Oz the Great and Powerful is Disney's attempt to re-imagine the origins of the major characters in the classic children's novel. (Is it just me, or is there just more and more origins and reboots recently? The last two X-Men movies… The Hobbit… Amazing Spider-Man… Three Stooges… Dredd… Oh well…)
Anyway, after decades worth of adaptations, this is the first one in recent memory -- or perhaps ever -- that focuses on, well, the Wizard of Oz himself. This I find really odd. With "Wizard" in the title of the novels, films, and shows, you'd think that the wizard will be the star of the story. But no, that's not the case. Despite the namesake, he is playing second banana to Dorothy and, as in the case of the musical Wicked, to the witches.
Well, this movie changes that I guess. Oscar Diggs, small-time circus magician and future Wizard of Oz, is right there, front and center. It's a fresh take on a classic, and a good one at that. With the star-studded cast, and veteran storytellers at the helm, this one promises to be a great film to watch.
