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'Tin Man' Kicks Brass In Latest 'Oz' Tale

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2007

TAMPA - Forget Judy Garland going over the rainbow and dancing with Munchkins.

In the latest film version of L. Frank Baum's classic fable, Dorothy Gale, played by Zooey Deschanel, is a motorcycle-riding waitress in a black leather jacket
And she becomes "D.G." in the "O.Z." when a tornado delivers her to the Outer Zone, a strange place ruled by an evil sorceress.

There's a yellow brick road and an Emerald City, but the Munchkins are tree-dwelling savages.

The Wizard gets high on "vapors." Toto is a shape-shifting old man. The Scarecrow has had his brain removed by aliens. The Cowardly Lion is a psychic. And the Tin Man is a gun-toting ex-cop who dresses like Indiana Jones.

The Sci-Fi Channel's new six-hour miniseries, "Tin Man," is a post-modern retelling of Baum's "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," which inspired the beloved 1939 musical "The Wizard of Oz."

There's no music, but the special effects are plentiful. And it's six hours long. The 1939 film ran 101 minutes, so Sci-Fi Channel viewers will be spending a lot more time in the O.Z.

Those who have the MGM version stamped in their collective memories will have to let go of the nostalgia factor and open their minds to something different.

"Tin Man" is entertaining as a science-fiction fantasy adventure. It lacks the sweet, innocent charm of the original film. But it's a fun ride with a good cast.

Executive producer Robert Halmi, who has supervised dozens of films for television, says he always loved the book.

"I always said through all these years that every great book should be redone every 35 or 40 years because a new generation has to see it," he said in a recent interview. "This was just a fantastic opportunity to do it big and do it different."

Those familiar with the 1939 film will recognize the references that are laced throughout the miniseries. Part of the fun of watching "Tin Man" is tracking the homage to "The Wizard of Oz."

Deschanel, 27, has been acting since she was 17. She is best known for her film roles in "Almost Famous," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and "Elf." Her father is a cinematographer; her mother, Mary Jo Deschanel, is an actress; and her sister, Emily, co-stars on Fox's "Bones."

In an interview this past summer in Pasadena, Calif., Zooey said she first saw "The Wizard of Oz" when she was very young.

"I wouldn't even compare it" to the miniseries, she said. "It's like completely going back to the original material, and I think taking cues from, you know, a very different genre of film, although I love the original. I tried to approach it like it was an entirely new story."

She calls it a coming-of-age story about a young woman who is forced to grow up and prove herself. D.G. is out to stop the evil empire that rules the O.Z. She does battle with a wicked witch (Kathleen Robertson).

Veteran TV actor Neal McDonough plays the Tin Man, a former policeman who had his heart broken. He is out for revenge because the evil empire turned on him and trapped him in a metal pod for eight years. He was forced to watch a holographic replay - over and over - of his wife and son being tortured.

Alan Cumming plays the zipper-headed Glitch, a former scientist who had his brain removed because he was considered a threat to the witch. Raoul Trujillo is the lion and Blu Mankuma plays the shape-shifter, Toto.

Richard Dreyfuss guest stars as a vapor-sniffing Mystic Man who helps D.G. on her quest. But he adds little to the film other than name recognition.

The flying monkeys from the 1939 film remain among the more terrifying creatures in film history. But the flying batlike creatures in "Tin Man" don't cut it. We have become jaded after seeing so many computer-generated creations that these fakes are unimpressive.

ON TELEVISION

Tin Man

WHAT: A six-hour fantasy miniseries inspired by "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

WHEN: 9 tonight, Monday and Tuesday

WHERE: Sci-Fi Channel

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