Osmosis Iron Really liked this one. It's sort of a prequel to "Wizard of Oz" captures the magical whimsy of "Oz" rather well and has many great moments in it, it's sometimes(really)cheesy, but in a good way for me at least.

Tweekums This prequel to 'The Wizard of Oz' opens in Kansas where circus magician Oscar Diggs, the self-styled 'Oz the Great and Powerful' performs to audiences who want to believe that he really can work miracles… which of course he can't. One day he is forced to flee in a balloon; as he flies away he is caught up in a tornado. When he lands he is no longer in the monochrome Kansas but in the vividly coloured land of Oz. He soon meets Theodora, a beautiful and kindly witch who believes that he is the answer to their prophecies; a wizard who shares his name with their land who will defeat the wicked witch who murdered the king. We are told that there are three witches, all sisters and daughters of the king; Theodora, her good sister Evanora and the wicked third sister. On the way to the Emerald city to meet Evanora they save Finley, a winged monkey who joins them.Once there Oz learns that if he is to fulfil the prophecy… and thus become king and gain a room full of gold he must go to the Dark Forest and destroy the Wicked Witch's wand. He and Finlay head towards the forest and rescue a Chine Doll whose family were killed by the Wicked Witch. When they finally meet the witch it becomes apparent that not everything we have been told is true; this witch is Glinda and she is far from evil. Evanora is the wicked one. If she is to be defeated, and the Kingdom of Oz saved, Oscar will have to work with the peaceful people of Oz and use many of the tricks he learnt.As an origins story this is rather fun; 'The Wizard of Oz' told us that the wizard was from Kansas and this nicely showed us how he came to Oz and came to such a prominent position. This aspect of the story was interesting but even more interesting was the origin of the Wicked Witch of the West. I like the fact that she wasn't always evil but became evil due to certain events. There are plenty of enjoyable nods to other events in the original film and some nice twists… I loved how when we first see the Munchkins it looks as though they are about eight feet tall before it is revealed that each of them is three standing on each other's' shoulders! The cast does a solid job; James Franco is good as the somewhat cowardly wizard and Michelle Williams is likable as Glinda however for me it is Mila Kunis who stands out most as Theodora thanks to the way she went from being a good character to being the cackling evil Wicked Witch of the West. The rest of the cast are pretty good too. The special effects are a bit mixed; I really liked the China Doll character; I didn't mind the vivid, unreal look of Oz but the flying effects often looked rather poor at times; perhaps they worked when the film was shown in 3D but on DVD they looked distinctly ropey. That did detract from the film at times but not enough to spoil it. There are a few good scares; nothing too strong for most children though. Overall I rather enjoyed this despite certain flaws.

Jack Venturo Can you guess what my favorite movie is? STAR WARS! Well no that's my favorite saga. My favorite stand-alone movie is "The Wizard of Oz". I have a bit of a movie memorabilia collection in my studio. Don't you judge me! Needless to say I was very excited as well as very skeptical about this so called unofficial prequel. Especially in this troubled CGI world of ours and most of all when I saw "Trailer no.1". at the point where "and the producer of Alice in Wonderland" came up on the screen I cringed and had nightmares of crazy moving cameras and fancy creatures with sparkly heads and fluid faces and 3D headaches. And then the river fairies come into the shot and those weird piranha plants and I knew! Deep down I knew! They would ruin my OZ with CGI!But those where little nothings in the scheme of the grand canvas that is "OZ the Great and Powerful"Jack "The Film Lover" says... I loved this movie. I sat back and watched it with one eye closed expecting to see something bad! You know, kind of like waiting for toast to pop out. But nothing really bad happened. It had a good story and good points, and it was fun! I loved all the nods to "The Wizard of OZ", and loved that we are introduced to things that you will see in the next movie. You get some questions answered and even though we all know the rules you still get a couple of surprises. "Only bad witches are ugly" and boy are they ugly!There are so many layers to the OZ films that once can go crazy psycho analyzing them! That actually would be a fun night. Even though we now have a backstory to why the witch hates pretty girls, why there is a feud between her and OZ why is the wizard a man behind the curtain? There are still so many unanswered questions… Is OZ a real place? If Dorothy went there, saw Oscar the Wizard who IS still there, and came back then it must be a real place Are the ruby slippers the only way out? Their power is the power to leave OZ? The witch's plan was to leave and come here to the real world? If so would they be going to Kansas? Why two different people almost 50 years apart both got sucked into the OZ Vortex in the same state? Is Kansas a wormhole to a parallel universe where your farmhands are animals and creatures? Or is it children's limbo! Where the dead go to wait to be judged? But it wasn't Dorothy's time yet so they sent her back? In a parallel land that still has North, South, East and West? Blow your mind!Jack "The Filmmaker" says… I had problems with some things… I had a problem with the lion, don't ask, just watch it and get back to me. I had a problem with the CGI! Not the characters themselves, the monkeys where done right. I mean the landscapes and moving parts and extravagant camera movements that are so far-fetched the people themselves must be CGI to be in them! When the Director of photography says the phrase… "Camera cranes can't go that high!" and the Director says "Who needs a camera ANIMATE IT!" we have a problem! I feel weird about James Franco! I like him, I hear he will be in a movie and I say "WHY?" then I watch it and can't picture anyone else in it and he does a good job. He was wholesome in this with a big dash of con man and it worked. The witches where amazing, Mila Kunis was acting like something else we have never seen and she didn't sound like Meg! (Family Guy) Which is a plus! WITCH is a plus, which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! (…and now that song is stuck in your head)Jack "The Parent" says… DUH Take the kids… Well take MY kids because they all loved it! They are 4, 9 and 10 years old. We saw it in 3D so be careful of the jump at your face elements, there are some jolts that make you sit back like the monkeys and the witch at some points. And there is a bit of some tear-jerking moments at the end but aside from that it's a good story for them to follow.In a magical world not everything is what it seems, not everyone is telling the truth and you should not try to be someone you are not for the sake of a loved one. Be yourself and do your best with what talents you have. You don't have to have magic powers to save the day! You can be anyone's hero if you believe in yourself!

Leofwine_draca That the original WIZARD OF OZ is a classic is pretty much a given, I think. It's hard to dislike a film that's so full of memorable scenes and characters, and Sam Raimi is the guy behind this prequel that attempts to show us a few back stories about some of the characters in the 1930s film. It's a mixed bag as a film overall, but it does recapture some of the old Raimi magic, and overall it's a film that's hard to dislike.Certainly in a world of lacklustre ALICE IN WONDERLAND and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY adaptations, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL really stands out. The transition from black and white to full colour is a glorious one and the enhanced colour palette of the film really works. The whole journey is a visual treat, with excellent CGI backdrops and the like that really bring Oz to life in a way that in some cases is even more breath-taking than in WIZARD.The central characters and their storyline are a little weaker, but still more than watchable. I'm a bit ambivalent when it comes to James Franco but I can appreciate that he does a good and thorough job here as the roguish magician thrown into a decidedly unnatural adventure. His companions in Oz are very well animated and brimming with character. Sadly, the witch storyline isn't so good; Michelle Williams is surprisingly effective, but Mila Kunis is miscast and Rachel Weisz is just poor. Nonetheless, although OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL has its detractors, I think it's a lot of simple, old-fashioned fun.