by Cal Wilson ’14

An attempt at a prequel to the “Wizard of Oz”, “Oz the Great and Powerful” follows the magician Oz (James Franco) as he travels through the similarly named Land of Oz, in which he partakes in a quest to save the Emerald City from its evil rulers and become king. The experienced cast and high quality computer animation were entertaining but flaws stood out nonetheless.

For those unfamiliar with the land of Oz, it is a magical land that one is swept away to via tornado. Amateur circus magician “The Great and Powerful Oz” is unlucky enough to fly directly into a hurricane in his hot air balloon, which transports him to the Land of Oz.

There are four witches in Oz, one for every direction on a compass, along with a multitude of creative characters ranging from flying monkeys to munchkins. A wizard is prophesized to travel to the land of Oz and free the Emerald City from the two evil witches controlling the land, but there is only one problem with the arrival of this wizard: he cannot actually perform magic like the witches. Oz makes allies as well as enemies along his journey but ultimately struggles with whether he wants to be a good man or a great man.

The advanced acting evoked strong emotion-charged scenes, no doubt due to the experienced cast on set. Strong actors include James Franco, Zack Braff and Tony Cox as well as actresses like Rachel Weisz from “The Borne Legacy” and “The Mummy” and Mila Kunis from “That 70s Show” and “No Strings Attached”.

Surprisingly, it seemed Mila Kunis was the least suited for her role as the evil witch Theodora. The witch, even at her ugliest in the movie, was still attractive, lacking the boils, warts and poofy hair associated with the ugliness of a classic, cackling, broom-riding witch. Kunis’ acting lacked a certain hatred and anger portrayed by the Wicked Witch of the West in the original “Wizard of Oz”.

The movie does a good job sticking to the classic Oz world, and even alludes to the first movie multiple times. “Oz the Great and Powerful” is a fun movie guaranteed to entertain whoever the audience.