Oz The Great and Powerful Coming March 8, 2013

This post will have the official information from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures regarding “Oz The Great and Powerful” starring James Franco and coming to theaters March 8, 2013.  When small-time magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) pulls one flim-flam too many, he finds himself hurled into the fantastical Land of Oz where he must somehow transform himself into the great and powerful Wizard—and just maybe into a better man as well.

Continue reading for more news, images, and trailers.  For more family movie news, be sure to follow Adventures by Daddy on twitter and “like” our facebook page too.

Update March 7, 2013

George Gensler provided this “spoiler-free” movie review of “Oz The Great and Powerful” – Click here to read, Goodness, Greatness, Great Balls of Fire!

 

Update March 7, 2013

Printable activity sheets and ideas for throwing the ultimate “Oz The Great and Powerful” party.  Click here to print out a cut out mask, maze, memory cards, and more.

 

Update February 28, 2013

We shared a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the world of Oz.  Director Sam Raimi assembled an award-winning production team led by 2x Oscar winning production designer Robert Stromberg [Best Achievement in Art Direction "Alice in Wonderland" (2010) and "Avatar" (2009)].  However, if you think all the extravagant landscapes you see are nothing more than digital, computer effects, you’re in for a surprise.  Click here for the full story.

 

Update February 26, 2013

Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Theodora (Mila Kunis) get in an “Argument Over Oz” in this latest clip released for “Oz the Great and Powerful.”

Update February 20, 2013

Travel with Glinda by bubble in this latest clip released from “Oz The Great and Powerful.”

Update February 15, 2013

Disney shared a behind the scenes video featurette for “Oz The Great and Powerful” focused on creation of the costumes and makeup.

An additional television spot was also released “The Battle for Oz” begins March 8th.

Update February 12, 2013

Disney announced today the launch of the “Journey to Oz Balloon Tour,” sponsored by leading multichannel retailer HSN and IMAX Corporation, in support of its upcoming fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” opening in U.S. theaters and IMAX on March 8, 2013.  The colorful, “Oz The Great and Powerful”–emblazoned hot-air balloon began its tour this morning from the Walt Disney Studios lot in Burbank, CA.

Stops for the “Journey to Oz Balloon Tour” to date include:

• “Oz The Great and Powerful” premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood  (February 13)
• Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA. (February 17)
• Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL.  (February 20)
• Central Park in New York City (March 5 & 6)

On February 15, the “Journey to Oz Balloon Tour” app will go live on the official Facebook page for the film (facebook.com/OzTheGreatAndPowerful).  Starting then, fans will have the opportunity to unlock screenings in cities near them.  Users will vote by Tweeting with a custom hashtag for their city (e.g. #DisneyOzSeattle) or by sharing on Facebook.

Furthermore, an additional character poster released featuring Finley the flying monkey (voiced by Zach Braff) and China Girl (Joey King), as well as a new television spot.

Update February 6, 2013

Disney announced multiple GRAMMY Award–winning superstar Mariah Carey has recorded the song, “Almost Home,” for “Oz The Great and Powerful.”

“Almost Home” will be released as a single by Carey’s label, Island Def Jam, on February 19, 2013.  Award-winning photographer/director David LaChapelle will direct Carey in the music video for “Almost Home.”  The two long-time collaborators are reuniting in what LaChapelle describes as “a duet between Mariah and the movie.”  LaChapelle photographed Carey previously for album covers, and directed her in the music video “Loverboy.”

“‘Almost Home’ has a message that works beautifully with the film,” Mariah Carey says of the song she co-wrote and co-produced for “Oz The Great and Powerful.”  “It’s a feel-good record, evoking the feeling of reaching your home and being with people that you love.”

Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling female artists of all time with a distinct five-octave vocal range and more than 200 million albums sold to date and eighteen Billboard #1 singles (seventeen self-penned).  As a singer/songwriter/producer, she has been recognized with five GRAMMY Awards, nine American Music Awards, Billboard’s Artist of the Decade Award, the World Music Award for World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium and BMI’s Icon Award for her outstanding achievements in songwriting, to name a few.  Carey currently appears as a judge on Fox TV’s American Idol, and is working on her new studio album to be released this spring.

“Almost Home” is performed by Mariah Carey, produced by Mariah Carey and Stargate for 45th & 3rd Music LLC, written by Simone Porter, Justin Gray, Lindsey Ray, Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen and Mariah Carey.  Courtesy of Island Def Jam Music Group/Universal Music Group.

Update February 5, 2013

Walt Disney Studios launched a Chrome Experiment called Find Your Way to Oz that will allow users to journey through a dusty Kansas circus, playing games along the way, to unlock an exclusive, unreleased clip of “Oz The Great and Powerful.”  Take a look at the short video below to get a sense of the Chrome Experiment.

Go to www.findyourwaytooz.com to follow in the footsteps of the Wizard himself and begin your journey down the Yellow Brick Road.

Update February 3, 2013

Watch the 30 second spot for “Oz The Great and Powerful” that aired during the Super Bowl.

Update January 28, 2013

Sneak peek of Super Bowl spot for “Oz The Great and Powerful” released – only 10 seconds long, but those 10 seconds don’t reveal much more that we haven’t seen already.  The witch and all her power will take over the Disney.com homepage immediately following the commercial on game day.

Update January 26, 2013

More character posters released for “Oz The Great and Powerful” revealing the Witches and a potential Wizard.

Meet Oscar Diggs (James Franco): A small-time magician with questionable ethics arrives in a land and must decide if he will be a good man or a great one.

Meet Glinda (Michelle Williams): Benevolent, compassionate, and above all — good.

Meet Theodora (Mila Kunis): Beautiful, naive, and hopeful for the arrival of the great and powerful wizard.

Update January 24, 2013

Additional character poster released for “Oz The Great and Powerful” – meet Evanora: Royal advisor, Emerald City protector, and a witch to be feared (played by Rachel Weisz).

Update January 16, 2013

Glinda (Michelle Williams) and Oscar Diggs (James Franco) sail high above Oz in this latest image.  The Witches of Oz are also prominently featured in the latest television spot.

Update January 9, 2013

The latest set of seven images released for “Oz The Great and Powerful” contain additional glimpses of James Franco (Oscar Diggs) with the witches Theodora (Mila Kunis) and Glinda (Michelle Williams).

 

Update January 4, 2013

Four additional images released for “Oz The Great and Powerful”

 

Update December 31, 2012

Disney announced a contest for the month of January, 2013.  Tweet your New Year’s resolution using #DisneyOz for a chance to win a trip for two to the Emerald City (Seattle, WA).  Click here for all the contest details.

Update December 19, 2012

Character poster released for Oz the Great and Powerful featuring the Wicked Witch of the West.

Update November 14, 2012

Second trailer released for Oz the Great and Powerful along with a batch of images from the film.

 

Update November 13, 2012

Final panel of the OZ Tryptich poster revealed with James Franco, Michelle Williams, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz.

Here’s the complete poster triptych pieced together (click on image to make larger):

Update November 10, 2012

Second panel of OZ Triptych poster released with nightmare inducing flying monkeys.

Update November 2, 2012

First panel of OZ Triptych poster introduces the Wicked Witch of the West.

Update July 13, 2012

First trailer released for “Oz The Great and Powerful,” and we get our first look at James Franco as the soon to be Wizard.

Also, the first stills from the film have been released.

Disney’s fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz.  When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting.  Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Update: July 25, 2011

“Oz The Great and Powerful” Begins Production in Michigan

James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams Topline Sam Raimi’s New Fantasy Adventure

From Walt Disney Studios press release:

Pontiac, MI, July 25, 2011—Walt Disney Pictures’ fantastical adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful,” directed by Sam Raimi, went in front of the cameras at the brand-new Raleigh Studios in Pontiac, Michigan, on Monday, July 25, 2011, boasting a stellar cast that includes Academy Award® nominee James Franco (“127 Hours”) as the young wizard, Golden Globe® nominee Mila Kunis (“Black Swan”) as the witch Theodora, Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz (“The Constant Gardener”) as Kunis’ sister Evanora and two-time Oscar®-nominated actress Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain,” “Blue Valentine”) as Glinda, the Good Witch.

The cast also includes Emmy® and Golden Globe® nominee Zach Braff (“Scrubs,” “Garden State”), who will play Franco’s circus assistant as well as lend his vocal talents to one of the CGI creatures in the story — Finley, the winged monkey who accompanies the magician on his journey to Oz; and 12-year-old actress Joey King (“Ramona and Beezus”), who will voice another CGI character in the story, China Girl, who also joins the future Wizard on his excursion through Oz.

“Oz The Great and Powerful” imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone’s been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

The film will be produced by industry veteran Joe Roth, along with executive producers Grant Curtis (the “Spider-Man” trilogy, “Drag Me to Hell”), Philip Steuer (“The Chronicles of Narnia” series) and Palak Patel. The screenplay was written by Mitchell Kapner, (“The Whole Nine Yards”) and David Lindsay-Abaire (“Rabbit Hole,” “Robots”).

Raimi has assembled his own band of technical wizards and movie magicians on the project, which includes cinematographer Peter Deming (“Mulholland Dr.,” “Drag Me to Hell”), two-time Academy Award®–winning production designer Robert Stromberg (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Avatar”), Oscar®-winning film editor Bob Murawski (“The Hurt Locker,” the “Spider-Man” trilogy), veteran Oscar®-nominated costume designer Gary Jones (“Spider-Man 2,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley”), visual effects Oscar® winner Scott Stokdyk (“Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man”) and Academy Award®–winning special makeup artist Howard Berger (“The Chronicles of Narnia” series), who will create the looks of several of the unique denizens of Oz, including creatures such as the Whimsies, the Tinkers and the Winkies, as well as the ghastly look of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Production on “Oz The Great and Powerful” will take place entirely on site at the new Raleigh Michigan Studios, the 200,000 square foot sound stage facility in Pontiac, Michigan, once the location of General Motors’ Centerpoint business campus and truck manufacturing plant.

“Oz The Great and Powerful” is produced by Joe Roth and written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire (credit not final).  Grant Curtis, Philip Steuer and Palak Patel are serving as executive producers.  “Oz The Great And Powerful” opens in US theaters March 8, 2013.