The Witches of Oz (2011)

This is a review of the close to 3 hour miniseries and not the considerably shorter theatrical release. The Witches of Oz is written and directed by Leigh Scott, a man who cut his teeth working at The Asylum, and if you're familiar with their work then alarm bells should already be ringing. It sees an older Dorothy realising that the stories she writes of Oz are actually all true, and now the wicked witch is in our world to try and take over. AAAHHHH! This film is both ambitious and terrible for the most part. The first episode deals with painfully unfunny slapstick and cartoon caricatures. The second episode turned into an all out battle and tried to be a lot darker. The film has its ups and downs. The likes of Lloyd and Henriksen give great performances as they usually do, especially Hendrcksen who has a lot of experience in no budget territory. But we also have two Lord Of The Rings alumni trying hard not to die of embarrassment on screen. It's hard to tell with Astin and Boyd whether they are simply giving bad performances on purpose or if Jackson was just a much better director when dealing with actors. No doubt these two looked around the set and couldn't believe what their (I'm guessing by now, former) agents had gotten them into. Still, it's hard not to admire Scott's ambition and vision. He uses practical and computer effects well, and some of the designs are pretty cool, especially the Tin-Man. It obviously has designs on being a big epic fantasy, but it's impossible to take it seriously. I hear the hour shorter director's cut has better effects and is better concerning the pacing. There's certainly enough to make a child friendly kids TV special, maybe at the 70-80 minute mark, but I wouldn't sit through the whole thing again.

I am a huge fan of the original L. Frank Baum books, and this movie admittedly does not follow the source material very well. The movie has many effects, which are low budget, but very imaginative, and it is clear real effort has been put in. The cinematography, art direction, lighting, and score are all beautiful. To all the people complaining about how the book doesn't follow the original books, just try to suspend your disbelief! The story is still very strong, and the 3 hours gives time for both character development and action/special effects. I personally love the acting, even though it is at times cartoonish. Oz itself is a fantasy, so the acting should not be as subtle as a different, darker film. Most of the actors are relatively new, and hopefully this will lead to new and exciting opportunities for all involved, including famed B-movie director Leigh Scott.

This fill in the blank retelling of the Wizard of Ox, is bursting with imagination and fun. This made for TV miniseries have very good special effects and leaves the viewer stunned with it unforgettable scenery. Although, some of the lines are hokey, it still manages to put a smile on your face. If you like the Wizard of Oz, you will at least find it interesting. All the characters are here, and a few more surprises. Is there no place like home ?? Dorthy Gale has all grown up and a writer. Guess what she writes about? If you are an "OZ" lover, you are sure to enjoy this gem, with it's imaginative writing and story framework. Oh and you will laugh in parts, Be sure not to pass this One up, And don't forget TOTO too. Happy viewing.

First impressions: The visual effects won't blow you away. If you've seen the opening sequences of Dungeons & Dragons you know what I mean. Budget constraints, I suppose.Welcome to the Land of Exposition: Once upon a time there was a world full of magic. The pure at heart (conveniently colour coded for easy identification) were guardians of the greatest magic. But bad humans harnessed magic and sought to oppress everyone and steal allll the magic. And that's why we can't have nice things.Magical war ensues, and the world ended up looking like Mordor on a Thursday. The Munchkin wizard Bini Aru collected all the remaining magic and harnessed (more harnessing, yes) its power in a single spell, which he put in his spell-book. Then he created Oz, a sort of safari park for those hunted by humanity.The book is handed over to the Good Witches (blonde hair, GHD curling tongs, Maybelline loyalty card), and Bini Aru turns into a CGI butterfly. You will be seeing this butterfly again. Meanwhile, the witches of the East and West (wearing black and red this season, predictably brunette), are corrupted by their lust for the magic book and decide to wage war on Oz to get hold of it.The book, naturally, is the price to end the war, and the Wizard of Oz gives it to the witches, but the magical key that unlocks it is snatched by Dorothy, who... I have no idea. A solar flare kidnaps her, or something, and dumps her in Kansas.Five minutes in, and I'm so entrenched in the Realm of Backstory that it's rather a shock to be thrust into Kansas.Cue the actual story...Pacing is an issue as is a sense of plot progression. Things just happen. Someone suggested that this might had done better as a series of shorter episodes, and maybe that might have helped, or some serious trimming might have made the whole thing more coherent. There doesn't seem to be much structure to the story - Dorothy has a series of encounters in New York, but there's no real storytelling or impact here. All the key revelations take place in the margins, starting with the Oz backstory and ending with the letter from Uncle Henry, and much of what falls between seems like padding. The story Dorothy describes in the most recent book she's writing sounds so much more interesting than the actual plot that it's hard to believe that it's ostensibly the story that's meant to be taking place in front of our own eyes.The characters are another weak point. Clearly the writers did research the Oz stories. Bringing in Bini Aru, Princess Langwidere &c show that they looked beyond the usual protagonists, so credit where it's due. The problem here is that the characters aren't strong enough. Dorothy is sweet to the point of saccharine. She spends her first two minutes of screen time talking to the farm animals and reading Oz stories to little children before going to work at a sweet shop. I half expected to see animated bluebirds lighting on her shoulder all the while. Baum's Dorothy was always a little feisty, kind, but occasionally mutinous. This version seems the sort of person to whom things happen, when she should be happening to other people.Our Scarecrow/Lion/Tin Man trio this side of the rainbow are Allen and Bryan and Nick, oh my, and it's a huge shame that these three weren't given the chance to bond early on, because a strong relationship between these three could have made all the difference. We get hints at who they're meant to be - Allen is tactless and scatterbrained, Nick (Chopper) works in the minerals and metals industry, so I suppose he's 'in' tin, in a way, and he does pick up a child's teddy bear for them, so clearly he's got a heart, and Bryan... eats doughnuts. They're all likable enough and perhaps they'll redeem themselves in Part Two, but that really seems too late.The witches are... okay. I have a feeling that Eliza Swenson's character might come into her own later on, but in the first half she just doesn't have enough bite. There's no attempt to conceal her identity right from the start but she seems too measured. Nice, even. Given that Swenson also composed the score, edited, co-wrote and co-produced the film, I can only assume this is intentional. But, oh, for a more nefarious personality... Langwidere (yes, I know she's not a witch), doesn't help. None of her heads are exactly scene-stealers and that's a shame. For all the witches' dark deeds, someone who steals your HEAD and wears it for their own stands out as a really scary premise, but even when she's threatening to take Dorothy's there was no genuine sense of menace.Speaking of underused characters, Toto does nothing in most of the scenes he's in. As with all my previous observations, I can only hold out hope that he does more in Part Two - Toto has always been an active participant in the stories, not just a prop.This isn't something I'd buy on DVD, and I doubt I'll keep it on my Sky box after watching Part Two. Nor will I seek out the soundtrack, something I did immediately after watching Tin Man. The score isn't bad, but it's unmemorable, other than the overuse of sparkly chime bars lest we forgot there's MAGIC in this show.To sum up: it won't kill you to watch this muddled, ambling production, but it's unlikely to leave you feeling moved or enthused. Instead, I'd recommend breaking out Return to Oz (fun times with Etc), or Tin Man (Alan Cumming kicking people in the face), or just play "Defying Gravity" repeatedly until you can hear the secret message.I may be lying about the secret message.