Helena Cooling: Oz: The Great and Powerful Influences

Oz: the Great and Powerful is a prequel to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and is set 20 years before the events of the original. Production Designer Robert Stromberg figured it was only fitting that the 21^st century prequel pay homage to the 1939 iconic Wizard of Oz and to the Golden Age of Hollywood Spectacle. Various major influences were highlighted throughout the film.

Glinda’s Kingdom

Stromberg comments that the captivating dreamscape landscapes of Glinda’s kingdom were influenced by a recalled trip to Switzerland. The major influence for these picturesque scenic views was Switzerland in the summertime and the beautiful aesthetic of the Alps. What is more, for Glinda’s castle Stromberg included a subtle finish to her castle. Glinda travels by bubble, therefore they added an opalescent quality to her castle, and being hit by the light will showcase a reflective rainbow pattern. In addition, a lot of design work went in to creating these fantasy views and this was so that the actors could get a sense of the whole scene. Furthermore, the actors could see not only the physical sets, but embody what was going on behind them on the bluescreens.

'Glinda's Kingdom' - Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013)

Switzerland Landscape

The Emerald City

The Emerald City was heavily influenced and pays homage to 1920’s Art Deco architect Hugh Ferriss. Ferriss’ style was an experimentation with light and shadows; he played with cityscapes and the way he stacked buildings reflected, dark against light. Stromberg revealed in an interview that Ferriss’ style and Art Deco on a whole, suited the back story of the Emerald City. He explains “Emerald City was built by Glinda’s father, then hijacked by these evil witches, so there’s a tension to the air. That’s why Emerald city looks like this masculine monolith with hard angles.”

'The Emerald City' - Oz:The Great and Powerful (2013)

'The Science Centre in The Metropolis of Tomorrow' - Hugh Ferriss (1929)

The Yellow- Brick Road

The Hudson River School, a group of painters in the 19^th century who travelled across America, where the main influences for most of the landscapes throughout. The landscapes depict somewhere between realism and surrealism, almost embodying the feeling of actually being in a dream. Stromberg comments “We all know the yellow-brick road, I wanted to take some of those icons that we all know and recognise and bring in some influence from traditional painters”