Should you go off to see the Wizard? Oz The Great and Powerful offers thrills—and chills....

(Here's a Mom and kid review of Oz the Great - in theaters now!) The Wizard of Oz proved that you could take the story of a girl looking for her home and make it into a huge movie. Oz The Great and Powerful, its brand-new prequel, proves you can make a huge movie, and it can still have trouble finding a home. Is it a kiddie flick? Only kinda. Grown-up fare? I can't imagine heading there without a kid in tow. If you have a crush on Mila Kunis, you'll only enjoy half the show, till she becomes an ugly green witch. And if you have a crush on James Franco, our Wizard, stop buying movie tickets and save your money for therapy. Don't you remember how smarmy he was at the Oscars?

Which is not to say that this Wizard isn't wonderful at times. Its briskly funny opening introduces us to Oscar ("Oz"), a rascally magician with a traveling circus in Kansas. Between shows, he passes time seducing every gal in sight. When one of then turns out to be a strongman's girlfriend, Oscar leaps into a hot-air balloon to escape a well-deserved beatdown. Just as he floats away, though, a tornado strikes. We're right with him as he endures a (literally) whirlwind journey. When he touches down again, he's clearly not in Kansas anymore.

The land of Oz is more magical than ever in this 3D extravaganza. You'll be picking your jaw back up off the sticky theater floor after seeing crystal flowers and glittering, translucent rainbows. But this beautiful world soon reveals its dark size: A wicked witch is menacing Oz, and the two good-witch sisters who've been guarding the Emerald City have been waiting for a Wizard to rescue them all.

Lured by the promise of a huge reward, Oscar pretends to be their man, setting off on the witch-hunt with two sidekicks. The first is a flying monkey who, unlike his scary cousins in the original Oz movie, is as winsome as a Webkinz. Oscar's other pal is a living china doll. She's meant to be cute, but, as my older daughter whispered, "that's the creepiest thing I've ever seen."

The plot that unfolds is part adventure, part romance (Oscar and Glinda? Who knew?) , and a tale of personal growth as our Wizard realizes his true potential. It's all punctuated by capable if not exceptional performances: Mila Kunis, as a good-witch-gone-bad, holds her own, sweet and vulnerable till, well, she isn't. Michelle Williams, as Glinda, thankfully keeps the sappiness at bay.

The ending is uplifting, and happily no one dies. There's even a moral—that you can't be great without being good first—though neither of my girls, aged 12 and 9, got it. (My hint was when they asked, "But mommy, is there any lesson?"). Both gushed about the film, though. At least till nighttime. Then my 9-year-old insisted on sleeping with me because she was spooked. Gee wiz, Disney, thanks.

Note: This PG movie is rarely violent, but has startling moments and spooky Dark Forest creatures. Unless you don't mind co-sleeping, I'd recommend it for the 10-and-up crowd.

Deborah Skolnik is a senior editor at Parenting magazine and the sleep-deprived mother of two.

Review by daughter Clara Enders

If you like the original Wizard of Oz movie, you've probably heard of the new Disney remake, Oz The Great and Powerful. Oscar Diggs was a circus magician until he got caught up in a tornado while riding a hot air balloon. After the whirlwind ride, he finds himself in the magical and beautiful land of Oz. He lands in a river and after he wades around for a few minutes, "good" witch Theodora sees him and mistakes him for the wizard, someone who is supposed to come and fulfill Oz's prophecy. The next day, she takes him to the Emerald City and along the way he meets a monkey named Finley who promises to be his lifelong servant. When they reach the Emerald City, Oz quickly learns that in order to be king he must defeat the Wicked Witch. Oz and Finely travel down the yellow brick road until they reach China Town, a place where all the little china people live in teapots and teacups. They find a small girl, referred to as China Girl, whose family was killed in a fight with the Wicked Witch. The pair becomes a trio as they travel to the Dark Forest. As the movie progresses, they pick up new friends and come up with creative and brave ways to outsmart the Wicked Witch. Oz also starts to believe that even though he is not THE Wizard, he could still defeat the witch.

I enjoyed all the special effects in this movie. They helped to make it scarier and more imaginative. I thought all the actors were very good, and they played their parts in believable ways. Even all the extras, like the munchkins and tinkers, added more to the film. I think this movie could appeal to everyone, but some little kids could be scared of some intense parts. For instance, the flying monkeys look more like flying beasts, and the fight between Oz and the Wicked Witch is a little bit frightening. I enjoyed this movie and think a lot of other people will too.

Clara Enders is a seventh grader at Scarsdale Middle School.