I bit the bullet and took the kids to the movies. I don’t remember the last time I went. I love movies but I like to be comfortable and I hate sitting with other people, so we usually wait until they come out on itunes so we can enjoy them at home. But occasionally it’s worth seeing them in the theatre.
This movie rocked! It was in 3D and it was so cool. It kept us enthralled the entire time. It’s not for young ones. The PG rating is correct. The Witches’ flying monkeys are pretty scary.
No spoiler alert required, mostly because we all know what happens as this is a prequel.
This is the story of how the mighty wizard of OZ came to be in OZ in the first place and how the witches came to be.
The movie starts in black and white in a 1925 travelling carnival.Where the wizard is a trickster, a simple con man common for that time. The show travels around Kansas and he has a reputation with the ladies. James Franco plays the part well and although I don’t like him much, the roll was played very well. He brought just the right amount of sleaze to the character. Oh I know I shouldn’t be like that but since his Oscar hosting with Anne Hathaway well, we just lost respect for him.
The wizard in his final move in Kansas, betrays his partner by jumping in the hot air balloon to get away from a very angry strongman husband whose wife has fallen for our conman’s charm. Of course he does this right as a twister approaches, which hurtles him and the balloon through a mighty storm to OZ.
When he lands in OZ, the colour is spectacular. This is of course is where the colour once again begins in the movie. Oz… a beautiful place. And someone is waiting for him, to guide him to the Emerald City. The prophecy has come true. The Great Wizard has come to save OZ from the Evil time.
Being the shady man he is, the ‘wizard’, see an opportunity to help himself and goes along.
In the beginning it’s difficult to work out which witch is which but as the movie unfolds you discover who becomes the wicked witch of the East ( who later is squashed by Dorothy’s house) and who is the green wicked witch of the West we get to know so well in the Wizard of OZ.
The kids did not move the entire time. The story held them captive and the new characters introduced, Little China girl and the talking flying monkey who befriends the Wizard, are great additions. It was long but didn’t feel that way unless of course you have the bladder the size of a pea and bought the giant drink at the concession stand. Everything about this movie was great. A clever storyline and a perfectly seamless entry into the second adventure with Dorothy, Toto, the lion, scarecrow and the Tinman…
I would easily watch it again. It was so visually stunning that I know some of the subtleties of the story were missed.
If you love the Wizard of Oz, if your children are older and don’t scare easily , I highly recommend going to see it. It’s not for kids under 6-7 because it gets pretty scary at times. And nobody wants to get up in the night because of a nightmare caused by a flying monkey.
Great film, worth seeing in the theatre.
Comments 3
My husband and I saw this movie. I thought it was very good but not really for my young kids. I scared me.
Author
yeah they can watch it when they’re older.
We enjoyed it, too. I will add, for those like me, who are not fans of special effects movies, that there was only one scene where I felt the plot dragged while the film rolled on for the sake of 3D effects (the scene where he first sees Oz). After that, the pacing was nicely done.