(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD")
JUDY GARLAND AND THE MUNCHKINS: (Singing) Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road.
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
The yellow brick road is now taking us to the Las Vegas strip and the Sphere, where the merry old land of Oz is enhanced by AI. It's a show that opened last week. It looks, sounds and feels a lot different than when we were kids watching the 1939 Judy Garland movie.
Now, some folks have been critical. They don't like their childhood classics messed with. They'd like to release a flock of flying monkeys at this reinvention.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE WIZARD OF OZ")
MARGARET HAMILTON: (As the Wicked Witch of the West) Now fly, fly.
RASCOE: I'm joined now by Chris Willman, senior writer for Variety. He's seen "The Wizard Of Oz" at the Sphere in Las Vegas and joins me now. Welcome to the program.
CHRIS WILLMAN: Thanks. Glad to be with you.
RASCOE: What exactly is different about this version of "The Wizard of Oz"?
WILLMAN: Well, so much. There's what's happening on screen, which, as you may know, is a screen that's dozens and dozens and dozens of times as large as any traditional movie screen you've ever seen a movie on. And then the other thing that's different is the sort of experiential aspect. They have kind of special effects they would call 4D, where there are things like snow. When they go into the poppy field, there's snow that comes over the audience. And when the flying monkeys throw apples at Dorothy and her friends, now there are tennis ball-like apples that are thrown...
RASCOE: (Laughter).
WILLMAN: ...From the rear and gently tap people on the heads. I did not catch one. I was disappointed. But the biggest thing is the tornado.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE WIZARD OF OZ")
BERT LAHR: (As the Cowardly Lion) It's a twister. It's a twister.
WILLMAN: There are incredible wind machines that you can't see, but you feel. If you've got a toupee on, you may want to hold on to it...
RASCOE: (Laughter).
WILLMAN: ...'Cause it could go flying off with Toto. And there's debris that circles around in the auditorium during the tornado. So at the end of the show, there are little paper leaves everywhere, left over from the tornado.
RASCOE: Oh, my goodness. Like, is it really scary, or is it just exciting?
WILLMAN: I would say just exciting. You know, if I was 4 years old, I might have a different experience of it.
RASCOE: (Laughter).
WILLMAN: So, you know, parents may want to warn kids ahead of time. And there's a couple other scary elements, too, like the flying monkey drones. But yeah, the tornado - it's intense. You feel it. I was sitting next to a critic who had his notepad open, and the pages were just flapping back and forth. It was (laughter) quite a sight to see.
RASCOE: So you said there are flying monkey drones in the theater, as well?
WILLMAN: Yeah. They don't move very fast, and I will say that as much as the flying monkeys have scared kids over the decades, these monkey drones are not that scary...
(LAUGHTER)
WILLMAN: ...So I - they're just kind of cute. They move very slowly.
RASCOE: OK. Do you think, though, that there are valid concerns about the idea that AI is being used in this way on this classic film, that it's come for Dorothy and her little dog, too?
WILLMAN: (Laughter) I'm of two minds about it. I haven't really settled on that. On the one hand, I think it's a slippery slope. You know, when they start having "The Godfather" in there and they're adding extra characters or something...
(LAUGHTER)
WILLMAN: ... I think if people get concerned about that, then there's a reason to be more concerned about this. But I think, you know, "The Wizard Of Oz" was conceived as a popular entertainment. It wasn't an auteur film. And I don't think 86 years is too soon to have a little fun with it.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE WIZARD OF OZ")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTISTS: (Singing) Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, and a couple of tra la las. That's how we laugh the day away in the merry old land of Oz.
RASCOE: That's Chris Willman, senior writer for Variety. Thanks so much for talking with us.
WILLMAN: You bet. Glad to.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE WIZARD OF OZ")
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTISTS: (Singing) In the merry old land of Oz. We get up at 12 and start to work at 1, take an hour for lunch, and then at 2, we're done. Jolly good fun. Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, and a couple of tra la las... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
