I'm more than a tad suspicious of the new movie Oz the Great and Powerful - let's face it, the track record for successful Oz films, while it dates back to the early silents, pretty much ends in 1939.
If nothing else, though, it has brought a welcome dose of Oziana back into the wider world, and I'm especially struck by the devotion illustrator Steve Murray has shown in documenting every single named character in every one of the canonical Oz books (above is just a detail, although it does include not only the biggies - Dorothy and her friends and a flying monkey - but a number of my personal favorites, including Princess Ozma, General Jinjur, Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter, and the Queen of the Scoodlers among them). The whole thing is pretty great, as well as a reminder that L. Frank Baum's world (as created by him and embellished by his successors) was infinitely more complex and whimsical than MGM's. Bravo to the National Post for running it.
So - has anybody braved the prospect of two hours with James Franco and checked the new picture out?
Have been putting off seeing the movie myself for fear of being disappointed. However am overjoyed by the discovery of Mr. Murray's grand work!
ReplyDeleteBelated update: we saw it last night. And you know what? A great deal better than I feared. I may write more about it, but in the meantime, I found it quite sufficiently Ozzical. Terribly tired of 3D, though...
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