Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) Trailer

The premise of the movie is excellent as the story is developed with the background of the Wizard of Oz, the good witch and bad witches, the yellow brick road, the munchkins, and so on.

Oz is brought to the Land of Oz by the tornado. I love the fact that the movie starts in Academy ratio and in black-and-white. I correctly guessed that once Oz hits the Land of Oz, the aspect ratio would change to 16:9 and movie would be in color. Some audience was baffled when they see the first scene in black-and-white as the movie trailer has such vivid in color.

The plot is average because it is cliché and there are some plot holes. I am confused with whether Oz has given a music box to Evanora. Why does Evanora give the apple to Theodora? Why does Theodora want to keep her ugly face? Even Oz sees what she becomes, it doesn’t make him feel sorry. I don’t understand the reason for Glinda putting down her wand in the dark forest. Does she put it down to give a reason for Oz to steal? Moreover, the hot air balloon should have burnt once it hits the tornado. Logically, it cannot survive the tornado and land on the river. There are too many coincidences in the story which are too convenient for the writers. And I feel uncomfortable seeing the burning of the hot air balloon because it reminds me of the recent accident in the news.

Oz has apparent character arc but most of the characters are stereotypical. The bad witches are sinister and wear heavy makeup while the good witch wears white and cannot kill. It may be a rule of thumb that no character shall die in a Disney film. I almost thought that Glinda had used her magic to throw Evanora out of the window. But she is saved anyhow.

The dialogue is average in the movie with not many memorable quotes. I like the dialogue between Finley the monkey and Oz most. They are funny and I like the friendship that they develop.

I like the vibrant colors used in the movie. I could tell that most of the backgrounds are done by blue screen and CGI. The costumes and makeup of the village people heavily reminds me of Disneyland.

To conclude, this is not a movie that brings a lot of meaning to the table but a movie that is recommended for families. I watched the 3D version and it was a pleasant 2 hours and 10 minutes in the cinema.