Do you remember Sam Raimi’s take on the land of Oz? Kevthewriter does.
Everyone loves The Wizard of Oz. Sam Raimi has a successful franchise and many cult movies under his belt. And everyone loves Disney’s movies, as a company not as much. Still you’d think the three things put together would produce a very popular and beloved movie. But no one talks about this movie anymore. Why? I mean it made almost $500 million dollars, there’s gotta be an audience for it somewhere.
Well I hate to put my personal opinion in here and feel like I’m talking for everyone but maybe it’s because it is a surprisingly forgettable movie. Despite being a Disney movie about “The Wonderful Land of Oz” from the Director of the Evil Dead and Spider-Man movies, Oz the Great and Powerful failed to live up to expectations. I mean there are some elements that stick out for being good (it’s pretty) and some elements that stick out for being awful (Mila Kunis and James Franco are both wildly miscast) but…there’s just not much to it for the most part.
Think about the most popular things that take place in this franchise. The 1939 classic is well-known for its songs, story, characters, and everything about it. Wicked is popular for the same things, and The Wiz is well-known for having an African-American cast. Then there’s Return to Oz (also from Disney – maybe the mouse should stay out of Oz, huh?), which has gained a cult following, and is definitely a memorable movie for how creepy it is.
But Oz The Great and Powerful? There’s just not much to it. Not much to really remember it by besides some annoying flaws and some things that worked. For the most part it’s just…fine. It lacks the quirkiness of Sam Raimi’s best work and feels like he kinda just did it to fund projects he was more invested in (like Ash vs. Evil Dead). And it lacks anything special made by Disney to boot!
And, while I can’t say for sure, I guess most people just felt the same way. It probably just didn’t make that much of an impact on most people. In fact, most of its money was probably made on brand recognizability and a lack of family friendly entertainment out at the time but, once people were drawn in by the name Oz and had their fix of something to entertain their kids, they probably forgot about it along with their kids and moved on to other things.
As a result, I know I’m probably putting my personal feelings for the movie here but I’m guessing it’s forgotten because…it’s forgettable. And, while I don’t know for sure, I’m guessing I wasn’t the only person who just didn’t find it that memorable.
I never bothered watching Oz: TGaP. Once the reviews rolled in, I got the sense that this was in roughly the same category as Burton’s Alice. Big, empty movies in which quirky stars are drowned out by CGI. No thanks. Both movies attracted a crowd, but very few people seem to have actually liked them. No matter how many people buy a ticket, mediocre movies will be forgotten.
I’m sure Franco’s scandals aren’t helping.
I’m pretty sure this movie was forgotten way before his scandals put his career in jeopardy. That being said, whether or not he sexually harassed anybody, he should not have been in this movie. He just doesn’t fit the character at all. Those scandals just give yet another reason he shouldn’t have been in the movie (and, considering it’s a movie aimed at children, that kinda makes it even more awkward considering the scandal in question!)
I did see this movie in the theater and I have to agree with you that it just didn’t go far enough in any one direction. They either needed to make a brightly colored family film with a few creepy elements to keep the parents involved or just let Sam Raimi go full Sam Raimi. I’d love to see what Raimi could do with this property if he was set free with it. That did;t happen, so yes this is a forgettable movie that nobody will think about in the future.
I would definitely agree with the characterization of OTGAP as “forgettable,” although visually it was dazzling at times. I recall my reaction at the time I saw this one as being that they surely could have afforded to spend a tiny fraction of the production design and spfx budget on a decent script doctor. I did rather like Mila Kunis’s performance, though.
because it was a (bad) movie with nothing new to offer, like all of the last 20 years of film.
Pretty forgettable. I liked a few of the visual touches, but aside from that – forgettable.