Oz the Great and Powerful is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi, based on the Oz novels L. Frank Baum. It is a prequel to Baum's 1900 introductory novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and indirectly to the 1939 MGM film, The Wizard of Oz. I don't want to be a good man... I want to be a great one. I haven't accomplished anything yet! Please! Oz? That's my name. Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. But everyone calls me Oz. Did those crows just say we're gonna die? How hard can it be to kill a Wicked Witch? I have everything I ever wanted. Aren't you the Great Man we've been waiting for? I am on no one's side, You know that I simply want peace that's all I ever wanted and the wizard can do that. He's a good man. You're capable of more than you know... The shield allows a good-hearted person to pass. You can't give me that. You took what mattered most to me: My father. I don't need them. Bubbles are just for show. Oz: Where... Where am I exactly? Theodora: Where do you think you are? Oz: I have no idea. It's... It's like no place I've ever seen. Theodora: You're in Oz. Oz: [to Theodora] Where's your broom? Theodora: You don't know much about witches, do you? Oz: May I have this dance, milady? [Theodora looks startled] Now you're gonna tell me no one's ever asked you to dance before. Theodora: [sadly] No one ever has. Oz: [smiles] Then it's high time you learned. Theodora: Isn't he wonderful? Didn't I say he would come? Evanora: [angrily] You dare escort that... oaf in here and and allow him to climb on the hallow throne? Theodora: And why not? He is the wizard. Evanora: The wizard, or so he says. Did it not ever occur to you that he might be an impostor in league with the Wicked Witch and sent here to kill us? Theodora: Wicked Witch? Evanora: Oh, I'm not the one who is underestimating her cleverness. [pauses] Or maybe it is you that I am underestimating. [Theodora looks at her in surprise] Have you finally joined her side, sister? Theodora: I am on no one's side. You know that. I simply want peace, that's all I ever wanted and the wizard can do that. He's a good man. Evanora: What do you know about goodness? Deep down you are wicked. Theodora: [furiously] I'M NOT WICKED! [In her rage, she shoots a fireball at a vase and blows it to bits. Theodora recoils at what she's done] Evanora: That temper really is wasted on you, isn't it? China Girl: But... I wanna go with you. Oz: What, on a witch hunt? Nah, you're just a little girl. China Girl: I'm not as delicate as I look! [kicks Oz in the leg] Oz: [smirks] That didn't hurt. China Girl: [stubbornly] I'm coming with you! Oz: Listen, we have one rule in show business - never work with kids or animals... [points at Finley] ...And I'm already working with this thing. [Finley growls at him angrily] Relax. [back to China Girl] The answer is no. [China Girl starts crying, hoping to get sympathy] No, no. Don't-don't do that. Theodora: [tricked by Evanora into thinking Oz has "betrayed" her for Glinda] He said we would rule Oz, together... He said I would be his Queen. Evanora: Did he? [takes Theodora's hand, meets her eyes] Are you... quite sure it wasn't you who said that to him? Oz: [traveling by bubble to Glinda's kingdom] These things go kind of fast, huh? [notices the bubble around the castle] Hey, is-is that a wall? Glinda: Of sorts. It repels our enemies; it protects us from harm. Oz: But we're headed straight for it. Glinda: [cheerfully] Yes, we are. Oz: [nervously] And going very fast. How do you, uh...? Does this thing have any brakes? [panicking] I'm going too fast! I'm gonna die! Glinda: [calmly] You needn't worry, Wizard. It's a magic wall, and all good-hearted souls get [realization dawns on her] to pass through. Oz: I'M GONNA DIE!!! Oz: [whispering to Glinda, as her city celebrates his arrival] You know, I should tell you. I might not actually be a wizard... Glinda: Yes, I know. Oz: Oh? Glinda: Well, at least not any kind of wizard we were expecting. Oz: Uh, you could tell? Glinda: Yes. I can also tell you're weak, selfish, slightly egotistical, and a fibber. Oz: I see. Anything you don't know about me? Glinda: Whether or not you'll save my people. Oz: Ah, no, I just told you I'm not the wizard. Glinda: But they don't know that. If you can make them believe, then you're wizard enough. (sadly) These are desperate times, after all. Can you make them believe? Oz: [nervously] Um... Will I... still get that gold? Glinda: [surprised] Ah... [nods her head yes] Oz: [to the crowd] Good people of Oz. Your wizard is here! [Theodora watches Oz and Glinda greeting the people in Evanora's crystal ball] Evanora: What's the matter, sister? Theodora: [jealously] Look at how happy they all are. Do you think she'll be his Queen? Evanora: Well, of course she'll be his Queen. You can't compete with Glinda's charms - no one can. [Theodora cries, her tears leaving burn scars on her face] Theodora: Sister, it hurts! Evanora: Such is a broken heart- your precious wizard did that to you. Theodora: [turns to her] Make it stop. Evanora: Would you like me to? [Theodora pauses; cut to Evanora offering her an enchanted green apple] One bite is all it takes. One bite, and your world will change forever. One bite, and your heart will become impenetrable. One bite, and you and I will finally share the throne. [seeing Theodora's hesitation] Unless you'd rather see Oz and Glinda there? [Theodora grabs the apple and takes a bite. Immediately, the candles go out and a cold wind blows through the room] Theodora: [stares up at her sister in realisation] ...You're the wicked one - not Glinda! [Evanora smirks, victorious] Sister, you lied to me! Evanora: It's nice, isn't it? How clear everything becomes. Theodora: [suddenly begins convulsing with pain and gasping for breath; tearing off her cloak and necklace, she staggers across the room] What is happening to me?! Evanora: [chuckling] Oh. It's just your heart withering away. Fear not, Theodora, for soon you will feel nothing at all, except beautiful... Wickedness. [Theodora stumbles across the room, hallucinating about Oz laughing, and collapses behind a table; the fire blazes high. Evanora steps cautiously towards her] Sister...? [she shrieks and recoils as Theodora's hand, now clawed and green-skinned, shoots up and grabs the table, her nails gouging the stone surface. Evanora appears startled as Theodora -still unseen- stands up, casting a menacing silhouette on the wall] Oh, sister... You're hideous. [smiles weakly] I can cast a simple enchantment, and have you looking just the way you were before- Theodora: NO! This is who I am now! [flips her wide-brimmed red hat inside out, revealing a black witch's hat] I want him to see me like this! I want him to know that he was the one who made me this way! [cackles madly] Evanora: [to herself] Oh, dear... Theodora: [After arriving in Glinda's kingdom, in her new form] There's so much good here... It sickens me. [She jumps in front of the Tinkers. They recoil in fright] Still think your wizard can save you? FROM THE LIKES OF ME?! [levitates over to the Quadlings] SPEAK UP... or I will tear out your tongue! Oz: [to Glinda] Now, who's that? Theodora: [spins around, swoops toward Oz and Glinda] Don't you recognize me, Wizard? Have I changed so much? Oz: [shocked] Theodora? Theodora: [bows mockingly] May I have this dance? [moves her fingers around to levitate Oz up in the air and make him dance like a puppet] Oz: Hey! Hey! Whoa! I get it! You're a little upset! [Theodora continues to make Oz dance, laughing vengefully] Glinda: Theodora, stop! You'll hurt him! [Irritated, Theodora uses her powers to throw Oz into a wall. She walks up to him as he is recovering] Oz: Theodora... What happened to you?! Theodora: You happened to me! [she conjures up a fireball and is about to throw it at Oz, but Glinda uses her wand to extinguish it] Glinda: This isn't you, it's your sister. She's worked her magic on you. I'd hoped you'd be able to see through her... [points her wand warily at Theodora, who slowly walks towards her and Oz] Theodora: Oh, Glinda... So naïve. Just like your father. That's why it was so easy for my sister to kill him. Glinda: [sadly] She only killed a man... Not what he believed in. Female Quadling: [brandishes her broomstick at Theodora] Begone witch, before the Wizard makes mush of you! [the Tinkers, Quadlings and Munchkins yell agreement, ordering Theodora to leave] Theodora: [sarcastically] Ohh... how sweet. You all believe in him! [bitterly] Well, so did I, once. [to Glinda] And as for you, my pretty one... [lifts Glinda's chin with her nail and chuckles coldly] When I return with my sister and her army, the Yellow Brick Road will be red with the blood of every tinker, farmer, and Munchkin in your kingdom. Glinda: [firmly] You underestimate us, Theodora. We are a strong and united people... And now, the Wizard is here to lead us. Theodora: [turns to face Glinda's people] And as for your Wizard... he will be the first to die, and you will all see that he is nothing but a deceitful, selfish, and extremely mortal man! Give me that! [magically summons the female Quadling's broom; as soon as it touches her hand, it turns black] It was a broom that you wanted... Wasn't it, Wizard? [flies away on the broom laughing viciously] Oz: Glinda, I've got it! Glinda: What have you got? Oz: I've got a way out of this mess. [puts a book down on her desk] Glinda: What is this? Oz: A battle plan. [Glinda picks up and starts flipping through the book: Mastering Magic] It's all in there: Illusion, misdirects, slight of hand... Look, I know I'm not the wizard you were expecting, but I might just be the wizard you need. Glinda: You said you were just a conman. Oz: Precisely. Glinda: Nothing but a trickster? Oz: Yes. Glinda: A terrible cheat? Oz: The best there is. Glinda: Carnival magician's going to put on a show. Oz: I'll put on the show of a lifetime, the likes of which the land of Oz has never seen! Magic. Mystery. PRESTIDIGITATION! It'll be my greatest trick yet. Oz: This is all very impressive, but you still haven't told me how you plan to get this thing into the Emerald City. Glinda: Relax. I know someone. Oz: What do you mean you know someone? [Glinda winks at the munchkin standing behind Oz.] Knuck: Hello Wizard. Oz: Well, well, well. If it isn't old Sourpuss. Knuck: My name is Knuck! Glinda: Now you two be nice to each other. Knuck: Let's move it, Wizard! Oz: Can you give me a break? Knuck: I'll break yo' nose! Glinda: Would you stop that? A con man couldn’t have done all this. You’re much more than that. Oz: Then I’ve got you fooled too. Glinda: The only person you’ve got fooled is yourself. Theodora: [Laughing] OUT OF MY WAY! [flies into the city centre on her broom, causing the citizens to jump aside in fright; she lands in front of Glinda, stares at her for a moment, then kneels so that they are eye-to-eye] Give up, Glinda. Why do you continue to resist? Glinda: Because I believe in the Wizard. Theodora: [her face darkens with hatred and rage] So did I, once. Behold. [she stands up, pointing to Oz's balloon full of stolen gold, rising over the city] LOOK! Your Wizard! [Glinda stares at the balloon in disbelief] Citizen #1: Where is he going? Citizen #2: [sadly] He's abandoning us! Citizen #3: [sadly] How could he? [Knuck, the Master Tinker and Finley all watch in disappointment. Suddenly, an enraged Theodora conjures a red fireball and hurls it at the balloon] Glinda: No! [The balloon is hit by the fireball and explodes in a burst of flame, raining gold coins over the center of the square. The crowd reacts with horror as the burning balloon crashes down on the heap of gold] China Girl: No! [starts to cry] Evanora: [mockingly] Ohh... Not so Great and Powerful, after all. [Theodora stares impassively at the bonfire as Glinda and the citizens cry quietly. As the Winkees begin to move the crowds back, Finley flies over to the wreckage and retrieves Oz's smoking top hat; he clutches it and begins to cry. A Winkee guard walks over to him] Winkee: Hey- [Finley looks up, and the Winkee pulls back the brim of his helmet to reveal Oz, grinning] Hello, Monkey. Finley: Oz! [beams, hugs him] I thought you were dead- Oz: Shhh... You were crying pretty hard- was that for me? Finley: Oh... no, some of the smoke got in my eyes! Oz: [laughs, unconvinced] Oh, right. Finley: Wow, you fooled everybody - That was your greatest trick yet! Oz: [grins] That was just the opening act! Evanora: [to the Citizens] Let this be the final word! [Oz and Finley glance nervously in her direction as she and Theodora step forward on either side of Glinda] Your prophecy is dead. Like the king who spoke it, and the wizard who tried to fulfill it! All dead! Oz: [to Finley] It's showtime. [leads him towards the projection-booth carriage, where the Master Tinker and Knuck are gesturing for them] Theodora: [to the Citizens] And they will be joined in death, by Glinda the Good! [The citizens watch sadly as Theodora and Evanora close on Glinda] Farewell. Evanora: Say hello to your daddy for me. [she and Theodora conjure green lightning and red flames, respectively, and begin charging up their magical energies for the killing blow] Glinda: The dreams of the people live on. [Just as Theodora and Evanora are about to strike, all the torches around the square are instantly extinguished] Oz: [as Theodora is fleeing Emerald City] Theodora! [Theodora stops] I know your wickedness is not your doing, and should you ever find the goodness within you, you are welcome to return. Theodora: [pauses, as if considering] NEVER!! [she flies away, cackling madly] Glinda: Well done, Tinker. Your machine works beautifully! Master Tinker: That's just workmanship. What you displayed was true courage. Glinda: For the record, I knew you’d had it in you all along. Oz: Greatness? Glinda: Much better than that: Goodness. Alphabetized by author Watching our hero fill the clown-sized shoes of prophecy is only as unbearable as its creators' inability to make their tale distinct. But enlivening detail is absent from most of Oz the Great and Powerful, a film that is largely distinguished by the fact that it's not quite as flavorless as it could have been (especially when compared to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland) ... Yet when a film positions itself in the shadow of a beloved fantasy classic, passable isn't good enough. "Oz" never goes anywhere you don't expect it to. ... Oz the Great and Powerful was apparently made by a committee whose honorary speaker just happens to be the director of Drag Me to Hell. Simon Abrams, in review of Oz The Great And Powerful (7 March 2013) Raimi has kept hold of his irreverent sense of mischief. Telling the story of the faux wizard’s journey to stewardship of Oz, the new film somehow manages to be eye-wateringly vast and endlessly light on its feet. How refreshing it is to enjoy something we never knew we wanted. ... It transpires that, like Monty Python’s Brian, this Oz meets the description of a saviour, long prophesied in myth, who will lead the magic kingdom to safety and prosperity. Oz’s sleepy eyes sparkle at the prospect of access to a hoard of gold. But dangers await him. ... Yes, the picture feels a little like a cynical money-trap for the cinematic shoulder season. But Raimi really makes it fly. It’s all because (you knew something like this was coming) of the wonderful, wonderful things he does. Donald Clarke, in review in The Irish Times (8 March 2013) Now that I'm a parent, I realize that Oz is the father figure ... He's not a bad man but not someone who can solve all his children's problems for them, either. All he can really do is appreciate them for who they are, so that they learn to appreciate themselves. ... As much as I enjoyed Sam Raimi's new movie, which is breezy and bright in myriad dimensions, I doubt his story will exert a ... hold on the popular imagination for generations to come. ...  we're no longer watching Dorothy, an innocent abroad. Instead, we have James Franco's Oscar Diggs ("Oz" for short), a charismatic charlatan and a two-bit showman with an eye for the ladies — any lady, really; wiccans welcome! If there's a throne and a treasure trove at the end of the rainbow, maybe he'll stick around the next morning. He's not all heel, though. At least he has the decency to be embarrassed that he's not the magical savior everyone seems to be expecting. He says he aspires to greatness, even if he never seems likely to stretch for it. ... The new "Oz" falls short of the 1939 "Oz" in charm and innocence and certainly in songs (there is only one, a brief, jokey number from the Munchkins). But as family entertainment, it's hard to fault such a rapturous spectacle and astute, suspenseful piece of storytelling. Tom Charity, in "Review: 'Oz the Great and Powerful' is more than good enough" att CNN.com (9 March 2013) No movie ever can, or will, replace 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, but taken on its own terms, this eye-filling fantasy is an entertaining riff on how the Wizard of that immortal film found his way to Oz. Like the stage musical Wicked, it assumes that its audience knows the story told in The Wizard of Oz. ... The production pays homage to the 1939 movie by opening in black & white, in the old-fashioned Academy screen ratio, then expanding and turning into vivid color once the magician named Oz (short for Oscar) arrives in the faraway land that bears his name. I was a bit skeptical about the casting of James Franco in this role, as a small-time carnival magician, but he is thoroughly engaging as a struggling con man and charmer. ... Is this an Oz for the ages? That’s not for me to predict, but I do think it gives audiences of 2013 a satisfying big-screen experience. It doesn’t eclipse The Wizard of Oz, but it fills the bill as a modern-day companion piece. Leonard Maltin, review of Oz The Great And Powerful at IndieWire (8 March 2013) James Franco has turned much of his adult life into performance art that feels equal parts sincere and con game, and it would seem he'd be well cast as Oscar Diggs, a small-time illusionist and unabashed serial liar working the dusty back roads of Kansas in 1905. The problem is, Franco's a lot more believable playing slimy than sincere, and the part requires him to do both. It's a steady but less-than-captivating performance. ... Much of Oz the Great and Powerful centers on Oscar's transformation from me-first slickster to the Wizard of Oz, aka Man Behind the Curtain. With Oscar relying heavily on the inventions of Thomas Edison, his hero back on Earth, to pull off his biggest trick ever, Oz the Great and Powerful finally breaks free of its beautiful but artificial trappings and becomes a story with heart in the final act. Thing is, we know Oz and its wizard and those witches and the Munchkins are destined for a far greater adventure a little ways down the Yellow Brick Road. The landscape won't be as amazingly gorgeous and the witches won't be able to fly about and hurl fireballs with the ferocity they display here, but it will be a much more magical adventure all the same. Richard Roeper, in review of Oz The Great And Powerful (6 March 2013) Woody Woodpecker: Wakey, Wakey. Here's Woody!!! Woody Woodpecker: Guess who! (laughing) James Franco - Oscar Diggs / Wizard of Oz Mila Kunis - Theodora / The Wicked Witch of the West Rachel Weisz - Evanora / The Wicked Witch of the East Michelle Williams - Glinda the Good Witch / Annie Zach Braff - the voice of Finley the Flying Monkey / Frank, Oscar's circus assistant Joey King - the voice of China Girl/Girl In Wheelchair Tim Holmes - the Strongman Bill Cobbs - Master Tinkerer Tony Cox - Knuck the Fanfare Player Abigail Spencer - May Bruce Campbell - a Winkie guard Eric Bauza - Woody Woodpecker Wikipedia has an article about: Oz the Great and Powerful Official website Oz the Great and Powerful quotes at the Internet Movie Database Oz the Great and Powerful at Mojo Oz the Great and Powerful at Rotten Tomatoes Production Blog
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