restored to her former beauty. It makes Dorothy's quest look a lot less heroic and a lot more tragic. Did the writers of this movie intend this? At least Darth Vader had a redemption before he died. The poor witch was under an evil spell the whole time and had no control over her actions or fate for the decades between the events of this film and the 1939 film.
Then you have Evanora, the other wicked witch, who seems to be just evil for evil's sake. She also doesn't wear the silver shoes (or ruby slippers if going by movie canon), which I felt was a missed opportunity. Instead she carries a locket which seems to keep her young and beautiful, although it's never really explained (nor is Theodora's sudden awful reaction to contact with water).
The rest of the characters are okay. Glinda the good witch is pretty, kind and good natured if not somewhat boring, but it kind of fits her character so I can't complain. You have the flying monkey who's the cute comic relief, but he's really not that funny. The China Girl is also cute and precious and nicely animated. But there's no one here that's really all that memorable.
It's a film that seems like it could have been good with a better script and better performances. Everything seems so serious, which is a little awkward considering the over the top fantasy world the characters inhabit. There's some humor, but a lot of it falls flat, and it's not enough to really make it entertaining or make the characters memorable. With the dull performances it would have been nice to have a song here and there like the 1939 film to liven the mood. But nope. No songs, except for one munchkin sung theme that was cut short.
Honestly they could have done much better if they borrowed some of the imaginative plots from the later Oz books. Unlike the books there's little to no social commentary. The fantasy world relies more on nostalgic references to the 1939 film than to any of the thoughtful allegory or economic / political commentary that made the books so culturally relevant.
That being said, the visuals were fantastic and the final battle at the end is fun to watch. It had potential, but ultimately didn't deliver anything great. 6/10
What's the point of writing a completely unrelated prequel that contradicts a lot of what was written in the official canon? I can understand doing this if you have a good story to tell, but this story really wasn't that good. No, I take that back. The story isn't bad, in fact in the right hands it could be great. But it just didn't seem to work and it's hard to pin down why.
The first problem is the Oz character himself (played by James Franco). He's just a very unlike- able protagonist. I know they were kind of going for a Han Solo/Jack Sparrow sort of scoundrel with a heart of gold, but he really didn't have any of the charm or humor that a character like that needs to have. Those types of characters are rarely used as protagonists, so maybe it wasn't all Franco's fault. But his performance is quite awkward at times which didn't help much.
Probably the most interesting character was Theodora (played by Mila Kunis). Theodora's tragic character arc may have sounded great when it was pitched, but it wasn't exactly executed well. Mila Kunis is beautiful and youthful which does help in winning over sympathy from the audience. But, like James Franco, she seems a little awkward in this role. There's a major turning point for this character that just seems off and doesn't seem to work. I'll come right out and spoil it, basically she gets tricked into becoming the wicked witch of the west. I can see what they were going for, and again, in the right hands it could have been brilliant. But it felt rushed, poorly written, and the acting was mixed. Mila Kunis can act and had some great moments, but also some very bad moments in this film.
Also her story is so tragic that I wonder if it's too hard a pill to swallow for young kids. Especially if they see the 1939 film after this one. In fact, it really puts a damper on the happy ending of the 1939 Wizard of Oz and really makes Oz look like a villain. If you remember, Oz sends Dorothy to kill The wicked witch of the west, and Dorothy pretty much does it without question. The witch never gets the chance to redeem herself and be restored to her former beauty. It makes Dorothy's quest look a lot less heroic and a lot more tragic. Did the writers of this movie intend this? At least Darth Vader had a redemption before he died. The poor witch was under an evil spell the whole time and had no control over her actions or fate for the decades between the events of this film and the 1939 film.
Then you have Evanora, the other wicked witch, who seems to be just evil for evil's sake. She also doesn't wear the silver shoes (or ruby slippers if going by movie canon), which I felt was a missed opportunity. Instead she carries a locket which seems to keep her young and beautiful, although it's never really explained (nor is Theodora's sudden awful reaction to contact with water).
The rest of the characters are okay. Glinda the good witch is pretty, kind and good natured if not somewhat boring, but it kind of fits her character so I can't complain. You have the flying monkey who's the cute comic relief, but he's really not that funny. The China Girl is also cute and precious and nicely animated. But there's no one here that's really all that memorable.
It's a film that seems like it could have been good with a better script and better performances. Everything seems so serious, which is a little awkward considering the over the top fantasy world the characters inhabit. There's some humor, but a lot of it falls flat, and it's not enough to really make it entertaining or make the characters memorable. With the dull performances it would have been nice to have a song here and there like the 1939 film to liven the mood. But nope. No songs, except for one munchkin sung theme that was cut short.
Honestly they could have done much better if they borrowed some of the imaginative plots from the later Oz books. Unlike the books there's little to no social commentary. The fantasy world relies more on nostalgic references to the 1939 film than to any of the thoughtful allegory or economic / political commentary that made the books so culturally relevant.
That being said, the visuals were fantastic and the final battle at the end is fun to watch. It had potential, but ultimately didn't deliver anything great. 6/10