Movie Review: OZ The Great And Powerful

This is opening weekend for Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful. Oz the Great and Powerful reviews share exciting details on the eye catching colorful imaginative scenery, beautiful costumes and amazing detail to the prequel from 1939′s original Wizard of Oz.  As a fan of the Wizard of Oz the excitement of Oz the Great powerful has been building since I first heard it was coming to the big screen.  It was everything I thought it would be and more.

Actor James Franco who plays Oscar Diggs or better known as “OZ”, plays a con man circus magician who woo’s the ladies with magic and charm.  He gets himself in a bit of trouble and escapes in a Hot Air Balloon.  Much like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz the detail in the spinning tornado pulls you into the riveting experience and puts you on the edge of your seat wondering what’s coming next.

Like in the sequel when Dorothy leaves Kansas she takes the people with her. You’ll see the same characters who played substantial roles in Oscar Diggs life before coming to the Land of Oz take on the roles of three beautiful witches  Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams) in Oz encounters in the Land of Oz. Wearing stunningly beautiful jewelry and dresses and a personality to match 2 will be out to destroy Oz and one will place faith and belief in a man to be the man he is born to be if only he believed in himself. A man of great ingenuity, leadership, ideas and a helpful nature will only save the people of Oz from the wicked witches who set out to destroy everyone and everything.  I began to think a lot about a person in my life who I know has the same quality’s if given the thought he too could do great things.  I cried.

You’ll laugh out loud with the comedian antics of the China Girl and the little monkey who wears a bell hop uniform.

Are there any scary parts that are not suitable for children?

I would say there’s one part that jumped me out of my seat. It’s a quick and unexpected scare and you can almost laugh out loud after wards.

Would I recommend for parents to take their children?

I would have to say it depends on the child. I would take my 7 yr old son. I think he’d love it but I do think it’s a bit to involved for my 4 yr old son. He’d love Finely the talking monkey and the beautiful colorful scenery, but I think he may get bored in some areas not being able to follow along. My 12 yr old daughter was the perfect companion to take with me and she absolutely loved it just as much as I did. She did say that she thought that the wicked witch could of been scarier like the witch in the Wizard of Oz. I’d have to agree with her. Comparing the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz to the one in Oz the Great and Powerful I’d say from evil scary witch to sexy scary witch um.. No contest. The wicked witch in Wizard Oz was certainly scarier.

Gather your family and friends and head out to the show. I’m going to OZ again this week with my oldest son and I can’t wait to see his reaction to this film. You’ll love the magic, costumes and journey. You’ll love Oz the Great and Powerful.

Video interview with Zach Braff (“Finley” the monkey) and Joey King (“China Girl”) where they interview each other about OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL! China Girl and Finley are my favorite characters in the film and I know you will love them too!

Genre: Fantasy Adventure
Rating: PG
Release Date: March 8, 2013
Running Time: 127 min

Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff
Director: Sam Raimi
Producer: Joe Roth
Executive Producers: Grant Curtis, Palak Patel, Josh Donen, Philip Steuer
Screen Story by: Mitchell Kapner
Screenplay by: Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire

disclosure: I was provided screening tickets to see this Oz the Great and Powerful Movie before it’s release. Thoughts are my true and honest opinion.