The other guy who directed Corpse Bride, Mike Johnson is again returning to the genre of stop motion animation and this time his source material will be a zany re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz
Oz Wars, written by Rob Moreland (Space Chimps 1 & 2 and Vanguard’s upcoming live action City of Dragons) and Athena Gam (Vanguard’s recently announced Alien Rock Band), transforms the Oz narrative into a contemporary, freaky action-packed PG-13 audience pleaser, with Dorothy caught up in a whirlwind of warrior witches, black magic, martial arts and monsters.
“Oz Wars is an animated action-adventure story, but unlike most animated films, it’s not just for kids,” Johnson says. “The Land of Oz will be re-imagined using stop-motion to create a world that’s dark, slick, sexy, and dangerous. It’s long been a goal of mine to create a hard-hitting, grown-up action film using stop-motion animation. Oz Wars is my opportunity to do that.”
I am all for adaptations that stray from the source material, but sometimes you stray so far that you just are not in Kansas anymore.
It seems this variation on the story is a tiny bit too far outside of the traditional Oz, that it might just be better off NOT saying it is Oz related and change some names.
But its easier to market something if you start off with “a totally wild and new take on the Wizard of Oz”
What I do find interesting is that it will be using stop motion animation to accomplish it, and that alone might make the whole thing worthwhile.
