Most sequels and prequels swiftly follow their predecessors, capitalising upon the popularity of their inspiration. However, not all second efforts are created so promptly. When Return to Oz, the sequel to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, was released in 1985, it earned the honour of most belated follow-up. Prequel Oz the Great and Powerful has now trumped that record, arriving in cinemas 74 years after its forebear.
Such a passage of time is often accompanied by uncertainty regarding the tone and style of the new work. The beloved nature of the original flavours the outcome; crafting a fresh chapter while remaining respectful of previous material is a delicate balancing act. These difficulties show in Oz the Great and Powerful, despite the best efforts of director Sam Raimi (Drag Me to Hell) and writers Mitchell Kapner (The Whole Ten Yards) and David Lindsay-Abaire (Rise of the Guardians). Always in the shadow of its predecessor, the film merges the old and new with mixed results.
Before Dorothy Gale was whisked from Kansas to Oz by cyclonic winds, another interloper made the same journey. Fleeing unhappy carnival folk, magician and conman Oscar ‘Oz’ Diggs (James Franco, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) takes to the skies in a hot air balloon; his voyage proves bumpy, and his destination unlikely. Upon arrival, he befriends Theodora (Mila Kunis, Ted) and Evanora (Rachel Weisz, The Bourne Legacy), witches charged with restoring order to the enchanted land. They anoint Oz their saviour, however another witch (Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz) stands in their way.
Oz the Great and Powerful is overt in its allusions to the The Wizard of Oz, from the green-tinted, square-framed Kansas prologue that converts to widescreen and vivid colour when the land of Oz comes into play, to its similarly unconventional characters (a china girl instead of a tin man, for example), and the recurrent thematic struggle. While not all references are successful, their inclusion illustrates the care with which the film was crafted, and its constant cognisance of the original.
The throwback touches – familiar locales and characters among them – are endearing, cultivating a nostalgic audience response. That reminiscence helps mask the film’s many inconsistencies in mood and humour, as well as its meandering narrative and inflated running time. Similar contrasts mark the visual spectacle, the impressive use of 3D undone by an over-reliance on CGI. The script, too, flits from family-friendly fun to devilish drama, an unconvincing combination.
Amid the uneasy mix of idolatry and enthusiasm sits smatterings of charm, aiding the feature’s mostly enjoyable air. Fine performances from Weisz and Williams compensate for Franco’s varying display, the latter only proving his effectiveness at the film’s climax. A Zach Braff-voiced offsider elicits several laughs, even if the surrounding dialogue is overtly clunky. Oz the Great and Powerful may not be the prequel its predecessor deserves, but it is a whimsical, wistful and warm attempt at continuing L. Frank Baum’s legacy.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Oz the Great and Powerful
Director: Sam Raimi
USA, 2013, 130 min
In cinemas March 7
Distributor: Disney
Rated PG
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