Oz The Great and Powerful

       Oz The Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi,(Spiderman trilogy, The Grudge) hits its mark, but will not make as big a splash as The Wizard of Oz did when it hit the big screen in 1939. Oz is a prequel to the original, telling the story of how the wizard came to Oz and the events leading up to the issue of the Wicked Witch of the West wreaking havoc on the people of Oz, an issue that is dumped upon poor Dorothy to deal with in the original.  The movie starts off in black and white in Kansas, just as The Wizard of Oz does, and transitions into "glorious technicolor" when entering into the wonderful land of Oz. Okay, well, it's not "technicolor", but I couldn't resist.
      The movie throws out several instances that are intended to remind people of the original, but all in all this movie is completely original and stands on its own two feet. When I saw the land of Oz for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the special effects, and thought it looked more like Alice in Wonderland than Oz, and was about ready to give up on the movie since so many movies have been ruined due to the overuse of special effects these days. But the complete ridiculousness was short-lived, and the effects were toned down.
     I really enjoyed the actors in this movie, even if this was not some of their best performances. I like James Franco, and Mila Kunis, but both of them had their awkward moments in this movie. Franco has been hit or miss recently, and this role was teetering on the edge. But in the end it worked well for him. I really loved Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz's performances. They both embodied their characters incredibly well.
      One of the biggest problems I had with this movie is that it seemed hard to tell if this would be a good movie for the family or not. It's rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language. Many of the scary moments I would think would be much too scary for little children, and give them nightmares and complexes on top of complexes. Seeing the movie in the theatre with children would be a poor choice. Many instances are meant to make you jump...and the wicked witch is the classic green hag that would scare the socks off of any child. And none of the witches had a problem with flaunting their feminine qualities. I would say this movie is good for children no younger than 9 or 10. 
     Overall, I thought this movie was very enjoyable, and family friendly enough for what it is. Many children were frightened of the original....and those same children will be frightened of this movie. It could have been cut down 20 minutes or more, but I wouldn't say it gets incredibly slow at any given point. It delivers a good message that people can learn from, and will be a fun ride for most people. So go ahead and enjoy Oz The Great and Powerful!