FOXSYLVANIA

– – In the beginning, there was the classic The Wizard of Oz in 1939, based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Disney had contemplated an animated film based on the first of Baum’s Oz books, but lost out the rights to MGM in 1938, and the rest became film history. Disney Productions did acquire the rights to the remaining thirteen Oz books in 1954, and in 1985, Disney produced Return to Oz, a rather dark and eerie film which was not exactly child-friendly or in the spirit of its predecessor, and so performed poorly, both critically and commercially.  The Oz franchise was then basically put into mothballs for more than a quarter century…and lo, I have waited these many years for a really good flying monkey, one with a discernible personality, not just one of the “Army of Darkness” type drones that served the Wicked Witch in the original…

…and at long last, Sam Raimi, who gave us the Spiderman trilogy, appears poised to deliver just that!  In Oz the Great and Powerful, we are given flying monkeys that not only talk, but are gentle and whimsical creatures, worthy furry sidekicks!  We are also given so much more…three witches, and the backstories to the Oz saga that fleshes out both the place, and the “Wizard” who becomes its reluctant and faltering savior.  Constructed as a “prequel” to the original 1939 classic, this film has big shoes to fill, but just might pull it off…but don’t expect to see ruby slippers, they are copyrighted to the original.  It will be so good to see the Wicked Witch again, as the better the villain, the better the tale!  And the green-hued one looks awesome!

Oz the Great and Powerful is coming to theaters March 8th…and as always, best witches to you all!

This entry was posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:32 pm and is filed under animals, anthropomorphic, furry, furry film classics, furry sidekicks, movies. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: flying monkeys, Oz the Great and Powerful