Dir. Leigh Scott, USA, 160 mins, 2011
Cast. Paulie Rojas, Sean Astin, Lance Henriksen, Eliza Swenson, Christopher Lloyd, Noel Thurman
Review by Michelle Moore
A movie that has magic and witchcraft is always appealing and one movie that had all this was 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz. Usually re-imaginings of classics such as the recent versions of Alice In Wonderland and A Christmas Carol can be admired, as can the writers and filmmakers who add their two cents with new talent and concepts.
Since the original is such a familiar story, I was keen to see how familiar characters could be placed in new situations and how their journey would conclude. Although this re-imagining is tied-in with the original, it is not one of the most successful or enjoyable viewings.
The Witches of Oz began as a television mini-series and is now being released as a feature film. It follows the grown up Dorothy Gale (Rojas), a children’s book author as she moves from Kansas to New York City. She quickly learns her books are based on repressed childhood memories of her time in Oz. When The Wicked Witch of the West shows up, she finds herself in danger of experiencing it all over again and must relive her past to find inner courage to stop the Witch.
The idea of this re-imagining, taking Dorothy ahead a few years from her adventures in Oz and seeing what happens was a brilliant concept on paper, however the concluding product fails to fully impress. The pace is sluggish at over two and half-hours, some scenes drag on and could have easily been cut short and at some point the back history is thrown out making the time line seem off. This isn’t a high budget blockbuster, but you would expect more action and effects; those present are poor and add nothing to the appreciation of the feature.
Characters are unable to reach their full potential. Paulie Rojas as Dorothy is unanimated, wooden and is unable to live up to the previous portrayals of Dorothy. Her personality is non-existent and she is unable to offer any feelings and emotions through her acting. Sean Austin could have done far better given half the chance and as for Glinda, her character was not used as much as it could have been. In fact none of the character were particularly incandescent, expect of course for Christopher Lloyd, who although was underused, can do wonders with characters thrown at him, and makes the few scenes with him present in worth watching.
If an adult can barely sit through the two and a half hours duration of this movie then a child cannot be expected to do so. There is something here that doesn’t gel. Whether it be the lack of modern effects, poor acting or terrible fight scenes, such as between the Tin Man (although he looks like a robot)/baddie and the munchkin’s sword fighting which is worse than young children. Unfortunately, The Witches of Oz hasn’t lived up to expectations of the classic.
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