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First, he meets the beautiful and naive Theodora (Mila Kunis), who believes he is the wonderful wizard her father, the king, said would come to save Oz in a prophecy before he was killed. Kunis is weirdly stiff and subdued in these early scenes, which squander her inherent spark; later, as Theodora evolves, she screeches in a tone that's reminiscent of her "Family Guy" character, the awkward teenage Meg, screaming at her brother Chris to get out of her room. Next comes Theodora's sophisticated and deceitful sister, Evanora (a funny, vampy Rachel Weisz), who rules over Emerald City as its protector and fills Oz in on the riches that could be his if he fulfills the prophecy, kills the Wicked Witch and becomes the king. Finally, there's Glinda the Good Witch, played by a sweetly ethereal Michelle Williams. She also appears in the Kansas prelude as a young woman who's clearly smitten by Oz and hesitant to accept a marriage proposal from another man. (If she marries him, by the way, her last name will be Gale.) "Oz the Great and Powerful" plays with the notion of making people believe through spectacle and trickery
-- that what you see is more important than what you actually get. It's Oz's bread and butter and it's a primary tenet of the moviemaking process itself, of course. But this time, something is missing in the magic. "Oz the Great and Powerful," a Disney release, is rated PG for sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language. Running time: 130 minutes. Two stars out of four.
___ Motion Picture Association of America rating definitions: PG -- Parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
[Associated
Press;
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