Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful failed to appeal to high school audiences due to its very different take on author L. Frank Baum’s beloved fantasy land somewhere over the rainbow.

The movie, which opened on March 8, had a more sinister tone to it than The Wizard of Oz, MGM’s 1939 classic, which was based off of Baum’s most famous book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Sophomore Pareesa Darafshi said, “I have not seen the new ‘Oz’ movie. It just looks like another fake Disney movie.”

In recent years, Walt Disney Pictures has made numerous remakes of classic stories in the hopes of producing large profits from these recycled ideas. Many people found this practice destructive toward the integrity of the original movies.

Darafshi voiced her disapproval: “Disney keeps making all these annoying remakes which take away from the original movies because they are trying to make the originals more different and more modern but it kind of changes the whole purpose of what the original movie was all about.”

Some students did not like how Oz the Great and Powerful lacked the lightheartedness of the original family-friendly film.

Freshman Giorgi Trembley said, “I was unimpressed with the movie because it wasn’t really a kid movie. It was a little scary. It was weird. Some parts of the plot were easy to follow, but other parts had plot twists that I’m not sure kids would follow.”

Although students found many flaws in the movie, they also acknowledged that there were positive aspects, as well.

Trembley stated, “The special effects were cool and made the characters really come to life.”

Sophomore Emily Costello said, “The actors did a really good job.”

Oz the Great and Powerful was not a complete and utter failure, but it is a prime example of why Disney should not mess with the classics.