Tags : harry potter, Todd Macfarlane, wizard of oz
The Twisted World of Oz
It came to my attention yesterday that L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is being adapted into another live-action movie, this time under the direction of Todd Macfarlane, the man most famously known for the Spawn series that includes comic books, action figures, and a movie. Obviously it will have layers of darkness, nightmares, and all-around insanity that the famous 1939 film was so desperately missing, but the questions of how his personal tendencies could be incorporated into a largely children-friendly film remain.
Film School Rejects, however, answers that question with a quote from writer attached to the film (Josh Olson) saying it will be “Harry Potter dark, but not Se7en dark”. Say what you will, but this may actually be a good instance of catering to the crowds – a film that resembles a mashup of The Wizard of Oz and the original Saw would probably not be worth seeing, unless you’re interested in horrendous train wrecks of green slippers, torture-porn, and flying monkeys that cause you severe and lasting mental damage.
Contrary to popular belief, the Harry Potter books are actually rather dark, starting slowly with the third novel (Prisoner of Azkaban) and progressing incrementally until the series ends in one of the most bleak, violent, and disturbing novels ever marketed to children (Deathly Hallows). And while many non-fans didn’t appreciate the latest movie (Half-Blood Prince), it was actually rather true to the book’s mood and overall feel.
This, of course, doesn’t mean that the movie won’t be visually very dark, stylized, and twisted – just that the plot and character themes will be less demonic than you might expect. The flair of Macfarlane’s famously stunning visuals combined with a semi-adult storyline should result in a decent, if not good, movie. Since the source material is essentially a children’s story with only a hint of adult themes, straying too far from it would not only be sacrilege to the fans of the novel, but also risky in prohibiting a large demographic swath from even seeing it.
A modern, teenage Dorothy will bring a fresh perspective to the World of Oz, but it needs to be done properly. Dakota Fanning may not be the absolute best choice for the central role, but her acting career allows her to be exactly what the film needs for success: a teenager wiser than her years that is both charming and disturbing by turn – someone the audience can relate to, even while being shocked by the action on the silver screen.
But if Helena Boham Carter were cast in the role, along with a much more adult and twisted script, it would become the very definition of disturbing children’s tales reinventions, and would taint the childhood memories of untold adults for all time.
That being said, it’s hard to decide which would be more fun to see: an appropriately darker retelling, or a disaster of a movie that takes dark reimagining to its inevitable and disturbing conclusion.
I bet we find out.
Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction. He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.
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