Stunning new trailer for 'Oz the Great and Powerful'

After days of hype building to this moment, the new trailer for Sam Raimi's The Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz: The Great and Powerful, has finally been released. Because it's been such a hotly anticipated film since the first footage emerged over the summer, it's easy to forget that it was in post-production for a very long time, in order to shore up the visual effects and provide the finest look yet at Frank L. Baum's magical land. Stunningly gorgeous, vibrant, and inventive, it promises to be one of the best looking films of next year.

But fans of the classic story are probably going to need more than just a few pretty pictures to make this a worthy origin story. James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, a small time magician and illusionist with dubious morals and a desire to be someone great. He thinks he's hit the motherlode when he's swept away to the Emerald City and is mistaken for their next king and the man who will save the land from destruction. He'll have to convince three witches, Evanora(Rachel Weisz), Theodora(Mila Kunis), and Glinda(Michelle Williams), that he's the man they hope him to be.

While the trailer draws a clear parallel with Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, the truth is this film is more alive than that cold and stagnant adaptation ever came close to being. I think when all is said and done we're going to be talking about Oz: The Great and Powerful as one of next year's biggest hits, if not the biggest.  We'll know for sure when it opens on March 1st....