Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 fantasy film that is intended to be a prequel to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Both films have been adapted from author L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz which was published in 1900. The prequel stars James Franco as the protagonist. Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, and Rachel Weisz star as the three witches. It is directed by Sam Raimi, with a script written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire.

Contents 1 Summary 2 Cast 3 What we know so far 4 Differences from the Books 5 Production Notes 6 Gallery 7 Videos 7.1 Cast and Crew Interviews 7.2 Trailers 8 External Links 9 References

Summary

When Oscar Diggs, a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot — fame and fortune are his for the taking — that is until he meets three witches, Theodora, Evanora and Glinda, who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity, and even a bit of wizardry, Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.^[1]

Cast

• James Franco as Oscar Diggs/ Oz Franco says about the character, “He’s kind of a cad. He’s a bit of a lothario, a seducer … In Oz he’s allowed a second chance.” ^[2]
• Mila Kunis as Theodora (The Wicked Witch Of The West)
• Michelle Williams as Annie / Glinda (The Good Witch Of The South)
• Rachel Weisz as Evanora (The Wicked Witch Of The East)
• Zach Braff as Frank and Finley
• Joey King as China Girl
• Abigail Spencer as Mrs. Hamilton
• Ted Raimi as Skeptic / Master Tinker
• Tony Cox as Knuck
• Tim Holmes as The Strong Man
• Martin Klebba as Nikko

What we know so far

• Oz: The Great and Powerful is a prequel of sorts, following the "wizard" and his path from a small-time circus magician to becoming the protector of the Emerald City.
• Tin Man and Scarecrow are absent from this film.^[3]
• Bruce Campbell (Ash from the Evil Dead series) makes a small, but humorous cameo.^[3]
• There are two different kinds of flying monkeys in the film, a witch-minion flying baboon army, as well as "nice" flying monkey(s) story separate from the baboons.^[3]

Differences from the Books

• The Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked Witch of the East and Glinda are portrayed as being sisters and the daughters of the former king of Oz while in the books they are not.
• Ozma, the canonical daughter of the former King of Oz, is never mentioned.
• The Wicked Witch of the West is portrayed as originally being good and having romantic feelings for the Wizard. It is also shown that she was transformed into the evil witch after eating a cursed green apple given to her by her evil sister. In the books she appears to have always been an evil hag with none of the character traits shown in the film.
• China Girl is shown to be able to travel outside of China Country. In the books, if a China Person leaves China Country they become stiff and immobile like dolls.
• Glinda has red hair in the books
• The Quadlings nor Quadling Country show any signs of the color red in either their clothing, architecture or landscape, while in the books, the color red is very prominent in their land and personal appearance.
• The Wizard comes from Kansas instead of Omaha.
• In the books, the Wizard had the Emerald City built after his arrival. In this movie, the Emerald City already exists prior to his coming to Oz.

Production Notes

• Before Sam Raimi signed on to make the film, directors Sam Mendes and Adam Shankman were also reported to be top candidates.
• In June 2011, Danny Elfman was chosen to compose the music for the film, a surprising choice considering that he and Raimi had a falling out over Spider-Man 2 and vowed to never work with each other again.
• According to a reporter for Deadline Hollywood, the film's distributor wanted to reduce the film's production budget to about $200 million.
• Robert Downey, Jr. was Raimi's first choice for the part of Oz. When Downey declined, Johnny Depp was linked to the role. By the end of February 2011, James Franco was in final negotiations to star in this film.
• Principal photography for Oz: The Great and Powerful began July 2011 in Pontiac, Michigan. Casting calls were put out for locals looking to be extras.
• Sam Raimi has revealed that Bruce Campbell (Ash from the Evil Dead series) makes a small, but humorous cameo. Sam's younger brother Ted also has a small role, these two actors have been something of a staple in Raimi's previous films.^[3]
• Raimi promises that this movie would be a departure from his usual horror-filled flicks, instead calling it a "family movie" with an uplifting feel.^[3]

Gallery

Videos

Cast and Crew Interviews

Oz the Great and Powerful - Mila Kunis Interview(00:37)
335 views

Trailers

External Links

• Official Site
• IMDb page

References

Films and Television
Silent Films	The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) • His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) • The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) • The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Modern Live-Action	The Wizard of Oz (1939) • The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969) • 20th Century Oz (1976) • The Wiz (1978) • Return to Oz (1985) • Lost in Oz (2002) • The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) • Tin Man (2007) • La Maga (2008) • Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2011) • Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
Cartoons	Journey Back to Oz (1974) • Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz • Ozu no Mahoutsukai • Lion of Oz (1985) • The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz (1990) • The Oz Kids (1996) • Tom and Jerry & the Wizard of Oz (2011) • Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)
Shorts	Beef Ravioli commercials (2006) • After Oz (2007)