John Boorman Directing Animated 'Wizard of Oz'... Wait, What?
Filed under: Animation, Classics, New Releases, Family Films, Newsstand
This was an is-it-April Fool's-Day moment for me this afternoon. First of all, I thought -- foolishly, I realize -- that we were safe from another straight-up adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. (I was open to the possibility of parodies, modernizations, rock musicals, etc.) This is a story that much of the industrialized world literally knows by heart. Can you really tell it these days to anyone but the littlest kids without some sort of wink or angle?So needless to say I wasn't expecting the announcement that we'd be getting a full-on computer-animated Wizard of Oz in the summer of 2010. And I certainly wasn't expecting the man responsible to be John Boorman, who hasn't made a Hollywood film since the 80s. But, uh... It's coming, pitched not as a remake of the famous film, but as another adaptation of the original novel by L. Frank Baum. It won't be a musical, which might be tough to imagine for people raised on the 1939 movie, but which isn't too surprising: a musical remake would probably be painting itself into a corner.
Boorman, for the uninitiated, is the legendary director of Deliverance and Excalibur. More recently, The Tailor of Panama was excellent. He's never made an animated film, and I think he must have some sort of specific vision for this one. Otherwise it's a very strange late career move.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-06-2008 @ 12:17PM
Clark Parker said...
Apart from this totally random choice of director and apart from the fact that it's yet another computer-animated kid's flick, I'd have to say that going back to the book is a great idea. I mean, I get where you are coming from, we all know the story by now, yes... But the thing is, the '39 version just isn't the story, not all of it anyhow. I'd love to see the wonder and imagination of that novel (let alone the rest of the series) retold with a little more visual flare and attention to detail.
That said... I seriously thought it was inevitable that Tim Burton would make it. I'm not endorsing the idea (I wouldn't necessarily balk at it either) but it just seems like something that he would have gotten around to.
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11-06-2008 @ 12:42PM
RobotWisdom said...
He already did one: 'Zardoz' (wiZARD of OZ, really)
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11-06-2008 @ 4:54PM
Bill said...
The thing is, The Wizard of Oz may be perfect for computer animation but the 1939 version casts a long shadow. What I think would be more interesting would be a movie version of Wicked, the Gregory Maguire novel (and NOT the musical version on broadway).
From what I recall of the original Wizard of Oz book, the story meanders around a lot before Dorothy gets around to the encountering the Witch and it is a bit like a slow paced Alice in Wonderland without as much wit. Since Tim Burton is doing his version of Alice, Boorman ought to be sure he has an original vision for Oz/
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11-07-2008 @ 5:40AM
EatingPie said...
Thanks RobotWisdom! Nailed it. I was going to mention it as how surreal, twisted, and downright bizarre Boorman could be -- which I somehow see this remake becoming -- let alone the actual Wizard of Oz reference
If you think you had an April Fool's moment, just watch Zardoz. Don't forget the LSD. And definitely it will be better than any remake, animated or not -- did I mention the LSD?
Wizard of Oz is one of those classics you *leave alone*. Like, say, Gone with the Wind. Or... Psycho! (Yeah, that worked out, didn't it.) Get a clue Hollywood. Boorman? I mean, seriously!
-Pie
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11-08-2008 @ 10:04AM
Beeslo said...
They tried the "creepy Wizard of Oz" angle with the sequel, "Return to Oz" (which gave me nightmares as a kid) and it didn't do so well. I can't imagine him trying to do anything but a creepy version more in grained with the book...but let's look how Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" did as a creepy interpretation of Dahl's original. Yeah, it kinda flopped too...
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