Wizard of Oz's extra dimension

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WIZARD OF OZ 3D. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

Wizardry gives toto extra dimension

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WIZARD OF OZ 3D. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."

"Oh, and you know what else, Toto?", Judy Garland's winsome heroine Dorothy might have added. "We're not in 2D any more, either."

That's right. Warner Bros has gone and slapped a 3D lick of paint on MGM's undisputed all-ages classic The Wizard of Oz.

Might be best to give 'em a leave pass for getting carried away.

It is the Wiz's 75th big-screen birthday, after all.

Given the circumstances, a moderately tasteful job has been done here. With their boxy aspect ratios and muddy mono sounds, 1939 movies weren't made to be post-processed into the 3D realm.

So, while the extra D isn't necessary, it isn't a distraction, either. The all-important cyclone sequence and the subsequent transition from black and white into colour both go off without a hitch.

The Wicked Witch of the West is as wickedly witchy as she ever was (easily spooked kids, be warned!). The Munchkins, the Emerald City, the fabled Yellow Brick Road and the irrepressible Toto (has there ever been a better portrayal by a pooch in movies) all look a million bucks.

Put it this way, it ain't no smooshy, swirly eyesore like, say, a Clash of the Titans.

The movie's gilt-edged credentials as a consummate crowd-pleaser have never been in need of a polish, and the continue to shine as brightly as ever in 2013.

The musical interludes are all killer, no filler. The performances are broad enough to be seen from the moon, and all the better for it. Each and every scene just demands to be smiled at.

Proof positive that while you cannot improve upon perfection, you can keep revisiting it over and over again.

* SEE The Wizard of Oz 3D at select locations this weekend only.

> THE WIZARD OF OZ 3D [G]

Director: Victor Fleming (Gone with the Wind)

Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, Margaret Hamilton

Rating: 5/5

"Because, because, because, because, because!"