| Oz the Great and Powerful | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sam Raimi |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Mitchell Kapner |
| Based on | Oz byL. Frank Baum |
| Produced by | Joe Roth |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Peter Deming |
| Edited by | Bob Murawski |
| Music by | Danny Elfman |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $215 million[2][3] |
| Box office | $493.3 million[4] |
Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 Americanfantasyadventure film directed bySam Raimi and written byDavid Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner, from a story by Kapner. Based onL. Frank Baum's early 20th centuryOz books and set 20 years before the events of theoriginal 1900 novel,[5] the film is aspiritual prequel to the 1939Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filmThe Wizard of Oz.[6] StarringJames Franco in thetitle role,Mila Kunis,Rachel Weisz,Michelle Williams,Zach Braff,Bill Cobbs,Joey King, andTony Cox; the film tells the story of Oscar Diggs, adeceitfulstage magician who arrives in theLand of Oz and encounters three witches:Theodora, theGood Witch of the North,Evanora, theWicked Witch of the East, andGlinda, theGood Witch of the South. Diggs is then enlisted to restore order in Oz while struggling to resolve conflicts with the witches and himself.
It is Disney's third film adaptation of Baum's works, followingReturn to Oz (1985) and the television filmThe Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). Kapner began developing anorigin story for theWizard of Oz after a lifelong interest in wanting to create one for the character.Walt Disney Pictures commissioned the film's production in 2009 withJoe Roth as producer andGrant Curtis,Joshua Donen, Philip Steuer and Palak Patel serving as executive producers. Raimi was hired to direct the following year. AfterRobert Downey Jr. andJohnny Depp declined the title role in January and February 2011, Franco was cast. Filming took place from July to December 2011.Danny Elfman composed the music score for the film.
Oz the Great and Powerful premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on February 13, 2013, and was released theatrically in the United States on March 8, 2013, inDisney Digital 3-D,RealD 3D andIMAX 3D formats. It received mixed reviews from critics and was commercially successful, grossing $493.3 million worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing Oz-related film untilWicked (2024). The film won the Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Live Action Family Film[7] and Kunis won theMTV Movie Award for Best Villain for her performance as theWicked Witch of the West.[8]
In 1905Kansas,Oscar Diggs, amagician andcon artist working in atraveling circus, is threatened by astrongman named Vlad, who has discovered him flirting with his wife. He escapes via ahot air balloon but is sucked into atornado that transports him to theLand of Oz. Upon arrival, he encounters the naïve witchTheodora, who believes him to be the wizardprophesied to become King of Oz by defeating the "Wicked Witch", who killed the previous king. Oscar accepts the role, wanting to become a wealthymonarch. En route to theEmerald City, Theodora falls in love with Oscar, though he does not reciprocate her feelings. They encounter theflying monkey Finley, who pledges his life to Oscar when he saves him from alion, and Knuck, a grumpy Munchkin herald whom Oscar jokingly nicknames "Sourpuss". Oscar reveals his deception to Finley and forces him to maintain the idea that he is the wizard.
At theEmerald City, Theodora's older sister,Evanora, tells Oscar that the Wicked Witch resides in the Dark Forest, and can be defeated if herwand is destroyed. En route, Oscar and Finley befriend anorphaned livingchina doll, whose village and family were destroyed by the Wicked Witch. Upon arrival, the group discovers the so-called "Wicked Witch" is actually the deceased king's daughter,Glinda the Good Witch, and Evanora is the true Wicked Witch. Observing Oscar's romantic affair with Glinda through hercrystal ball, Evanora misleads Theodora into believing Oscar is attempting tocourt all three witches, then offers her an enchantedapple and claims that biting into it will remove her heartache. Intended to empower her to kill him, the apple disintegrates her heart and transforms her into an evil, hideous-looking green-skinned creature instead.
Glinda brings Oscar's group to her domain to escape Evanora's army ofWinkies and flyingbaboons. She confides in Oscar that she knows he is not a wizard, but still believes he can help stop Evanora. He reluctantly takes charge of an "army" ofQuadlings,Tinkers, andMunchkins, but Theodora arrives and debuts her new appearance to the crowd before threatening to kill Oscar and his allies with the Emerald City's well-prepared army. Initially despondent, Oscar tells China Girl about his heroThomas Edison; inspired, he conceives a plan that relies onstaged illusion.
Glinda and her subjects utilize a pulley-rig army of mechanicalscarecrow puppets, hidden by thick fog to lure the attention of the Wicked Witches. Most of the flying baboons are lured into apoppy field by the puppets and consequently fall asleep, but a pair of conscious baboons capture Glinda, causing her to drop her wand, which China Girl retrieves. Meanwhile, Oscar infiltrates the Emerald City with his allies but seemingly abandons them in a hot air balloon loaded with gold, which Theodora destroys with a fireball. As the Wicked Witches prepare to kill Glinda in the center of the city, Oscar, having faked his betrayal and death, resurfaces, using a hiddenfog machine andimage projector to present agiant image of his face as his "true" disembodied form, and intimidates them via a fireworks display. Evanora retreats inside her castle while Theodora flees on her broom, unable to hurt the "invincible" wizard. Oscar momentarily stops Theodora and invites her to return if she overcomes her wickedness, but she vehemently declines and flies away to the West laughing maniacally, saddening Oscar. After China Girl frees her from her restraints with her wand, Glinda defeats Evanora in a duel by destroying Evanora's emerald necklace, revealing her true hag-like appearance; she permanently banishes her from the Emerald City, while the pair of still-conscious flying baboons catch Evanora and carry her to safety in the East.
Oscar, now de facto ruler of Oz, resolves to utilize his projector to sustain the illusion of being a powerful wizard. Master Tinker, one of the prime leaders of the Ozian resistance who helped construct his machines, receives Oscar'sjack-knife while Knuck receives a novelty mask with a smile painted on it; the long-suffering Finley receives Oscar's top hat; and China Girl accepts her friends as her new family. Behind the curtains of his projector, Oscar thanks Glinda for profoundly changing his life and personality, and they kiss.
Stephen R. Hart,Bruce Campbell, and William Bock playWinkie guards at the Emerald City.[13]Abigail Spencer plays May, Oscar's temporary magic assistant in Kansas and one of his several fleeting loves in the film.[13]Tim Holmes plays Vlad, thestrongman who threatens Oscar for trying to court his wife (played by Toni Wynne), prompting Oscar to take the hot air balloon that sends him to the Land of Oz.
Raimi, who often casts friends and actor-regulars incameo roles, cast his brotherTed as a small-town skeptic at Oscar's magic show who yells "I see a wire!", two of his former teachers – Jim Moll and Jim Bird – as well asDan Hicks, Mia Serafino, and his daughter Emma as Emerald City townspeople and the three actresses from his 1981 directorial debutThe Evil Dead –Ellen Sandweiss,Betsy Baker and Theresa Tilly – as well as his sons Dashiell and Oliver respectively as Quadling townspeople.[14]Gene Jones portrays awild west barker,Martin Klebba portrays a Munchkin rebel; John Paxton who previously worked with Raimi in theSpider-Man trilogy andDrag Me to Hell makes a posthumous appearance as an elder tinker, in his last film role before he died on November 17, 2011; while the great-grandson ofBert Lahr (played 1939Cowardly Lion) also portrays a tinker.
Oz the Great and Powerful features several artistic allusions,homages, and technical parallels to Baum's books, and the 1939MGM filmThe Wizard of Oz.
As in the 1939 film, the first twenty minutes is presented in black and white and1.33 : 1 "fullscreen", and the rest of the film is presented in color and2.40 : 1 "widescreen",[15][16] Glinda travels in giant bubbles and she kisses Oscar's forehead to protect him, and the Emerald City isactually emerald; whereasin the book, theGood Witch of the North kissesDorothy on the forehead, and characters are compelled to wear locked-on green-tinted glasses, to make the cityappear emerald, though during the battle preparations sequence Oscar can be seen wearing emerald goggles. Oscar's face is used as the projected image of the Wizard; in the book, the Wizard appears in his audience hall as a giant head, a beautiful fairy, a horrible monster, and a ball of fire, depending on what would most intimidate his visitor. The iconic green look of theWicked Witch of the West is closer to her look in the 1939 film, as the Witch is a short, one-eyed crone in the book. The Wicked Witches, Theodora and Evanora, both nameless and unrelated in the book, are portrayed as sisters, an idea which originated in the 1939 film.
Also from the 1939 film is that several actors who play Oz characters make cameos in theKansas segments, such as Frank, Oscar's assistant – whom he refers to as his "trained monkey" (Frank's "Oz" counterpart is the winged monkey Finley) – a young disabled girl who serves as the Kansas counterpart to China Girl (in Kansas, Oscar is unable to make the wheelchair-using young girl walk, and gets a chance to do so when he repairs China Girl's broken legs), and Annie who inspires Oscar to be a good and great person (Annie's "Oz" counterpart, Glinda, also inspires Oscar to be a better person) informs him that she has beenproposed-to by John Gale, presumably hinting atDorothy Gale's parents, as Annie is seen wearing agingham dress, a pattern famously associated with Dorothy.[11][a]The names of Dorothy's parents are not mentioned in Baum's book, but Ellie Smith's parents are named John and Ann in the re-narrated novelThe Wizard of the Emerald City by Alexander Volkov. Other referenced characters include theScarecrow, who is built by the townspeople as a scare tactic; theTin Woodman, whose creator is the Master Tinker that can build "anything", in the books, theWicked Witch of the East enchanted a local woodsman to hack off his limbs, replacing them with hollow tin; and the lion that attacks Finley, a reference to theCowardly Lion.[12][b]
Various other races and species of Oz are depicted besides theMunchkins; theQuadlings, the china doll inhabitants ofDainty China Country, theWinkies (who went unnamed in the 1939 film), winged baboons (instead ofwinged monkeys in the book), and color-changing horses (inspired by the horse of a different color from the 1939 film). Similarly, Glinda is referred to by her title in the book (the Good Witch of the South), unlike the 1939 film, where her character's title is "Good Witch of the North" (due to merging the characters Good Witch of the South, and the North). Glinda is also thedaughter of the late King of Oz, though in the books,Ozma is the King's daughter and Glinda is her protector. Evanora, the Wicked Witch of the East, wears an emerald necklace that gives her powers instead of magical shoes (which aresilver in the book andruby in the 1939 film) later worn by Dorothy.
The origins of the Wicked Witches are not explained in Baum's book, but Theodora's origins are borrowed from the revisionist novelWicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by -Gregory Maguire. Theodora andElphaba transition into a Wicked Witch after learning of the Wizard's corruption (though inWicked, Oscar is Elphaba's father), their skins changing green, Theodora from eating a green apple and Elphaba from a bottle containing a green drug that her mother drank out of before birthing her. Theodora's tears leave streak-like scars on her face, reflecting her weakness to water in the original story. Evanora transforms into a powerless hag after losing her necklace. InWicked, Nessarose isparaplegic, but became powerful after wearing the magical shoes made by her sister Elphaba to allow her to walk. Oscar is portrayed as a womanizingcon artist from Kansas, rather than a bumbling "humbug" ofOmaha, Nebraska, in the book and a dictator inWicked; in the 1939 film, the Wizard is from Kansas, although the hot air balloon he leaves in has "Omaha State Fair" on it. Also, Oz is presented as a real place as it is in the books, and not as a possible dream as the 1939 film implies.[17]
After the success ofSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937,Walt Disney planned to produce an animated film based on the first ofBaum'sOz books. However,Roy O. Disney, the chairman ofWalt Disney Productions, was informed by Baum's estate that they had sold the film rights to the first book toSamuel Goldwyn, who re-sold it toLouis B. Mayer in 1938.[18] Ironically, the film was approved due to the success ofSnow White.[19] The project was then developed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer intothe well-known musical adaptation which was released the following year.
In 1954, when the film rights to Baum's remaining thirteenOz books were made available, Walt Disney Productions acquired them[20] for use in Walt Disney's television seriesDisneyland which led to the proposed live-action filmThe Rainbow Road to Oz, which was abandoned and never completed.[21] Disney's history with theOz series continued with the 1985 filmReturn to Oz, which performed poorly, both critically and commercially,[22][23][24] but has developed acult following since its release, by fans of the books, who considered it a more faithful adaptation to theOz books than the 1939 classic.[25][26] AfterReturn to Oz, Disney lost the film rights to theOz books when they subsequently reverted to thepublic domain.[27] In 2005, Disney produced the television filmThe Muppets' Wizard of Oz, which aired on its networkABC.
Upon the release of the musicalWicked, screenwriter Mitchell Kapner felt he had missed his opportunity to explore the origins of theWizard of Oz character.[28] In 2009, he met with producerJoe Roth who turned down his current pitches, and asked if he had any other ideas. Kapner, who had been reading theOz series to his children, outlined the plots of the books. Roth stopped him on the sixth book,The Emerald City of Oz, which had some of the Wizard's backstory. Roth said:
"... during the years that I spent running Walt Disney Studios ... I learned about how hard it was to find a fairy tale with a good strong male protagonist. You've got yourSleeping Beauties, yourCinderellas, and yourAlices; but a fairy tale with a male protagonist is very hard to come by. But with the origin story of theWizard of Oz, here was a fairy tale story with a natural male protagonist. Which is why I knew that this was an idea for a movie that was genuinely worth pursuing."[29]
Kapner and co-writer Palak Patel were turned down bySony Pictures before the project was set up atWalt Disney Pictures in 2009. Disney presidentSean Bailey commissionedOz the Great and Powerful (under theworking title"Brick") during the tenure of chairmanDick Cook, who was succeeded byRich Ross, and laterAlan Horn, a succession in management rarely survived by amajor studio release.[30]David Lindsay-Abaire was later hired to do a re-write.[27]
Roth reportedly announced in 2010 thatRobert Downey Jr. was a candidate for the title role of the Wizard.[31]Sam Raimi was hired to direct in the same year from a shortlist includingSam Mendes andAdam Shankman.[31] In January 2011, Downey declined the role[30] and it was offered toJohnny Depp, who had previously collaborated with the studio inPirates of the Caribbean andAlice in Wonderland.[32] Depp liked the role but was already committed toThe Lone Ranger. In February,James Franco accepted $7 million to star in the film, five months before filming was scheduled to begin.[30] Franco and Raimi had previously worked together on theSpider-Man trilogy, in which Franco playedPeter Parker's best friendHarry Osborn.[33] Franco received training for the role from magicianLance Burton.[30]
Kapner adapted the character of the Wizard from the novels to conceptualize an original story, and Raimi ensured that the film would "nod lovingly" to the 1939 film by inserting references and homages to it.[34]
Disney wanted to reduce the film'sproduction budget to $200 million.[33][failed verification] Casting calls were put out for local actors in Michigan.[35]
Filming forOz the Great and Powerful began on July 25, 2011, atRaleigh Michigan Studios inPontiac, Michigan, employing 3D cameras, and was completed on December 22, 2011.[36] The audio switches from monaural to stereo and surround sound.
Raimi opted to usepractical sets in conjunction with CGI during filming.[37] Physical sets were constructed so the actors could have a visual reference, as opposed to usinggreen screen technology for every scene. Chroma key compositing was only used for background pieces.[36]Zach Braff andJoey King were on set, recording their dialogue simultaneously with the other actors, whenever their CGI characters were present in a scene. Puppetry was employed for a physical version of the China Girl to serve as a visual key-point for actors to manipulate.[38] Braff wore a blue motion capture suit to create Finley's movements, and had a camera close to his face for the flying sequences to obtain facial movements.
Art directorRobert Stromberg, who collaborated onAvatar andAlice in Wonderland, drew inspiration from the films ofFrank Capra andJames Wong Howe to achieve theArt Deco design he envisioned for theEmerald City. Stromberg contrasted the colorful tonal qualities ofOz with the restrained appearance ofAlice, affirming that although both films explore similar fantasy worlds, the overall atmosphere and landscape of each "are completely different".[39][c] In 2011, Stromberg and his team visited theWalt Disney archives during the pre-production phase to reference production art from Disney's animated films such asPinocchio,Bambi,Fantasia,Cinderella,Sleeping Beauty,Alice in Wonderland andSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs, drawing from designs and textures in order to give certain settings in the film an affectionate nod to the Disney style.[40] Costume designerGary Jones focused on authenticity with his wardrobe designs:
My first instinct was, there are such iconic images in theWizard of Oz movie, it would be wrong for us to re-create the Yellow Brick Road or the Emerald City in a different way. We had to go 180 degrees in the other direction. We're just going to have to make our own Oz.
Although the film is a spiritual prequel to the 1939Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer filmThe Wizard of Oz, it was not allowed legally to be considered as such. The filmmakers had to toe a fine line between calling the film to mind but notinfringing upon it. To that end, Disney had a copyright expert on set to ensure no infringement occurred. The production team worked under the constraint of abiding by the stipulations set forth byWarner Bros., the legal owner of the rights to iconic elements of the 1939 film (via its ownership ofTurner Entertainment, which possesses the pre-1986 MGM film library), including theruby slippers worn byJudy Garland. Therefore, Disney was unable to use them nor any original character likenesses from the 1939 film.[42] This extended to the green of the Wicked Witch's skin, for which Disney used what its legal department considered a sufficiently different shade dubbed "Theostein" (aportmanteau of "Theodora" and "Frankenstein").[43] Additionally, the studio could not use the signaturechin mole ofMargaret Hamilton's portrayal of theWicked Witch of the West, nor could they employ theyellow brick road's swirl design forMunchkinland.[38] The expert also ensured that the Emerald City was not too close in appearance to the original Emerald City in the 1939 film.
While Warner and Disney did not engage in copyright battle, they did file rival trademarks. In October 2012, Disney filed a trademark onOz the Great and Powerful while one week later Warner filed its own trademarks forThe Great and Powerful Oz. TheU.S. Patent and Trademark Office suspended Warner's attempt at a trademark, because Disney had filed for basically the same trademark the week before.[44]
In addition to the legal issues, the film was also faced with delays when several cast members went on hiatus due to unrelated commitments and circumstances.Rachel Weisz left halfway through the shoot to film her entire role inThe Bourne Legacy,Michelle Williams was required to promote the release ofMy Week with Marilyn and Franco's father died during production. Roth compared the task of managing overlapping schedules to "being an air-traffic controller".Mila Kunis's makeup and prosthetics were supervised byGreg Nicotero and demanded four hours to apply and another hour to remove, with Kunis taking nearly two months to fully recover from the subsequent removal of the makeup from her skin.[30][45] Raimi had to edit the frightening nature of several scenes to secure Disney's desired rated PG from theMPAA.[28]Sony Pictures Imageworks was contracted to create the film's visual effects.[46]
In June 2011, composerDanny Elfman was chosen to score the film despite Elfman and Raimi having fallen-out overSpider-Man 2 and Elfman having declared they would never again work together.[47] He noted that the film's score was accessibly quick to produce, with a majority of the music being written in six weeks.[48] Regarding the tonal quality of the score, Elfman stated, "We're going to take an approach that's old-school but not self-consciously old-fashioned. Let the melodrama be melodrama, let everything be what it is. I also think there's the advantage that I'm able to write narratively, and when I'm able to write narratively I can also move quicker because that's my natural instincts, I can tell a story in the music."[49]
American singer-songwriter and actressMariah Carey recorded a promotional single called "Almost Home" written by Carey, Simone Porter, Justin Gray, Lindsey Ray, Tor Erik Hermansen, and Mikkel Eriksen (a.k.a.Stargate) for the soundtrack of the film. The single was released on February 19, 2013, byIsland Records.[50] The original soundtrack toOz the Great and Powerful was released digitally and physically byWalt Disney Records on March 5, 2013.[51] The physical CD release was released in association withIntrada Records on March 26.[52]
Oz the Great and Powerful premiered at theEl Capitan Theatre on February 13, 2013, and was released theatrically in the United States on March 8, 2013.[53][13] Disney opened the film in wide release in 3,912 theaters.[54][d]
To promote the film, Disney collaborated withIMAX Corporation andHSN to coordinate ahot air balloon campaign across the United States beginning in California at theWalt Disney Studios lot inBurbank, stopping at four locations; the El Capitan Theatre during the world premiere, theDisneyland Resort inAnaheim, theDaytona International Speedway in Florida andCentral Park in New York City.[55] Disney also promoted the film through its theme parks;Epcot'sInternational Flower and Garden Festival featured a multi-purpose garden and play area themed to the film andDisney California Adventure hosted sample viewings inside theMuppet*Vision 3D theatre.[56][57] The estimated marketing campaign cost upwards of $100 million.[28]
Oz the Great and Powerful was released onBlu-ray 3D,Blu-ray,DVD, and digital download byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment on June 11, 2013.[58] The film is Disney's first home media release to exclude a physical digital copy disc. Instead, it only provides a digital code for download.[59]Oz the Great and Powerful debuted at number one in its first week of home media release in overall disc sales with 46% of its first week sales from Blu-ray Discs.[60] The film has earned $52 million in sales.[61]Oz the Great and Powerful began streaming onDisney+ on November 29, 2024.[62][63]
Oz the Great and Powerful earned $234.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $258.4 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $493.3 million.[4] Worldwide, it was the thirteenth-highest-grossingfilm of 2013.[64]Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $36.4 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues, making it the 13th most profitable release of 2013.[3] It topped the box office on its worldwide opening weekend with $149 million.[65] Before its theatrical release, several media outlets reported thatOz the Great and Powerful was expected to duplicate the box office performance of 2010'sAlice in Wonderland.[66][e][67][f][68][g] However,Oz accumulated less than half ofAlice's worldwide gross.[69] It remained the highest-grossing Oz-related film until December 2024 when it was out-grossed byUniversal'sWicked, the first installment ofthat musical'stwo-part film adaptation.
Preliminary reports had the film tracking for an $80–100 million debut in North America.[70] The movie earned $2 million from9PM showings on Thursday night.[71] For its opening day,Oz the Great and Powerful grossed $24.1 million, the fourth-highest March opening day.[72] During its opening weekend, the film topped the box office with $79.1 million, the third-highest March opening weekend.[73] Despite the film's solid debut, which was larger than nearly all comparable titles, it clearly lagged behindAlice in Wonderland's opening ($116.1 million). The film's 3-D share of the opening weekend was 53%. Females made up 52% of the audience. Families represented 41% of attendance, while couples accounted for 43%.[73] The film retained first place at the box office during its second weekend with $41.3 million.[74]
Outside North America, the film earned $69.9 million on its opening weekend from 46 territories. Among all markets, its highest-grossing debuts were achieved in Russia and theCIS ($14.7 million), China ($9.06 million),[75] France and the Maghreb region ($5.77 million).[76] The film's openings trailedAlice in Wonderland in all major markets except Russia and the CIS.[77] It retained first place at the box office outside North America for a second weekend.[78] In total grosses,Oz's largest countries are Russia and the CIS ($27.4 million), China ($25.9 million) and the UK, Ireland and Malta ($23.4 million).[76]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes,Oz the Great and Powerful received an approval rating of 56% based on 270 reviews, with an average rating of 6.00/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It suffers from some tonal inconsistency and a deflated sense of wonder, butOz the Great and Powerful still packs enough visual dazzle and clever wit to be entertaining in its own right."[79] OnMetacritic the film holds a score of 44 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed to average reviews".[80] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[81]
Kim Newman, writing forEmpire, gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote
Critic Alonso Duralde also admired the movie:
Leonard Maltin onIndieWire claimed that
Roth Cornet rated the film 7.8 out of 10 onIGN, and wrote
Justin Chang ofVariety had a mixed reaction, writing that the film
/Film rated the film 7 out of 10, saying it had "many charms" while considering it to be
Richard Roeper, writing forRoger Ebert, noted the film's omnipresent visual effects but was largely disappointed by the performance of some cast members:
Marshall Fine ofThe Huffington Post was unimpressed, writing,
Similarly,Todd McCarthy criticized the characterization, writing that the film's supporting cast
Entertainment Weekly agreed, giving the film a C+ and saying that the "miscast" Franco
and complaining that "while Raimi'sOz is like retinalcrack, he never seduces our hearts and minds."[9]Alisha Coelho ofin.com gave the movie 2.5 stars, saying "Oz The Great and Powerful doesn't leave a lasting impression, but is anA-ok[ay] watch."[91]
| Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
| Costume Designers Guild[92] | February 22, 2014 | Excellence in Fantasy Film | Gary Jones and Michael Kutsche | Nominated |
| Golden Trailer Awards[93] | May 5, 2013 | Best Animation/Family | "Witches" | Nominated |
| Best Animation/Family TV Spot | "Super Hybrid" | Nominated | ||
| "Music Box" | Nominated | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards[94] | March 29, 2014 | Favorite Movie | Nominated | |
| Favorite Movie Actress | Mila Kunis | Nominated | ||
| MTV Movie Awards[95] | April 13, 2014 | Best Villain | Mila Kunis | Won |
| People's Choice Awards[96] | January 8, 2014 | Best Family Film | Nominated | |
| Phoenix Film Critics Society | December 17, 2013 | Best Live Action Family Film | Won | |
| Best Production Design | Robert Stromberg | Nominated | ||
| Satellite Awards[97] | February 24, 2014 | Best Visual Effects | James Schwalm,Scott Stokdyk, Troy Saliba | Nominated |
| Best Art Direction and Production Design | Nancy Haigh, Robert Stromberg | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design | Gary Jones | Nominated | ||
| Saturn Awards | June 2014 | Best Fantasy Film | Nominated | |
| Best Music | Danny Elfman | Nominated | ||
| Best Production Design | Robert Stromberg | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume | Gary Jones | Nominated | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | August 11, 2013 | Choice Movie – Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Nominated | |
| Choice Movie Actor – Sci-Fi/Fantasy | James Franco | Nominated | ||
| Choice Movie Actress – Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Mila Kunis | Nominated | ||
| Michelle Williams | Nominated | |||
| Visual Effects Society | February 12, 2014 | Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture | Troy Saliba, In-Ah Roediger, Carolyn Vale, Kevin Souls for "China Girl" | Nominated |
On March 7, 2013,Variety confirmed that Disney had already approved plans for asequel, with Mitchell Kapner returning as screenwriter.[98]Mila Kunis said during an interview withE! News, "We're all signed on for sequels".[99] On March 8, 2013,Sam Raimi toldBleeding Cool that he had no plans to direct the sequel, saying, "I did leave some loose ends for another director if they want to make the picture", and that "I was attracted to this story, but I don't think the second one would have the thing I would need to get me interested".[100] On March 11, 2013, Joe Roth told theLos Angeles Times that the sequel would "absolutely not" involve Dorothy, with Kapner pointing out that there are twenty years between the events of the first film and Dorothy's arrival, and "a lot can happen in that time".[101] Since then, Disney has not begun development on a sequel.
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