A frustrated circus magician from Kansas is transported to a magical land called Oz, where he will have to fulfill a prophecy to become the king, and release the land from the Wicked Witches using his great (but fake) powers.
Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory.
Director:
Brad Bird
Stars:
George Clooney,
Britt Robertson,
Hugh Laurie
Nineteen-year-old Alice returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of her true destiny: to end the Red Queen's reign of terror.
Director:
Tim Burton
Stars:
Mia Wasikowska,
Johnny Depp,
Helena Bonham Carter
In order to restore their dying safe haven, the son of Poseidon and his friends embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters, to find the mythical Golden Fleece, all the while trying to stop an ancient evil from rising.
Director:
Thor Freudenthal
Stars:
Logan Lerman,
Alexandra Daddario,
Brandon T. Jackson
Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.
On a quest to find out what happened to his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew and their mountain guide discover a fantastic and dangerous lost world in the center of the earth.
Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.
Upon moving into the run-down Spiderwick Estate with their mother, twin brothers Jared and Simon Grace, along with their sister Mallory, find themselves pulled into an alternate world full of faeries and other creatures.
Director:
Mark Waters
Stars:
Freddie Highmore,
Sarah Bolger,
David Strathairn
The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.
Security guard Larry Daley infiltrates the Smithsonian Institution in order to rescue Jedediah and Octavius, who have been shipped to the museum by mistake.
Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.Written by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The screenplay for this film was featured in the 2010 Blacklist; a list of the "most liked" unmade scripts of the year. See more »
Goofs
The balloon is not a hot air balloon, but a hydrogen balloon. Such balloons were the only practical balloons of this period, before compact propane fuels were available. They are recognisable by being smaller and spherical, without the lower opening of a hot air balloon. And of course, they don't need a burner. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Front Gate Barker:
Hurry, hurry, step this way. Get your tickets now. Don't be shut out, friend. Step this way. See the most wondrous sights imaginable. pulled from the four corners of the Earth. Acts to delight, to thrill and to mystify! Walk through these gates and into the world of wonder.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The opening credits are seen in a 1930s nickelodeon, with certain credits having their own qualities:
Since Oz The Great And Powerful is a big budget special-effects film by Walt Disney Pictures it's been advertised for a long time. The trailer made me interested, and I was looking forward to watching the film. In the interviews director Sam Raimi and the cast mentioned that the film was made with 3D cameras. The 3D is used very well, but it's also clear from the beginning that a lot of effort was put into making the film look dazzling. The computer-generated imagery is very impressive. Not everything looks perfect but the CGI characters look almost realistic. Of note is the little China Girl voiced well by Joey King, the girl who played a young Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The China Girl is a visual wonder and one of the most interesting characters. The whole cast is solid. James Franco, playing Oscar "Oz" Diggs, smiles a bit too many times but he's charming and compassionate in the role. Rachel Weisz as Evanora is beautiful and cunning while Mila Kunis sure can cackle in her striking costume as Theodora. Michelle Williams was a good choice to play Glinda because she comes off as well-meaning, knowing and sincere. Although well cast the film still suffers because there a a bit too many characters. It would have been better if there were two witches instead of three. The script, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner, should have been better too. American author L. Frank Baum wrote thirteen novel sequels after The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, so it shouldn't have been a problem to pick material from the rich mythology that he created. Raimi plays it safe by making the film similar to Victor Fleming's great The Wizard Of Oz (1939). The film's opening sequence is presented in black-and-white, transitioning into color when the protagonist arrives in Oz. But Raimi is an excellent director so there's no shortage of spectacle. Danny Elfman composed a forgettable score, but at least Mariah Carey's song Almost Home is a return to form for the singer-songwriter. Despite its shortcomings Oz The Great And Powerful is still a wondrous entertaining fantasy adventure that adults and especially children will enjoy. I recommend it.
8 of 12 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Since Oz The Great And Powerful is a big budget special-effects film by Walt Disney Pictures it's been advertised for a long time. The trailer made me interested, and I was looking forward to watching the film. In the interviews director Sam Raimi and the cast mentioned that the film was made with 3D cameras. The 3D is used very well, but it's also clear from the beginning that a lot of effort was put into making the film look dazzling. The computer-generated imagery is very impressive. Not everything looks perfect but the CGI characters look almost realistic. Of note is the little China Girl voiced well by Joey King, the girl who played a young Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). The China Girl is a visual wonder and one of the most interesting characters. The whole cast is solid. James Franco, playing Oscar "Oz" Diggs, smiles a bit too many times but he's charming and compassionate in the role. Rachel Weisz as Evanora is beautiful and cunning while Mila Kunis sure can cackle in her striking costume as Theodora. Michelle Williams was a good choice to play Glinda because she comes off as well-meaning, knowing and sincere. Although well cast the film still suffers because there a a bit too many characters. It would have been better if there were two witches instead of three. The script, written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner, should have been better too. American author L. Frank Baum wrote thirteen novel sequels after The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, so it shouldn't have been a problem to pick material from the rich mythology that he created. Raimi plays it safe by making the film similar to Victor Fleming's great The Wizard Of Oz (1939). The film's opening sequence is presented in black-and-white, transitioning into color when the protagonist arrives in Oz. But Raimi is an excellent director so there's no shortage of spectacle. Danny Elfman composed a forgettable score, but at least Mariah Carey's song Almost Home is a return to form for the singer-songwriter. Despite its shortcomings Oz The Great And Powerful is still a wondrous entertaining fantasy adventure that adults and especially children will enjoy. I recommend it.