10 years have passed and I may be one of the few people who still remembers this movie. So much so I even purchased it on DVD shortly after its theatrical release. What I liked best about it was James Franco’s character arc.
There have been a few comments who have shown love for this film. It definitely had appeal and intrigue since it had a big box office takeaway. I think, unfortunately, Franco is both good and bad for a possible franchise. He's a great actor that nobody is interested in working with now.
Sadly b3cause of the unproved statements of 5 women whose allegations may or may not have been true. And very tired of the cancel culture in Hollywood. While victimizing a victim is wrong. Always believe the (alleged)victim is wrong as well. There are people who will lie for notoriety and money
I only have ONE very vivid memory of this movie; I was on a flight to Orlando to visit Disney when the plane entered a storm. That's when in the movie the tornado scene happened. I was getting the most frightening motion simulation experience yet! In order to keep myself calm, I was extremely focused on the movie in my screen. The movie was long enough to calm me down till we landed safely. THAT'S the main memory I have of this movie and all it took was flying through a storm to get it to become a core memory...
I had a similar experience on a flight to Savannah, except the film was the Barbie movie and the scene was towards the end…when the Billie Eilish song starts…”I used to float, now I’m just falling”…and the plane literally lost serious altitude in severe turbulence caused by a storm.
Compared to every Disney adaptation these days, Oz was a landmark. They don't even use "munchkins" and "dwarves" anymore for example. Mila Kunis played the jealous-raged fire witch perfectly with her screeching voice. Theodora was also a great name for the Wicked Witch I felt. Being burned by her own water tears was a great attention to detail. She is driven by her anger so she cannot cry to burn herself. Sure some of the scenes dragged on and the conclusion could have used more witch fights, but I do wish this had a sequel.
To Return to Oz's credit, it wasn't trying to replicate the '39 original. Instead it was mainly focused on following the books more closely, which is why it has a somewhat eerie feel to it and no musical numbers. As it stands, it's an incredibly underappreciated film well worth checking out. As for Oz the Great and Powerful, it occupies a weird middle ground between the 2. On the one hand, utilizing a darker tone and leaving the musical numbers by the wayside, while simultaneously referencing the iconography of the '39 version and directly setting itself up as a prequel of sorts by the end. I think its main problem (aside from the generic, undercooked story) is how miscast James Franco and Mila Kunis were as Oz and the Wicked Witch. If their roles were occupied by more fitting talents, I think the movie would have been regarded more positively. Honestly though, I'm just dying for someone to adapt all the L. Frank Baum books into movies or a tv show. The land of Oz is just too absorbing of a fantasy world not to explore
The MGM movie wasn't "the original." That honor belongs to a 1910 three-reeler produced by the Selig Company. MGM's movie was the third big-screen version of the story.
I remember seeing Oz The Great And Powerful in theaters and now looking back on in 10 years later I have a fondness for it. Sam Raimi made The land of Oz his own. I bought the Blu-ray recently. I wish this was on Disney Plus like Return To Oz is. I find this to be underrated
I don't dislike this film. Revisiting it for this video, I now have a bit of a connection to it and a soft spot for what it was trying to achieve. Disney, however, probably wants to distance itself from it. It's a shame, considering how excited they were to create more Oz films and expand it into their theme parks and television. Maybe someone will give it another shot sometime down the line.
Actually the 1939 adaptation of it was kind of a flop in its time. It didn't recoup its production cost in the 1939 release, and so was shelved and forgotten for ten years. They did rerelease it ten years later in 1949 and that did help it to just recoup its production cost, but it never got any kind of traction until about 1960 as it was a tradition to show it once a year on tv starting in 1956. THEN it started to become big from that tradition. So for 20 years it was a flop film too.
In the original L. Frank Baum book, there is a segment of the land of Oz called "China Country," inhabited by little people made of porcelain/china, so Sam Raimi was staying true to the source material, but that element is not very well-known. So China Girl is one of those porcelain people.
The worst thing about this film to me, aside from the lead, was the fact that it was so cavalier with the source material. In L. Frank Baum’s original book series, that inspired the 1939 film, every female character is nuanced, most of them are powerful leaders, and they all have unique goals and wants that aren’t tied to romance. Oz the Great and Powerful essentially did a 180 to this turning Glinda, who in the original book series was a cross between Galadriel and Athena, into a shell of the original character who is able to be captured, and made a love triangle the center of the story where in the original book series romance was far from anyone’s mind. I won’t even get in to what they did to the Wicked Witch of the West…..
This is where the Broadway show works. It's emphasis is on the women of Oz. This movie struggles to give the female "leads" enough time on screen as the main focus is always on James Franco's character.
I liked the movie. Being a prequel, it was establishing Oz as OZ. I liked the drama, the humor, and the tear jerking moments. I laughed when Oz told the Munkins to stop singing. I understood the joke. Telling them to stop gets you back into the movie, while when they were singing, it was giving a knod to the original.
There is a lot to like about this film. On it's own, it has a ton of charm. For me, it's just unfortunate that it's trying to be part of a legacy with one of the greatest films ever made. Nothing can reach that.
I do wonder if you're overstating just how perfect the original film was. It did fine when it came out, but I don't think it was considered an instant classic or anything. I think it developed its reputation in the 50s, when it started to be repeated once a year on TV. Its the repetition and the childhood nostalgia that made it a cultural icon. That and the lack of anything else like it
I disagree with you on so much I watched the original and this new film had me going back. We don’t need everything to be a musical and the special effects made the movie. Loved it
I didn't forget about Oz the Great and Powerful, I even have the DVD. I think it is a good not great movie. Also, try reading the Oz book, that is some crazy stuff.
I did quite a bit of reading and film viewing for this video. It's all pretty insane. It's incredible how those books have been interpreted and what they left out. Ultimately, I still prefer the 1939 film, and I didn't forget the film either, but I needed a solid title and it does feel like the majority of people forgot that film.
I've not forgotten about it, I loved the film. I even quote Oz from the film often when talking about filmmaking when stating how important presentation is.
I still remember my Nan talking about the original WoO with such wonder. She had only watched the film in black and white as my family weren’t well off enough to have a colour TV set early on. So when they became more readily available in the UK, the first time it went from black and white to colour completely blew her mind.
@@ModernMouse it was always one of her favourites and is very dear to my heart which is I think why I have no time for these darker and IMHO more drab versions, the original was just pure joy for me and my family. Although it does make me sad to think what some of the cast went through to bring us that joy. Kaz Rowe’s video on the dark history of the film was really good!
Nice look into Oz the Great and Powerful!!! It’s been a while since I’ve seen this movie, but with Wicked coming out in theatres, I planning on revisiting all the Wizard of Oz films best I can.
Disney wasn't that far removed from Burton's Alice in Wonderland and it as a runaway box office success so I wouldn't be surprised if Disney gave Sam Raimi a ton of notes to make the Oz film more like Burton's Wonderland.
Oh Joe forgot to mention in Ad-Joe cent that Judy Garland was pulled to the side off set and slapped by the director and told her to get back to work after she was joking around and laughing a lot while filming The Wizard of Oz
When I initially made this video, I mostly wanted to give the run time to the original Wizard of Oz film justaposed against the Great and Powerful. When I started naming other examples, I tried to name a few, but not all of them. Honestly, I spaced that Zelena was in Once Upon a Time because I stopped watching the show regularly after season 3, but I do now remember that they added Oz into the show. Sorry!
It's difficult to talk about movies as old as The Wizard of Oz because people generally don't have a concept of time and history. When they hear a fact like "The Wizard of Oz is the first color film" they just think it sounds true. To go even further and talk about sound and color and the process of how those two things came to be, that's something I couldn't fit into this video. It didn't make sense to, but the history behind both is absolutely fascinating.
@@ModernMouse Oh indeed, if you expanded on every little fine point the video would likely be longer than both OZ The Great And Powerful and The Wizard Of OZ's combined runtimes. Just thought I would comment an addendum from the peanut gallery as a fun fact. It is an interesting thing though how a lot of these untruths about these movies start and I like the idea of some of them, like imagine you had no concept of a movie being in colour and then you saw The Wizard Of OZ. The closest thing to that I have heard of was that there were people with Black and White TV's who saw The Wizard Of OZ for the first time in the 1950's and early 1960's when it was first broadcast and in so doing, those people did not even know until years later that it was in colour. Great video by the way.
I don't feel like there's a lot of mystery here. Most films aren't remembered all that well ten years later. What we do remember about them is whatever makes them distinctive: the unique world or characters that they introduced. And this film didn't introduce Oz The whole point of the movie was to reference a world we already knew, so there's not much to make the film memorable on its own
I couldn't forget this movie because I'd never heard of it until yesterday; but when I did I immediately found + watched it on youtube. Though it doesn't follow any one OZ book i think it's one of the better adaptations of books, and a better Disney film than so many of their tired live action remakes and sequels that even Tim Burton and all the CGI in the world can't breathe any life into. The plot was decent, made sense in the overall context of the books and was more coherent than many of the books' plots, which can wander all over the place as Baum just tossed in the next thing to pop into his head (he knew his young readers weren't very critical of plot, they just wanted a bunch of trippy shit); nor was he too concerned with continuity in the series overall. I liked the China girl; nice to see the china village that I remember from the books on screen. What I really want to see is a film version of the 2nd book, MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ, even though RETURN TO OZ covered much of it; with the genesis of Princess Ozma (the boy Tip turning into her oughtta get Matt Walsh screaming): and General Jinjur's All Girl Army (Mr Baum was a total feminist; Too bad he was also a racist advocating a final solution to the Native American Question...) would be fun to see.
In comparison to some of the live action remakes, you are right that this film isn't bad. The issue is that the 1939 classic has really become what people think of with Oz rather than the books for better or for worse so that was what I thought could launch this video. I personally love the weirdness of Return to Oz. I'm not as familiar with the books so I'm glad that it has elements of what you'd like to see because some of those characters are ones I'd love to see on screen again.
Great analysis, as always, but there is one aspect of the original that I think should be mentioned. For many, especially those of us trapped in that interstitial space between Boomers and Gen X, watching the Wizard of Oz was an annual childhood tradition. It was broadcast as a "Special Presentation" each Fall. As this annual broadcast was the only time most of us could see it, it became kind of a big deal almost akin to "It's a Wonderful Life." And you don't mess with Childhood Traditions. The other thing is that 2013 was also Peak "Wicked," and I think that sucked a lot of the air out of the room. At the time I recall that there were some that actually got the two confused, and there can only be one.
If you look back at every time Disney tries to remake OZ they go dark for some reason. I'm a huge fan of The Return to Oz from the 80's. I also understand that movie is really different and most don't like it. But I became a fan in the very early 90's as a kid. I don't know if I would feel the same without the nostalgic factor. Edit: I should have waited a little longer. They just mentioned The Return to Oz lol
It is quite interesting. I'm glad that this film did stick with the classic film in that the actors double as people in Oz and in the black and white world too!
There are a few reasons why I always thought people forgot about this film. First was because of James Franco’s problematic behavior that we would learn about a few years later. Second was because I remember there was a faction of people who weren’t pleased with Mila’s casting as the witch because her voice is so heavily associated with Meg Griffin from Family Guy. And therefore they couldn’t take her performance seriously. Third, the premise of Oz The Great and Powerful is the story of the witches before Dorothy came to Oz. That concept was already done in Wicked, and that was and still is engraved into people’s minds as cannon. And this film gives its own interpretation completely ignoring Wicked. And Wicked was such a phenomenon that it’s difficult to over shadow or rise above that. I do remember people were most pleased by Rachel Weisz’s performance in the film. And I agree, she stole the whole movie. I don’t think Oz the Great and Powerful will garner the same cult fandom as Return to Oz, but maybe it will? Who knows?
Just had a run in with this movie yesterday, got recommended a clip on here and I was like oh yeah I remember that movie. I remembered that i actually enjoyed the film. Kind of forgot about it, not the movies fault. I won't forget it now, I went an bought it on Amazon haha.
@@ModernMouse thanks! I know I'm looking forward to seeing what's on there. Interesting points on your video BTW. I liked the wizard of oz, no doubt its a classic but I wasn't really all that into it. Kind of why I forgot about this film. Don't get me wrong Wizard of Oz is a great movie and I actually enjoyed oz the great and powerful. I agree, the 1939 one is no doubt the most memorable, every now an then I whistle a tune from it like I watched it the other day 😂 but when I watched oz great and powerful again it all came back to me. I was reminded of when I saw it back then being bummed to see Theodora the really pretty one being the one to be the witch and how it came to be. Sorry for the big paragraph!
Well the reason why the movie(s) starts off in black and white then transition into color is because that's how Kansas and OZ is described in the book...The book describes Kansas as a dark, gray, and gloomy place and OZ is described as a colorful, playful place
I remember I went to the movies to see Oz, I liked it, I think it was a good origin story of the wizard. But, Wicked the musical and book already existed, so, I think they should have tried to mix up with that perhaps? I never paid attention to the fact this movie has.zero songs!
Shouldn't you also be comparing Return to Oz and Wicked to the original film? I just rewatched this movie for the first time since its release and I really enjoyed it. Also, the Munchkins did have a very brief musical number in the movie and it was pretty funny.
The goal of this video was just to focus on Oz the Great and Powerful. I never intended to make a complete overview. In the future, I may talk about Wicked or Return to Oz more in depth so I appreciate you bringing them up. It shows that there is interest in those films and for me to revisit this idea with those properties.
I cannot watch the wizard of oz I can’t sit down in a musical for that long … I actually enjoyed the prequel much more 12:52 I wanted kunis to return to her normal theadora self 😢
@ModernMouse I hear they’re making a reimagining of Wizard of Oz to follow up but I would do another chapter before that. Oscar establishing himself as the wizard. The ruby slippers could be put into play here for a way to Evanora to restore her powers and seek revenge on Glinda and Oscar. Evanora tries to reconcile with Theodora and recruit her. Theodora agrees but it is all a ploy so that when Evanora fails, she’ll get the ruby slippers. After a battle, it seems Evanora is about to win. That’s when Dorothy’s house falls on her and kills her. Roll credits. Then a remake of the original to wrap up a trilogy.
@ModernMouse Also, due to Evanora’s new found powers, and Theodora’s rage towards Oscar; they somehow manage to break his spirit. Due to that, he and Glinda have a falling out and go their separate ways. After that he hides away in the emerald city and goes back to being the coward he was before. Hence it would make sense why he is the way he is, and hears of Dorothy killing Evanora and that’s what makes him give the task of Dorothy killing Theodora. One last thing, due to the sisters wreaking havoc in Oz, breaking Oscar and their relationship ending and Oscar abandoning her; Glinda becomes slightly bitter and jaded underneath her normal demeanor. So when she sees Dorothy arrive in Oz by unintentionally killing Evanora, she sees an opportunity to manipulate Dorothy into going to the Emerald City to see Oscar and from there kill Theodora. Glinda ultimately will win. With the sisters both dead, she gets revenge for her father and for them playing a part in her and Oscar’s relationship falling apart. Last but not least getting revenge on Oscar by getting him exposed, but in doing so helps him find who he was and realizing it’s time to find a way home.
I’m sorry to say I don’t agree with your it has to be musical and upbeat take because the oz books are far from that soooooo yeah return to oz and oz the great and powerful are more accurate to the feel and vibe of oz that’s why they went with Sam raimi because he would be good at creating that vibe
I completely get this and while I appreciate both separately, everyone will continue to judge every Oz project based on the MGM film. Similarly, many people judge the Tim Burton Wonderland films against the animated version from the 1950s or how each new version of Spiderman or Batman gets judged against the previous iterations of the characters and stories. It's a natural connection that people make even though they are not "canonically" related.
@@ModernMouse I take each Oz film on its own merits, especially given that the MGM movie came 39 years after the book, during which time there were two other movie versions of "Wizard" and in all seven Oz-based movies, two of them produced by L. Frank Baum himself. There were also three radio series, a multimedia presentation by Baum, and a stage extravaganza beginning in 1902 that was still fresh in many people's memories. Indeed, many people judged the MGM film by that very stage show! 🙂
Awesome video 📹 as always Josh I love the honorable respect you gave my favorite film of all time The 1939 Wizard of Oz film I still don't believe no other Oz film can ever hold a candle to the original 1939 film but Oz the Great and Powerful was still good as a nice watchable experience I have to respectfully disagree with you on The Muppets Wizard of Oz being fun and enjoyable I didn't like that film I thought it was inappropriate and weird and even very dated by today's standard even though it was a TV movie
@ModernMouse very much so I love Ashanti as a singer but her acting in that film was lifeless and Miss Piggy was indeed a glory hog for hogging up all the roles she played like 5 characters talk about ego tripping
I think the problem is that every film tries to “reimagine” Oz…. Can they just, not? Maybe try films based on the other original books finally. At least Mariah Carey sang her ass off on this film’s theme song.
I totally spaced that Mariah Carey song! In truth, I don't mind revisiting the land of Oz, but studios have to respect that audiences likely expect it to connect to the most popular version of the story from the 1930s. If it doesn't, it won't connect with people. If they want to make something like Oz the Great and Powerful, just come up with a place that is original, but if you want to do a proper Oz film I think it has to be a classic movie musical....but even that is a hard task.
Ironicly i think Wicked would be as iconic if it wasnt so expensive.wich is wher the 2 Part movie adaptation is coming in. It will adapt the musicle why Aldingen things from the book it adaptet that work well in the film. And people seam exitet
i can only speak for myself but.... i avoided this movie because it was a prequel. it wasnt dorothys journey into oz where in the film the wizard is the traveling fortune teller or the tinman and lion and scarecrow were the other people around her. the witch being the mean lady wanting to take the dog away. that alone kinda gives you an interpretation that its all from her experience and imagination after being knocked out by a window as for the criticisms of the lack of cheerful tone.... the book wasnt all cheerful and song numbers either. i mean the tinman alone was once human and his cursed axe cut off all his own limbs and torso and head and was rebuilt into tin and they forgot to give him a heart so he couldnt feel human emotions like Love. not to mention the scarecrow killing birds. the lion killing a sleeping spider. i think thats why Return to Oz has a cult following and later adaptions keep having that darker tone. because the books also have a dark tone to them.
As a fan of the book, I have a mixed feeling about this movie. The negative: - James Franco as Oz make me cringe. I think its a miscast. His charaxter is not written well as well. I am not against him having one of the witch as love interest nor i have any problem with womanizer character like James bond or Indiana Jones but it didnt work for this movie. Oz is such an ass that it make me hard to love him. - The reason Theodora become evil is also the one I dislike. This is a book where the female character take a spotlights including all the witches. So her being a simp to Oz and become a women scorbed because of love betrayal seems a bit off. it might work with other stories but not this one. The positive: - Visual. This is probably the best version of the land of oz i seen. I think they capture the feels of Oz. In contrast to Wonderland that seems desolsted and bizzare, Oz is what I call a staple fantasy land with more brighter lighting. There is flower, pasture, greeneries, castle, basic magical creatures, rainbows, and always sunny. - The Witches. The best part of the movies. I rather watch the stories focused on them than Oz. This bersion of Glinda is much closer to the book as well. - The China Girl. Adorable. Enough said. - The costumes especially the witches. - Looking at the details and the concept art, there are few things from the book that never appear in 1939 movie. for eg: the witches associate with jewelry (Glinda is associate with ruby in the book), the China Town, The Iron Giant (deleted scene), Whimsy. Overall, i think the fans of the book will like it or have mix feeling about it at least for visual. But if it were me, I would revise the script, make it connected to Return to Oz.
@@ModernMouse Also just want to add. Positive: Mr. Tinker is also a character from the book and responsible for the creation of the Tinman. He is the owner of Mr Smith and Tinker company. So another character from the book that rarely made appearances in other Oz adaptation. Negative: Not so much a negative, but regarding the character Knuck. I like the charcter but i think the character should have been named Boq instead. He is the Munchkin Dorothy encounter before she followed the Yellow Brick Road. There are so many character from the book that they dont need to create new character.
Revisiting this film, I had a good time with it, but I recognize that it's not as popular as the 1939 film, nor does it ever come close. think that most people have forgotten this movie, and I felt like I needed to know why.
I feel like this movie really did the wicked witch dirty, and Oz was a very unlikable main character, especially for how he was indirectly responsible for the creation of the wicked witch, and for some reason he ends up being the hero, and the wicked witch ends up being the bad guy with no redemption? I hate to say it but it was evidently written by privileged white guys
82nd the Movie LEFT US Hanging ......it just needs One last Installment before Dorothy Arrives.....when WWW and WWE left OZ ..they also left that HUGE CRYSTAL BALL Behind (which is in the Original Movie ) - I thought they should have the next Installment - where the WWW gives her sister the "RUBY" slippers to regain POWER....and also steals back the Crystal Ball, and Kidnaps China Doll..while doing so...( The Wizard Loves her ) ....and in the Process - she is KIlled/ Broken-Smashed......Hence: the 'Older" Wizard telling Dorothy years later - BRING me the Broomstick of the WWW....knowing she WILL Have to DIE to get it / hence his REVENGE for the Death of China Doll....and the Movie ends..with WWW seeing in her Crystal Ball...her sister WWE getting KILLED-Flattened by Dorothy's House........FADE OUT!
I know people either love or hate Sam Raimi and I'll admit that not everything he's ever made has connected with me but I can't deny his visions for films like the Evil Dead series, Drag Me to Hell, or even the first two Spiderman films. I understand why, at that time, Disney was interested in him coming in and working on this film. He has a knack for powerful and interesting looking visuals. Unfortunately I just don't think he was the guy for a story about the Wizard of Oz.
See all of Season 2 here --- tinyurl.com/4y4uf6w8
Who's your favorite Wizard of Oz character?
Oscar Diggs.
I actually owned a Cairn Terrier because of Toto. But, at least I had the sense to give her a different name.
The Wicked Witch of the West
10 years have passed and I may be one of the few people who still remembers this movie. So much so I even purchased it on DVD shortly after its theatrical release. What I liked best about it was James Franco’s character arc.
There have been a few comments who have shown love for this film. It definitely had appeal and intrigue since it had a big box office takeaway. I think, unfortunately, Franco is both good and bad for a possible franchise. He's a great actor that nobody is interested in working with now.
I actually loved this movie. It made some sense. It was enjoyable. And don’t be disrespectful to James Franco. He is very talented
Sadly b3cause of the unproved statements of 5 women whose allegations may or may not have been true. And very tired of the cancel culture in Hollywood. While victimizing a victim is wrong. Always believe the (alleged)victim is wrong as well. There are people who will lie for notoriety and money
If you’re doing an Oz remake. You must have music. It’s a musical plane and simple.
Ironically I was just thinking about this movie yesterday. I think it’s really one of those “lives or dies by it’s lead” movies.
2013 was like peak James Franco too. I feel like Disney believed he would be such a big deal for them.
I only have ONE very vivid memory of this movie; I was on a flight to Orlando to visit Disney when the plane entered a storm. That's when in the movie the tornado scene happened. I was getting the most frightening motion simulation experience yet! In order to keep myself calm, I was extremely focused on the movie in my screen. The movie was long enough to calm me down till we landed safely. THAT'S the main memory I have of this movie and all it took was flying through a storm to get it to become a core memory...
That's an insane situation! I hope you or I never have to deal with that again. Wow! What an attachment to this film.
What a memory to have. I’ve been on flights like that before. What an interesting story. Keep faith now, there’s no place like home.
This is my favorite comment on this video.
I had a similar experience on a flight to Savannah, except the film was the Barbie movie and the scene was towards the end…when the Billie Eilish song starts…”I used to float, now I’m just falling”…and the plane literally lost serious altitude in severe turbulence caused by a storm.
Compared to every Disney adaptation these days, Oz was a landmark. They don't even use "munchkins" and "dwarves" anymore for example. Mila Kunis played the jealous-raged fire witch perfectly with her screeching voice. Theodora was also a great name for the Wicked Witch I felt. Being burned by her own water tears was a great attention to detail. She is driven by her anger so she cannot cry to burn herself.
Sure some of the scenes dragged on and the conclusion could have used more witch fights, but I do wish this had a sequel.
To Return to Oz's credit, it wasn't trying to replicate the '39 original. Instead it was mainly focused on following the books more closely, which is why it has a somewhat eerie feel to it and no musical numbers. As it stands, it's an incredibly underappreciated film well worth checking out.
As for Oz the Great and Powerful, it occupies a weird middle ground between the 2. On the one hand, utilizing a darker tone and leaving the musical numbers by the wayside, while simultaneously referencing the iconography of the '39 version and directly setting itself up as a prequel of sorts by the end. I think its main problem (aside from the generic, undercooked story) is how miscast James Franco and Mila Kunis were as Oz and the Wicked Witch. If their roles were occupied by more fitting talents, I think the movie would have been regarded more positively.
Honestly though, I'm just dying for someone to adapt all the L. Frank Baum books into movies or a tv show. The land of Oz is just too absorbing of a fantasy world not to explore
The MGM movie wasn't "the original." That honor belongs to a 1910 three-reeler produced by the Selig Company. MGM's movie was the third big-screen version of the story.
I remember seeing Oz The Great And Powerful in theaters and now looking back on in 10 years later I have a fondness for it. Sam Raimi made The land of Oz his own. I bought the Blu-ray recently. I wish this was on Disney Plus like Return To Oz is. I find this to be underrated
I don't dislike this film. Revisiting it for this video, I now have a bit of a connection to it and a soft spot for what it was trying to achieve. Disney, however, probably wants to distance itself from it. It's a shame, considering how excited they were to create more Oz films and expand it into their theme parks and television. Maybe someone will give it another shot sometime down the line.
It's on Disney Plus now!
It finally is.
Actually the 1939 adaptation of it was kind of a flop in its time. It didn't recoup its production cost in the 1939 release, and so was shelved and forgotten for ten years. They did rerelease it ten years later in 1949 and that did help it to just recoup its production cost, but it never got any kind of traction until about 1960 as it was a tradition to show it once a year on tv starting in 1956. THEN it started to become big from that tradition. So for 20 years it was a flop film too.
In the original L. Frank Baum book, there is a segment of the land of Oz called "China Country," inhabited by little people made of porcelain/china, so Sam Raimi was staying true to the source material, but that element is not very well-known. So China Girl is one of those porcelain people.
The worst thing about this film to me, aside from the lead, was the fact that it was so cavalier with the source material. In L. Frank Baum’s original book series, that inspired the 1939 film, every female character is nuanced, most of them are powerful leaders, and they all have unique goals and wants that aren’t tied to romance. Oz the Great and Powerful essentially did a 180 to this turning Glinda, who in the original book series was a cross between Galadriel and Athena, into a shell of the original character who is able to be captured, and made a love triangle the center of the story where in the original book series romance was far from anyone’s mind. I won’t even get in to what they did to the Wicked Witch of the West…..
This is where the Broadway show works. It's emphasis is on the women of Oz. This movie struggles to give the female "leads" enough time on screen as the main focus is always on James Franco's character.
Yes! This is what killed the movie for me.
@@ModernMouseIt’s called “Oz the Great and Powerful”.
The focus is on Oscar Diggs.
I liked the movie. Being a prequel, it was establishing Oz as OZ. I liked the drama, the humor, and the tear jerking moments. I laughed when Oz told the Munkins to stop singing. I understood the joke. Telling them to stop gets you back into the movie, while when they were singing, it was giving a knod to the original.
There is a lot to like about this film. On it's own, it has a ton of charm. For me, it's just unfortunate that it's trying to be part of a legacy with one of the greatest films ever made. Nothing can reach that.
"I've seen it but never thought about it afterward." Same here.
I was pretty sure this was relatable for most people, but I'm glad this landed for you. I'd feel like a fool if I was the only one that thought it.
I do wonder if you're overstating just how perfect the original film was. It did fine when it came out, but I don't think it was considered an instant classic or anything. I think it developed its reputation in the 50s, when it started to be repeated once a year on TV. Its the repetition and the childhood nostalgia that made it a cultural icon. That and the lack of anything else like it
I disagree with you on so much I watched the original and this new film had me going back. We don’t need everything to be a musical and the special effects made the movie. Loved it
Yeah, it wasn't a prequel of the movie, it was a prequel of the books. It's a movie for Oz nerds.
And what about return to oz?
I didn't forget about Oz the Great and Powerful, I even have the DVD. I think it is a good not great movie. Also, try reading the Oz book, that is some crazy stuff.
I did quite a bit of reading and film viewing for this video. It's all pretty insane. It's incredible how those books have been interpreted and what they left out. Ultimately, I still prefer the 1939 film, and I didn't forget the film either, but I needed a solid title and it does feel like the majority of people forgot that film.
I rather enjoyed this especially when the lights go out in town and oz appears
I've not forgotten about it, I loved the film. I even quote Oz from the film often when talking about filmmaking when stating how important presentation is.
I still remember my Nan talking about the original WoO with such wonder. She had only watched the film in black and white as my family weren’t well off enough to have a colour TV set early on. So when they became more readily available in the UK, the first time it went from black and white to colour completely blew her mind.
What a great story! I'm sure seeing it in color like that was crazy. There's really nothing like it. It's still magical all of these years later.
@@ModernMouse it was always one of her favourites and is very dear to my heart which is I think why I have no time for these darker and IMHO more drab versions, the original was just pure joy for me and my family. Although it does make me sad to think what some of the cast went through to bring us that joy. Kaz Rowe’s video on the dark history of the film was really good!
I like this movie but doesn't come close to the 1939 film and i haven't read the novels yet
The best Disney Oz movie will always be Return to Oz
Nice look into Oz the Great and Powerful!!! It’s been a while since I’ve seen this movie, but with Wicked coming out in theatres, I planning on revisiting all the Wizard of Oz films best I can.
It was fun revisiting some of these movies and reading about some of the history. The 1939 film is still absolutely charming!
@@ModernMouse I agree!
I don't see how an obvious painted backdrop is any more real and convincing than the obvious greenscreen
Well, this movie was made by Sam Raimi. This movie feels more like it was made by Tim Burton than Sam Raimi.
Disney wasn't that far removed from Burton's Alice in Wonderland and it as a runaway box office success so I wouldn't be surprised if Disney gave Sam Raimi a ton of notes to make the Oz film more like Burton's Wonderland.
Agreed! 👍
Oh Joe forgot to mention in Ad-Joe cent that Judy Garland was pulled to the side off set and slapped by the director and told her to get back to work after she was joking around and laughing a lot while filming The Wizard of Oz
We purposefully left that one out because we didn't want to get crazy dark!
@@ModernMouse the things they did to child actors back then Shirley Temple the list goes on my God so disgusting 🫣
Nah.
I never forgot about OTGAP.
I’m glad it’s finally on Disney +
Just finished reading the novelization of this movie. Very nice!
I actually liked the movie, I'm probably the only one
What about Zelena from Once Upon a Time?
When I initially made this video, I mostly wanted to give the run time to the original Wizard of Oz film justaposed against the Great and Powerful. When I started naming other examples, I tried to name a few, but not all of them. Honestly, I spaced that Zelena was in Once Upon a Time because I stopped watching the show regularly after season 3, but I do now remember that they added Oz into the show. Sorry!
4:06 Not only is this far from the first colour movie but, colour actually predates sound.
It's difficult to talk about movies as old as The Wizard of Oz because people generally don't have a concept of time and history. When they hear a fact like "The Wizard of Oz is the first color film" they just think it sounds true. To go even further and talk about sound and color and the process of how those two things came to be, that's something I couldn't fit into this video. It didn't make sense to, but the history behind both is absolutely fascinating.
@@ModernMouse Oh indeed, if you expanded on every little fine point the video would likely be longer than both OZ The Great And Powerful and The Wizard Of OZ's combined runtimes. Just thought I would comment an addendum from the peanut gallery as a fun fact. It is an interesting thing though how a lot of these untruths about these movies start and I like the idea of some of them, like imagine you had no concept of a movie being in colour and then you saw The Wizard Of OZ.
The closest thing to that I have heard of was that there were people with Black and White TV's who saw The Wizard Of OZ for the first time in the 1950's and early 1960's when it was first broadcast and in so doing, those people did not even know until years later that it was in colour. Great video by the way.
Appreciate the comments! I don't mind the addendums and continuing the conversation in the comments.
I don't feel like there's a lot of mystery here. Most films aren't remembered all that well ten years later. What we do remember about them is whatever makes them distinctive: the unique world or characters that they introduced. And this film didn't introduce Oz
The whole point of the movie was to reference a world we already knew, so there's not much to make the film memorable on its own
15:30 That's because Piggy would take them all down because she wants to be the main girl. That's why miss Piggy made Annie Sue "disappear." LOL
That's probably why we don't see Kermit's ex Denise anymore now either.
Dark implications here…
I completely forgot about this movie until Jon M Chu referenced it during a Wicked interview and he said there's an easter egg connecting to Oz
I couldn't forget this movie because I'd never heard of it until yesterday; but when I did I immediately found + watched it on youtube. Though it doesn't follow any one OZ book i think it's one of the better adaptations of books, and a better Disney film than so many of their tired live action remakes and sequels that even Tim Burton and all the CGI in the world can't breathe any life into. The plot was decent, made sense in the overall context of the books and was more coherent than many of the books' plots, which can wander all over the place as Baum just tossed in the next thing to pop into his head (he knew his young readers weren't very critical of plot, they just wanted a bunch of trippy shit); nor was he too concerned with continuity in the series overall. I liked the China girl; nice to see the china village that I remember from the books on screen. What I really want to see is a film version of the 2nd book, MARVELOUS LAND OF OZ, even though RETURN TO OZ covered much of it; with the genesis of Princess Ozma (the boy Tip turning into her oughtta get Matt Walsh screaming): and General Jinjur's All Girl Army (Mr Baum was a total feminist; Too bad he was also a racist advocating a final solution to the Native American Question...) would be fun to see.
In comparison to some of the live action remakes, you are right that this film isn't bad. The issue is that the 1939 classic has really become what people think of with Oz rather than the books for better or for worse so that was what I thought could launch this video. I personally love the weirdness of Return to Oz. I'm not as familiar with the books so I'm glad that it has elements of what you'd like to see because some of those characters are ones I'd love to see on screen again.
Tip was born a girl, she is a de-transitioner. Matt Walsh would be proud.
A decent prequel but return to oz was a better Disney oz movie and James was miscast
Now, Wicked did it! ❤
Great analysis, as always, but there is one aspect of the original that I think should be mentioned. For many, especially those of us trapped in that interstitial space between Boomers and Gen X, watching the Wizard of Oz was an annual childhood tradition. It was broadcast as a "Special Presentation" each Fall. As this annual broadcast was the only time most of us could see it, it became kind of a big deal almost akin to "It's a Wonderful Life." And you don't mess with Childhood Traditions. The other thing is that 2013 was also Peak "Wicked," and I think that sucked a lot of the air out of the room. At the time I recall that there were some that actually got the two confused, and there can only be one.
If you look back at every time Disney tries to remake OZ they go dark for some reason. I'm a huge fan of The Return to Oz from the 80's. I also understand that movie is really different and most don't like it. But I became a fan in the very early 90's as a kid. I don't know if I would feel the same without the nostalgic factor.
Edit: I should have waited a little longer. They just mentioned The Return to Oz lol
The one overall good thing I got from this movie was I got to see Dorothy’s Mom, and I found it interesting Glinda was played by the same person.
It is quite interesting. I'm glad that this film did stick with the classic film in that the actors double as people in Oz and in the black and white world too!
There are a few reasons why I always thought people forgot about this film.
First was because of James Franco’s problematic behavior that we would learn about a few years later.
Second was because I remember there was a faction of people who weren’t pleased with Mila’s casting as the witch because her voice is so heavily associated with Meg Griffin from Family Guy. And therefore they couldn’t take her performance seriously.
Third, the premise of Oz The Great and Powerful is the story of the witches before Dorothy came to Oz. That concept was already done in Wicked, and that was and still is engraved into people’s minds as cannon. And this film gives its own interpretation completely ignoring Wicked. And Wicked was such a phenomenon that it’s difficult to over shadow or rise above that.
I do remember people were most pleased by Rachel Weisz’s performance in the film. And I agree, she stole the whole movie.
I don’t think Oz the Great and Powerful will garner the same cult fandom as Return to Oz, but maybe it will? Who knows?
Just had a run in with this movie yesterday, got recommended a clip on here and I was like oh yeah I remember that movie. I remembered that i actually enjoyed the film. Kind of forgot about it, not the movies fault. I won't forget it now, I went an bought it on Amazon haha.
I hope you enjoy your hard copy of the movie. I bet the DVD extras are actually pretty good since Disney has so much lineage to pull from.
@@ModernMouse thanks! I know I'm looking forward to seeing what's on there. Interesting points on your video BTW. I liked the wizard of oz, no doubt its a classic but I wasn't really all that into it. Kind of why I forgot about this film. Don't get me wrong Wizard of Oz is a great movie and I actually enjoyed oz the great and powerful. I agree, the 1939 one is no doubt the most memorable, every now an then I whistle a tune from it like I watched it the other day 😂 but when I watched oz great and powerful again it all came back to me. I was reminded of when I saw it back then being bummed to see Theodora the really pretty one being the one to be the witch and how it came to be. Sorry for the big paragraph!
Well the reason why the movie(s) starts off in black and white then transition into color is because that's how Kansas and OZ is described in the book...The book describes Kansas as a dark, gray, and gloomy place and OZ is described as a colorful, playful place
I liked Emerald City and Return To Oz much more than Oz The Great And Powerful I saw it in theatres and was so disappointed
I remember I went to the movies to see Oz, I liked it, I think it was a good origin story of the wizard. But, Wicked the musical and book already existed, so, I think they should have tried to mix up with that perhaps? I never paid attention to the fact this movie has.zero songs!
Why You Forgot About SNOW WHITE AND THE 7 DWARVES LIVE ACTION (video coming soon) or Why You Forgot About WONKA. of the list from 2023 is huge.
Shouldn't you also be comparing Return to Oz and Wicked to the original film? I just rewatched this movie for the first time since its release and I really enjoyed it. Also, the Munchkins did have a very brief musical number in the movie and it was pretty funny.
The goal of this video was just to focus on Oz the Great and Powerful. I never intended to make a complete overview. In the future, I may talk about Wicked or Return to Oz more in depth so I appreciate you bringing them up. It shows that there is interest in those films and for me to revisit this idea with those properties.
I cannot watch the wizard of oz I can’t sit down in a musical for that long … I actually enjoyed the prequel much more 12:52 I wanted kunis to return to her normal theadora self 😢
yup, after the new wicked film, this raimi version will be even more forgotten.
@ModernMouse
I hear they’re making a reimagining of Wizard of Oz to follow up but I would do another chapter before that. Oscar establishing himself as the wizard. The ruby slippers could be put into play here for a way to Evanora to restore her powers and seek revenge on Glinda and Oscar. Evanora tries to reconcile with Theodora and recruit her. Theodora agrees but it is all a ploy so that when Evanora fails, she’ll get the ruby slippers. After a battle, it seems Evanora is about to win. That’s when Dorothy’s house falls on her and kills her. Roll credits. Then a remake of the original to wrap up a trilogy.
@ModernMouse
Also, due to Evanora’s new found powers, and Theodora’s rage towards Oscar; they somehow manage to break his spirit. Due to that, he and Glinda have a falling out and go their separate ways. After that he hides away in the emerald city and goes back to being the coward he was before. Hence it would make sense why he is the way he is, and hears of Dorothy killing Evanora and that’s what makes him give the task of Dorothy killing Theodora.
One last thing, due to the sisters wreaking havoc in Oz, breaking Oscar and their relationship ending and Oscar abandoning her; Glinda becomes slightly bitter and jaded underneath her normal demeanor. So when she sees Dorothy arrive in Oz by unintentionally killing Evanora, she sees an opportunity to manipulate Dorothy into going to the Emerald City to see Oscar and from there kill Theodora. Glinda ultimately will win. With the sisters both dead, she gets revenge for her father and for them playing a part in her and Oscar’s relationship falling apart. Last but not least getting revenge on Oscar by getting him exposed, but in doing so helps him find who he was and realizing it’s time to find a way home.
I love Oz!The Great And Powerful.🙂
I’m sorry to say I don’t agree with your it has to be musical and upbeat take because the oz books are far from that soooooo yeah return to oz and oz the great and powerful are more accurate to the feel and vibe of oz that’s why they went with Sam raimi because he would be good at creating that vibe
Despite its visual similarities, OtGaP is not connected to the MGM film.
I completely get this and while I appreciate both separately, everyone will continue to judge every Oz project based on the MGM film. Similarly, many people judge the Tim Burton Wonderland films against the animated version from the 1950s or how each new version of Spiderman or Batman gets judged against the previous iterations of the characters and stories. It's a natural connection that people make even though they are not "canonically" related.
@@ModernMouse I take each Oz film on its own merits, especially given that the MGM movie came 39 years after the book, during which time there were two other movie versions of "Wizard" and in all seven Oz-based movies, two of them produced by L. Frank Baum himself. There were also three radio series, a multimedia presentation by Baum, and a stage extravaganza beginning in 1902 that was still fresh in many people's memories. Indeed, many people judged the MGM film by that very stage show! 🙂
Wait, i didnt know this movie existed.😂 i learn something new everyday
Give it a watch. It's still on Disney+
@@ModernMouse thank you for that tip. I enjoyed your content. I went down the rabbit whole of watching your videos. 😁
@@VeeAlee Thanks for jumping on board my weird side of TH-cam!
It was so bad that it was just absolutely amazing
Awesome video 📹 as always Josh I love the honorable respect you gave my favorite film of all time The 1939 Wizard of Oz film I still don't believe no other Oz film can ever hold a candle to the original 1939 film but Oz the Great and Powerful was still good as a nice watchable experience I have to respectfully disagree with you on The Muppets Wizard of Oz being fun and enjoyable I didn't like that film I thought it was inappropriate and weird and even very dated by today's standard even though it was a TV movie
Oh the Muppet one is insanely weird and incredibly dated!
@ModernMouse very much so I love Ashanti as a singer but her acting in that film was lifeless and Miss Piggy was indeed a glory hog for hogging up all the roles she played like 5 characters talk about ego tripping
Seen return to oz?
One of your complaints is, it didn't have musical numbers.
Remember Cop Rock?
Now you know why.
I think the problem is that every film tries to “reimagine” Oz…. Can they just, not? Maybe try films based on the other original books finally. At least Mariah Carey sang her ass off on this film’s theme song.
I totally spaced that Mariah Carey song! In truth, I don't mind revisiting the land of Oz, but studios have to respect that audiences likely expect it to connect to the most popular version of the story from the 1930s. If it doesn't, it won't connect with people. If they want to make something like Oz the Great and Powerful, just come up with a place that is original, but if you want to do a proper Oz film I think it has to be a classic movie musical....but even that is a hard task.
Ironicly i think Wicked would be as iconic if it wasnt so expensive.wich is wher the 2 Part movie adaptation is coming in.
It will adapt the musicle why Aldingen things from the book it adaptet that work well in the film. And people seam exitet
i can only speak for myself but.... i avoided this movie because it was a prequel. it wasnt dorothys journey into oz where in the film the wizard is the traveling fortune teller or the tinman and lion and scarecrow were the other people around her. the witch being the mean lady wanting to take the dog away. that alone kinda gives you an interpretation that its all from her experience and imagination after being knocked out by a window
as for the criticisms of the lack of cheerful tone.... the book wasnt all cheerful and song numbers either. i mean the tinman alone was once human and his cursed axe cut off all his own limbs and torso and head and was rebuilt into tin and they forgot to give him a heart so he couldnt feel human emotions like Love. not to mention the scarecrow killing birds. the lion killing a sleeping spider. i think thats why Return to Oz has a cult following and later adaptions keep having that darker tone. because the books also have a dark tone to them.
What about Tinman on sci-fi?
Why should Wizard of Oz be “left alone” when the 1939 version was an adaption and it didn’t even touch most of Oz’s lore…
Oz is a public domain series of books as anyone can do an oz movie
I like the movie 👀
As a fan of the book, I have a mixed feeling about this movie. The negative:
- James Franco as Oz make me cringe. I think its a miscast. His charaxter is not written well as well. I am not against him having one of the witch as love interest nor i have any problem with womanizer character like James bond or Indiana Jones but it didnt work for this movie. Oz is such an ass that it make me hard to love him.
- The reason Theodora become evil is also the one I dislike. This is a book where the female character take a spotlights including all the witches. So her being a simp to Oz and become a women scorbed because of love betrayal seems a bit off. it might work with other stories but not this one.
The positive:
- Visual. This is probably the best version of the land of oz i seen. I think they capture the feels of Oz. In contrast to Wonderland that seems desolsted and bizzare, Oz is what I call a staple fantasy land with more brighter lighting. There is flower, pasture, greeneries, castle, basic magical creatures, rainbows, and always sunny.
- The Witches. The best part of the movies. I rather watch the stories focused on them than Oz. This bersion of Glinda is much closer to the book as well.
- The China Girl. Adorable. Enough said.
- The costumes especially the witches.
- Looking at the details and the concept art, there are few things from the book that never appear in 1939 movie. for eg: the witches associate with jewelry (Glinda is associate with ruby in the book), the China Town, The Iron Giant (deleted scene), Whimsy.
Overall, i think the fans of the book will like it or have mix feeling about it at least for visual. But if it were me, I would revise the script, make it connected to Return to Oz.
As someone that never read the books, I'm always fascinated to hear what people that have think. Great thoughts!
@@ModernMouse Also just want to add.
Positive: Mr. Tinker is also a character from the book and responsible for the creation of the Tinman. He is the owner of Mr Smith and Tinker company. So another character from the book that rarely made appearances in other Oz adaptation.
Negative: Not so much a negative, but regarding the character Knuck. I like the charcter but i think the character should have been named Boq instead. He is the Munchkin Dorothy encounter before she followed the Yellow Brick Road. There are so many character from the book that they dont need to create new character.
The movie has bad miscasting
Oof I love this movie. It's so whimsical
Revisiting this film, I had a good time with it, but I recognize that it's not as popular as the 1939 film, nor does it ever come close. think that most people have forgotten this movie, and I felt like I needed to know why.
HEY!!!! Can you BALANCE your AUDIO before you PUBLISH your VIDEOS so that the guy WITHOUT the glasses doesn't sound like he is SHOUTING so much?
I feel like this movie really did the wicked witch dirty, and Oz was a very unlikable main character, especially for how he was indirectly responsible for the creation of the wicked witch, and for some reason he ends up being the hero, and the wicked witch ends up being the bad guy with no redemption? I hate to say it but it was evidently written by privileged white guys
I liked the movie
Too bad. The 1939 film was not an accurate adaptation of the book.
Pop Culture is weird like that. The most popular version of a story may not necessarily be the source material. Same can be said about music too.
@@ModernMouse because most people watch movies, not reading books, that is why people want their book to be faithfully adapted.
82nd the Movie LEFT US Hanging ......it just needs One last Installment before Dorothy Arrives.....when WWW and WWE left OZ ..they also left that HUGE CRYSTAL BALL Behind (which is in the Original Movie ) - I thought they should have the next Installment - where the WWW gives her sister the "RUBY" slippers to regain POWER....and also steals back the Crystal Ball, and Kidnaps China Doll..while doing so...( The Wizard Loves her ) ....and in the Process - she is KIlled/ Broken-Smashed......Hence: the 'Older" Wizard telling Dorothy years later - BRING me the Broomstick of the WWW....knowing she WILL Have to DIE to get it / hence his REVENGE for the Death of China Doll....and the Movie ends..with WWW seeing in her Crystal Ball...her sister WWE getting KILLED-Flattened by Dorothy's House........FADE OUT!
There was definitely an intent to make more films.
@@ModernMouse how's my over-all premise?
Thoroughly enjoyed your video....... what did you think of my premise?
Sam Raimi... AH! The Director that ruins classic stories. Ya, that Explains a lot. 🤣
I know people either love or hate Sam Raimi and I'll admit that not everything he's ever made has connected with me but I can't deny his visions for films like the Evil Dead series, Drag Me to Hell, or even the first two Spiderman films. I understand why, at that time, Disney was interested in him coming in and working on this film. He has a knack for powerful and interesting looking visuals. Unfortunately I just don't think he was the guy for a story about the Wizard of Oz.
Your full of shii hater like what stories ?? he hasn’t adapted many classic stories tf you talking about
Also we forgot about how truly TERRIBLE Mila Kunis’s acting is.
My opinion about Oz is very similar to the so called Star Wars sequels with Rey and brats. IT DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE!!!!!!!
Syfy once did their own spin on The Wizard of Oz with the miniseries Tin Man, starring Zooey Deschanel.
they didn’t mention wicked 🥲