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Let's hope that one is good and doesn't end up like "Lion of Oz" - good voice talent wasted. The film was very mediocre and that's coming from a rather soft critic.

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I have that DVD The animation is really bad. I love that Kathy Griffin is in it though!

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I have it on DVD, as well - I went through an Oz phase and wanted to own all the books (like the 14 official plus the 50+ unauthorized sequels), all the films, etc.

So when I saw it for $5 at Wal-mart I grabbed it.

What a waste, ha ha...

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It actually is based on the book of the same name, written by L. Frank Baum's grandson. I've never read it, so I'm not sure how it fits with his grandfather's original Oz canon. Seems like it's pretty self-contained and could be placed pretty much anywhere in the series after Wizard of Oz.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

Disney's Oz Pic Gets Sam Raimi To Commit, 'Rabbit Hole' Scribe To Rewrite
http://www.laughingplace.com/Latest-ID-75519.asp

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Robert Downey, Jr. Quits "Oz: The Great and Powerful"



http://entertainment.msn.com/news/artic ... ews=623701

Well, that sucks. I would rather have seen Downey, Jr. in the role before Depp.

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Yea, I would rather have Robert, too, he's such a good actor, and he seems so fitting for the role. Johnny Depp is good but, I dunno, he'll really have to whip up something I haven't seen before...

Why is this getting re-written, though? Is there word that the original draft was bad?

Disneykid, from what I heard I didn't think Dorothy of Oz sounded like any previous Oz books. But from hearing the plot, you know the movie is based on the book's plot?

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As much as I love Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr. would've been a far more interesting choice, and one that I think could pull off the travelling showman shtick better. I think they should look for another actor since bringing in Depp links this too much to Alice, and I'd like to keep both films separate entities despite their inevitable similarities.

I think Tom Hanks would be a really interesting choice, and he's big enough to draw in a crowd from a marketing standpoint. He's also got an established relationship with Disney, so it's not entirely out of the question. If Depp does get the role, though, (and that seems likely), I won't complain. I'm sure he'd do a great job.

Disney Duster, yes. I haven't read the book, but all the press materials for Dorothy of Oz indicate that it's based on the book of the same name. I've read plot synopsizes for both and they do, indeed, have the same storyline and characters. I plan on checking out the book just before the release of the film.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

All right, so now Johnny Depp's passed on the role and the next person on Sam Raimi's wishlist is James Franco.

Now, I like Franco, but I'm having difficulty seeing him in this role. I feel he's too young (early 40s like Downey and Depp seems more fitting). I also think Oz should have a sort of quirkiness to him that Franco hasn't really shown, yet. He may very well surprise me, but at the moment, I'm saying no to Franco. We need someone older and with a more colorful, boisterous personality.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

Actually... I kind of like the idea of James Franco in the role, he certainly seems quirky enough in his private life. I agree with you though, Disneykid, that I think it would be best if the character were older, but I rather see Franco than Depp in this picture.

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I've you watched Pineapple Express, he's very quirky and colourful there. We'll see how he does here, but I still like Downey the best out of Raimi's choices.

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"If your life had a face, I would punch it." - Kim Pine, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Franco is now officially signed on as the Wizard, and Mila Kunis is rumored to be playing the Wicked Witch of the West (named Theodorah).

I'm not sure how I feel about Kunis as the witch of the west. I think it's because I don't know much about how they're approaching her character. I've heard that she starts out good and joins her sister to become wicked after the Wizard blows her off. The temptation's there to make her like Elphaba, but I hope they go a different route. I'm wondering if they're going to try to link this more to the MGM musical than the book considering we've heard nothing about another good witch outside of Glinda. Does that mean ruby slippers will make an appearance here? Will Theodorah be green? Only time will tell, I guess.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

One question: will this share the same continuity as "Retun to Oz", since RtO was some sort of a faux-sequel to "The Wizard of Oz"?

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I doubt it. Return to Oz was a sequel to the book (combining the 2nd and 3rd Oz books into one story), with only the ruby slippers brought in as a tie to the MGM musical. I have a suspicion that any ties Oz: The Great and Powerful makes to The Wizard of Oz will favor that movie's interpretation of events rather than the book's. I wouldn't be surprised to see the visuals fall more in line with MGM's Oz than Disney's previous attempt, and I'm also expecting the tone to be wildly different. To what extent remains to be seen.

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

Mila Kunis is the Wicked Witch, Theodora



http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.as ... &gt1=28101

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My feeling here is that somebody is saying, "What? We don't have the rights to <i>Wicked</i>? Let's make our own version!"

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"I'm a nudist!" - Tommy Kirk

I know it's early. And yes, I will wait until we know a lot more about the film to truly judge it, but...

Okay, Franco is a young wizard, it's long before Dorothy comes, that's okay I guess. But in the original book, I think he just flew into Oz, no tornado. And then the witches were never sisters. And the Wicked Witch of West was always wicked and after power. If they came up with a really deep, believable, good reason why she became wicked, like one half as good as Elphaba's reasons, okay, but...I don't think they will. I can't believe they're doing this, it's too much trying to capitalize on Oz and Wicked popularity. I mean, the only Oz movies going on now probably should just be John Boorman's CGI version and Universal's Wicked movie.

Maybe Dorothy of Oz is okay...if that follows the book. I mean...was the evil jester in the books?

I understand this won't be "what really happened in Oz", just a fun fictitious take on it, but still...not everyone's going to get that.

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Rachel Weisz is Evanorah, the Wicked Witch of the East:

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/20418/ ... f-the-east

I think that's a fantastic choice. I love Weisz, and we don't get to see her play evil very often. So right now we've got one amazing piece of casting and two passable ones.

Let's see who they get to play Glinda. Apparently, in this version, she's the Good Witch of the North ala the MGM musical instead of the South as in the book. I guess that means we won't have the fourth witch thrown into the line-up. Hopefully they get someone with a lot of drawing power. I know Disney's banking on this becoming a hit akin to Burton's Alice, but that cast was a force to be reckoned with. They need more big names if they want to catch the public's eye. I don't know how old Glinda's supposed to be in relation to the other two witches, but I wouldn't mind seeing someone like Nicole Kidman attached to the role.

If they give the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion cameos, they could also get notable actors to provide the voices (assuming all three would be CG/puppetry).

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Kelvin

My Blu-ray Collection

Wait, wait, wait! Mila Kunis, of Family Guy and That 70's Show fame, is gonna be in the movie? Awesome!

But to American audiences the only really big names in that movie were Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and maybe Helana Bonham Carter. While the rest are excellent, respected actors they aren't really as big of draw.

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