As a fan of all things fantasy, I was ecstatic when I saw the advertisement for a prequel to the famed 1939 film, “The Wizard of Oz,” titled, “Oz, the Great and Powerful.”

Luckily, the prequel did not disappoint.

The objective of “Oz the Great and Powerful” was to introduce how the Wizard of Oz came to be and what Oz was like before his arrival.

The movie featured the trifecta of humor, action, and a stellar cast.  James Franco pulled off the slimy conman pretty well, but it was the characters of  Finnley and China Girl that stole the show.

Michelle Williams was the perfect choice to play Glinda, and Mila Kunis did a surprisingly excellent job of being the Wicked Witch, cackle and all.

I was thoroughly engaged in the movie the entire time, the visuals were stunning, and the actors all gave  genuine and entertaining performances.

But Franco became irritating at times because his character was not likeable at all.

He was playing the mighty Wizard of Oz, so that iconic character should have at least been more likeable.

Also, the movie didn’t discuss how the ruby slippers came to be. I  mean, these slippers were a pivotal point in the original movie and the fantasy-geek side of me was thoroughly disappointed that this film didn’t even give a hint of how they became so important in the original movie.

(Spoiler Alert!) The film starts off in black-and-white, and is set in Kansas, just like the original.  Franco plays the conman-slash-circus wizard who goes by the stage name of Oz .

He is introduced as slimy and conniving because he treats his assistant (Zach Braff) like a personal slave.

A tornado rips through Kansas, and Oz jumps into a hot air balloon and is swept up by it. Once the tornado dies down, he ends up in, you guessed it, Oz. As he travels to the Emerald City, Oz meets Theodora the Good Witch (Kunis), who falls in love with him.

She tells him of a prophecy that a wizard would fall from the sky with the same name as Oz and save the land.

In the Emerald City, Oz meets another witch, Evanora (Rachel Weisz). She is suspicious of Oz, so she sends him to kill Glinda (Williams) the supposed cause of the kingdom of Oz’s downfall.

Along the way, Oz meets the flying monkey Finnley (voiced by Zach Braff) and a small girl made entirely of porcelain (voiced by Joey King.)

Oz and his companions finally make it to Munchkinland by following the yellow brick road, of course.

They finally meet Glinda and realize she is no wicked witch at all.

It was, in fact, Evanora who killed the last king of Oz, spiraling the once great kingdom into ruin as the true wicked witch.

As Oz grows close to Glinda, Theodora suffers from a broken heart caused by watching Oz fall for Glinda through a crystal ball. Evanora then gives her a green apple that’ll make Theodora become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West.

The Wicked Witch  and Evanora set out to destroy the land of  Oz. Oz and Glinda respond by creating their own rag tag army of tinkers and munchkins.

Overall, I would give “Oz the Great and Powerful” 3.5 out of 4 Grizzly bear paws.

Those wanting to go back to the land of Oz should buy a ticket and take the ride.  It’s definitely worth it.