'Oz: The Great and Powerful' Gets A Trailer

The Wizard of Oz is a tricky series of books to adapt. L. Frank Baum was prone to whimsy but there were also undercurrents of political satire and the man’s own personal bitterness hiding, and it gives the books a snap that can seem oddly adult.

So, I’ve got to admit: the trailer for Oz: The Great and Powerful has definitely piqued my interest. Not least because it seems to be striking a balance between the books and the movie.

Here’s the trailer:

If you know the books, there are little touches here and there in the trailer that make it clear they’ve at least flipped through a few of them. Which is really more than can be said, for, say, Wicked.

What seems to be missing a bit, though, is Raimi’s signature style, even if the Classic will apparently turn up. That may be partially due to the fact that, well, it’s a trailer. Raimi tends to deliver in the non-trailer moments: Spider-Man 2 having Doc Ock go all Evil Dead on some ER personnel, for example.

The big question is really whether Raimi has managed to deliver a prequel that’s faithful to the movie and the books, or whether he’s made another Alice In Wonderland. We’ll find out next year.

image courtesy Disney

×