L Frank Baum wrote fourteen stories about Oz - thirteen sequels to the book we all know - and this fantasy adventure doesn't appear to be any one of them but a kind of dreamt up origin story a la Gregory Maguire featuring early versions of myriad Oz characters - China Girl (not the China Princess), Finley, a winged monkey in a bellhop uniform, the witches before they have hit their good or evil strides (South, East, West, but not Locasta-Tattypoo), and James Franco is the wizard twenty years prior to his being sought out by Dorothy, and while it slightly disappoints fans of the books and hasn't a patch of the classic movie's wonder, it is fun, entertaining and a clever tie-in.
★★★☆☆
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