OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL

by Jane Louise Boursaw

Reel Rating: 4 out of 5 Reels

MPAA Rating: PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language

Released in Theaters: March 8, 2013 (2D, 3D, IMAX)

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Family, Prequel

Runtime: 130 minutes

Directed by: Sam Raimi

Cast: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Joey King

Official Site: http://disney.go.com/thewizard/

SYNOPSIS: James Franco plays a small-time magician who's swept away from dusty Kansas to an enchanted land where he's forced to decide whether he'll be a good man or a great one.

Sex/Nudity: Oz kisses four different women over the course of the movie; there are a few references to his various conquests. Theodora dresses provocatively in a corset-like top, tight leather pants and a jacket. Evanora shows some cleavage, too.

Violence/Gore: Flying, screeching baboons with big talons are scary. A circus strong man chases Oz and tries to beat him up. A twister scene is intense with sharp objects flying toward Oz through storm clouds. Glinda is tortured and chained up at one point. China Town is destroyed, along with most of its residents, and an orphaned, weeping China Girl is left with broken legs. The Wicked Witch of the West is scary (though not as scary as the original Wicked Witch in "The Wizard of Oz"). Oz navigates intense river rapids, gets hurled down a steep waterfall, is pursued by a hungry lion, and attacked by carnivorous plants. When Theodora gets angry, she hurls fireballs. The Dark Forest is rife with creepy eyes and a scary graveyard. In one scene it appears that a main character has died..

Profanity: "Damn" and "shut up" are used a few times.

Drugs/Alcohol: A clown drinks from a flask during Oz's magic show in Kansas.

Which Kids Will Like It? Kids 10 and older who like fantasy movies or "The Wizard of Oz."  

Will Parents Like It? It's a fun prequel to the story we all know and love, although James Franco is a bit lackluster. I also have a problem with the fact that a woman transforms into an evil witch because of how Oz treats her.

REVIEW: When you're making a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," that's a pretty big deal. You don't want to mess it up. As James Franco, who plays the wizard, said about the re-imagining, "I just wanted to be sure that, if they were going to touch this material, they had a good approach. But when I read the script, I saw that they were going to be respectful in the right ways. You get to see the familiar place, but the audience gets a completely new route through that place.”