First Poster for Walt Disney’s ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’

Re-interpretations of fairytale classics are all the rage this summer and next up after the Snow White deluge is the 1939 classic, The Wizard of Oz.

The classic has no fewer than three re-imaginings with an animated version voiced by Lea Michele; from the Corpse Bride co-director a CG/stop-motion version, and lastly the focus of our picture, Disney’s live action prequel, Walt Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful.

Directed by Sam Raimi and written by Mitchell Kapner, and David Lindsay-Abaire. The film stars: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff, Joey King and Bruce Campbell.

Plot Summary:

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.

Oz the Great and Powerful is released in UK and US cinema’s Friday March 8.