"The emerald city needs all the heart and courage it can get right now".
Set a day after her legendary trip to Oz, Dorothy Gale (Lea Michele) is facing having her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry's house being condemned due to the damage from the tornado. Meanwhile, in Oz, many years have gone by and the Lion (Jim Belushi), Tin Man (Kelsey Grammar) and Scarecrow (Dan Akyroyd) are being threatened by the Jester (Martin Short), the brother of the now-vanquished Wicked Witch of the West. The infamous trio contacts Dorothy and brings her to Oz via a flying rainbow. She then must enlist the help of new friends to save Oz.
The strongest point this movie carries is the voice acting. Some characters are interestingly well-acted. The stand-out, in my opinion, was Oliver Platt, who voiced Wiser the Owl. In fact, his performance reminded me of Andre Stojka's work in the earlier Winnie the Pooh movies, so it was almost added nostalgia. Martin Short did a terrific job also, bringing lots of character and versatility to his role. Megan Hilty was solid as the China Princess, while Michelle was fine as Dorothy (though it is difficult to compare her to the legendary Judy Garland). Akyroyd, Grammar, and Belushi also do fairly good jobs as the infamous trio, but again, its a difficult comparison to the original actors.
There were also some really clever things in the movie that I really enjoyed. For one, the Peeps jury was probably one of the most clever gags I have seen in an animated movie. Also, the literal Great Wall of "China" was also a fun gag. And the opening credits are used in a tornado, which works well as a nice homage to the original Wizard of Oz. Some of the backgrounds and candy-related elements are unique.
On the downside, the character animation struggles, especially the Kansas characters. Personally, I think this movie could have used a little more time in production to get the technology correct. Some characters feel more like they are out of a video game than a movie. The screenplay is also weak at times, as the dialogue feels sped up and rushed, and occasionally falls flat. The voice actors save a lot of it through their enthusiasm, but it seems more like a TV cartoon in terms of writing rather than an animated movie. Also, there doesn't seem to be much of an underlying message in the movie. The importance of kindness might be one, but there's nothing morally redeeming here, which is also disappointing (though, to be fair, The Wizard of Oz didn't exactly have an underlying morally-redemptive message either).
As for the music, the overall soundtrack is a mixed bag. Michele, Hilty, Hugh Dancy, and Short all are fantastic in their vocal performances, but a few songs feel out of place. "Even Then" is the only impressive, memorable song of the bunch. The short "Jester" does carry resemblance to a stage number. "When the World" is decent, but is more of a contemporary radio song than musical number. The annoying "China Princess" seems oddly reminiscent of "Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead!" "Candy" and "Work with Me", on the other hand, are more fit for a Preschool TV program than a major movie. No offense to Bryan Adams, but his work on Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron is arguably more memorable. Toby Chu's score contains both impressive and dull moments.
I'm not seeing movies as often as I used to. And with every decision I make, with more and more movies coming out that sound interesting, I have to choose to sit certain ones out and wait to rent them. I initially was going to wait to rent Legends of Oz, but out of four latter movies to choose from (the other three being Rio 2, Belle and Mom's Night Out), I eventually decided to give it a shot. But, by the time I came out of the theater, I'm not sure whether or not I made the right decision.
Granted, my expectations were not very high (the commercials were very cheesy and reminded me of the old Disney direct-to-DVD sequel advertisements). What made me go was the surprisingly positive audience reaction as well as the surprise it gave Grace Randolph (of YouTube's Beyond the Trailer). But, going with my grandmother before going on vacation the next day, I was entertained, but I wasn't amazed.
Why? Legends of Oz just unfortunately lacks some of the qualities that make a great movie. Coming 75 years after an all-time classic is a tough bill to even come close to (but I would never expect something close to that anyway). But, the character animation is flat. The script is weak and is missing emotional integrity. The music [mostly] isn't nearly as memorable as the tunes in Frozen or Muppets Most Wanted. And the visual effects don't even hold a candle to that of the superb Oz: The Great and Powerful.
That being said, the movie does earn its creativity points for a few very well-placed gags and some nice background animation. The voice acting is sterling. And there's enough cute and enjoyable moments here and there that make this (as mentioned) entertaining.
The overall verdict? This is, quite simply, a very cute, kiddie flick. The lack of emotional integrity and wittiness in the script keeps it almost strictly for kids, with not much to engage older viewers.
However, since I'm writing for a family movie review site, I appreciate the fact that this movie does stick to the clean, family-friendly environment that the original movie had (this should have been rated G, not PG), without ever getting darker or straying into other problematic content.
Score: 6.0/10
Content Problems Families Should Be Aware Of
Language: The only thing close to profanity would be, "what in the devil's food?"
Adult Content: None.
Violence: A few scenes of mild peril. A magical twister nearly takes out Dorothy and company. Flying monkeys are punched. The Lion, Tin Man and Scarecrow are put in various traps of danger. A couple of somewhat dark moments.
Drugs/Alcohol: None
Other: One mild fire hydrant joke (its a live candy one that hops away when Toto tries to lift his leg).
