Wickedmade waves in Hollywood last year with its striking dive back into the wonderful world of Oz, but beloved director Sam Raimi pulled the same trick years earlier withOz the Great and Powerful. Today, the prequel has been largely forgotten and overshadowed by otherWizard of Oz-related movies, and it’s painfully easy to see why.
The Wizard of Ozis easily one of the most important movies ever made, if not the single most important. Based on the beloved novelThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozby L. Frank Baum, the film not only signified Hollywood’s stunning move to full-color filmmaking, but it laid out the groundwork for important blockbusters for generations to come.
This influence is easily felt in the manyThe Wizard of Ozspin-offs and prequels that have come and gone since, with the adaptation of the prequel musicalWickedbeing the latest to reach new heights of popularity. TheupcomingWicked: For Goodwill further popularize this latest iteration of the Land of Oz.
However,Wickedisn’t the only modern film to have endeared itself with the idea of exploring the origins of one of the original musical’s most famous characters. Enter Sam Raimi’s forgottenOz the Great and Powerful, which tells the story of the Wonderful Wizard himself.
Sam Raimi Directed Oz The Great And Powerful
A Forgotten Prequel Set In The Wonderful World
Though Sam Raimi might be better known for his iconicSpider-Mantrilogy andtheEvil Deadhorror series, it’s a little-known fact that he put his own spin on the Land of Oz with this unique prequel. Here, the origin story of the wizard himself is told, revealed to be a human magician and grifter known as Oscar Diggs.
Like Dorothy, Oscar is sucked into the realm of Oz when he’s caught in a ferocious twister, although it’s a ride in a hot air balloon that results in his journey, unlike the unlucky Kansas girl. Upon meeting the people of Oz, Oscar is identified as the long-awaited Wizard that will come to defeat the evil Wicked Witch of the East.
Oz the Great and Powerfulis certainly full of Raimi’s usual bag of tricks.
Sensing opportunity, Oscar does his best to maintain the charade, setting out to maintain the facade that he is a genuine wizard while getting filthy rich in the process. Along the way, he has encounters with Glinda the Good Witch and accidentally creates the Wicked Witch of the West.
Oz the Great and Powerfulis certainly full of Raimi’s usual bag of tricks, including absurdly cartoonish camera angles, colorful visuals, and acameo from Bruce Campbell. In a strange, unmistakable way,Oz the Great and Powerfulis quite similar to another Raimi classic,Army of Darkness, with both being iconic fish-out-of-water fantasies.
What Oz The Great And Powerful Did Right
There Are Some Hidden Strengths Of This Forgotten Film
In some ways,Oz the Great and Powerfuldeserves to be more popular than it is. For one, the film does an amazing job conveying the wonder of the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, with special effects that have aged quite gracefully since 2013. Considering how well-versed Raimi is in special effects between hisSpider-Mantrilogyand horror movies, this is no great surprise.
James Franco is also an amazing choice for the sleazy con-man wizard, whose deceptive nature in the original story is elaborated upon as both a personality flaw and a genuine strength that the people of Oz can use against the evil Wicked Witch. His charisma positively carries the film, and weaves a story that makes a believable set-up for the events of Dorothy’s story.
What Oz The Great And Powerful Got Wrong
It’s Easy To See Why Wicked Is More Popular
Unfortunately,Oz the Great and Powerful’s lukewarm 56% freshness rating on RottenTomatoes isn’t unfounded. Some lamented Raimi’s overuse of CGI to create a sterile, overly sanded-down world for Oz much like theStar Warsprequels.
The non-Franco performances are also a common point of contention, with Mila Kunis' Wicked Witch of the East and Michelle Williams' Glinda often being decried as lukewarm or half-hearted characters. This is doubly true in a post-Wickedworld, where these exact same characters' origins are acted out with far more gusto and appreciation.
Where Oz The Great And Powerful Ranks Among Sam Raimi Movies
The Prequel Is Decent But One Of Raimi’s Weaker Films
At the end of the day,Oz the Great and Powerfulis far fromthe best Sam Raimi movie. While it’s arguably better than some of Raimi’s most paint-by-numbers work, including the bizarre sports dramaFor the Love of the Gameor the supernatural thrillerThe Gift, it’s clear that Raimi’s detachment from the source material hindered his filmmaking ability here.
I would argue thatThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozprequel is better than these kinds of films, as well as rough spots in Riami’s career, like directorial debutIt’s Murder!or the disastrousCrimewave, but it falls short even on a spectacle level of films as bad asSpider-Man 3.Though underrated as a whole,Oz the Great and Powerful’s obscurity isn’t surprising.
