Oz, the Great and Powerful

Whether Disney’s last foray into the world of Oz was a success or not is a bit of a tricky subject. Return to Oz was a bit of a flop, but has been rehabilitated by history somewhat, and now has a cult following for its creepiness and 80s aesthetic.

I doubt that Oz the Great and Powerful will get the same treatment, for while its reviews, too, are mixed, and while I enjoyed it, it was very simple and straightforward, and lacks the quirkiness of a cult classic.

But I would still call it a good, enjoyable film that does what it’s meant to do. In similar territory to Wicked, but much more canonical and much less subversive (ignoring the musical adaptation I haven’t seen), it serves as a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (and The Wizard of Oz). The wizard comes to Oz as an ordinary illusionist (and womaniser), is taken as a leader, at first is impotent and unable to stand up to the witches who largely rule Oz as he finds it – and who he stirs to transition from string-pullers in a largely benevolent realm to vicious tyrants – but with help from his close friends comes up with a plan to use spectacle and illusion to become the Wizard. Which is exactly what I hoped for an exactly what I got.

That said, I was a little worried for the first half. OZPINHEAD himself is hard to like, a scoundrel and a shameless breaker of hearts, and the way the plot is established is extremely lazy – it’s a prophecy that takes Oz from any random person to potential Wizard, and the one who sees him arrive just happens to be one of the most important people in the country, apparently out for a stroll alone in some random deserted area.

It really changes when Oz meets the little China Girl, a tiny girl made of porcelain who is a neat mixture of classic refinement and modern affection for forceful girls – and let us not forget this is a film no feminist test is going to find wanting, even if it’s the male who is at the centre, saving the day. Finding the little broken girl is a turning point for the character – he has to become responsible, and he has someone who believes in him. He has been sent on a frankly daft mission by the Wicked Witch of the East (in disguise, of course), who uses the opportunity to make a Wicked Witch of her sister – and if the transition from black and white standard-definition to widescreen (techni)colour wasn’t enough of a nod to the first film, the green skin, broom and sibling relationship here (none of which was in Baum) make it clear this is intended more as prequel to the famous film than the famous book.

Oz’s companions may be no Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion (all of whom are obliquely referred to in some way), but the China Girl, cowardly monkey and, indeed, Glinda all serve a purpose and offer comic relief. Everything is a little slow until the very end, but the payoff is most certainly worth it.

There’s perhaps not quite enough heart here, and it’s all a bit clinical and by-the-numbers. True quirkiness seldom makes it through Hollywood rewrites these days, so don’t expect it. But accepting it as a product of its time and enjoying it as something simple and accessible, it is certainly to be enjoyed.