The Wizard of the Emerald City (2024 film)
The Wizard of the Emerald City (Russian: Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из жёлтого кирпича, lit. 'The Wizard of the Emerald City. The Yellow Brick Road'; titled onscreen as The Wizard of the Emerald City. Part I) is a 2024 Russian live-action fairy tale fantasy film directed by Igor Voloshin, produced by Central Partnership in partnership with Petr Anurov's Kinoslovo company.[1]
| The Wizard of the Emerald City | |
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| Directed by | Igor Voloshin (ru) |
| Written by |
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| Based on |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Mikhail Milashin |
| Music by | Nikolay Rostov |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Central Partnership |
Release dates |
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Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | Russia |
| Language | Russian |
The film is a screen adaptation of the 1939 children's novel of the same name by the Soviet writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov, based on a reworking of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It stars Ekaterina Chervova in her first film role as Ellie Smith, along with her dog Totoshka. The cast was later joined by Yuri Kolokolnikov as the Tin Woodman, Yevgeny Chumak will turn into the Scarecrow, Artur Vakha who voiced the Cowardly Lion, who was completely computer-generated, and Svetlana Khodchenkova has been announced as the evil sorceress Bastinda.
The Wizard of the Emerald City premiered at the Karo 11 October at Arbat Square in Moscow on December 18, 2024,[2] and is scheduled to be theatrically released in Russia on January 1, 2025.[3]
The sequel, The Wizard of the Emerald City. Part II, is scheduled for 2026.
Premise
editThe film tells the story of a girl named Ellie Smith, who lives in a distant city. Suddenly, an evil witch named Gingema conjured a hurricane that carried the girl and her dog to the land of Munchkins, where she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion, with whom she must go to the Emerald City to find the Wizard who can fulfill their dreams.[4]
Cast
edit- Ekaterina Chervova as Ellie Smith
- Udzher the Dog as Totoshka
- Yuri Kolokolnikov as Iron Lumberjack / the Tin Woodman
- Yevgeny Chumak as Bogeyman / the Scarecrow
- Svetlana Khodchenkova as Bastinda (inspired by the Wicked Witch of the West)
- Vasilina Makovtseva as Gingema (inspired by the Wicked Witch of the East)
- Aleksandra Bogdanova as Villina (inspired by the Good Witch of the North)
- Dmitry Chebotaryov as Urfin Jus
- Sergey Epishev as Ogre
- Egor Koreshkov as John Smith, Ellie's father
- Sofia Lebedeva as Anna Smith, Ellie's mother
Voice cast
edit- Denis Vlasenko as Totoshka (voice acting)
- Artur Vakha as the Cowardly Lion
- Yana Sekste as Ramina, Queen of the Field Mice
Production
editThe production of the film began back in April 2022, when the project was presented to senior officials at the Russian Minister of Culture, with the aim of getting them interested in financing the film, and the project received government funding.
The film The Wizard of the Emerald City. The Yellow Brick Road is being carried out by four major Russian film companies: Nikita Mikhalkov's Studio TriTe, Kinoslovo, CGF (a visual effects studio) and Central Partnership Productions (part of Gazprom-Media). The project is being implemented with the support of the Russian Cinema Fund.
Casting
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The director was also pleased with the choice of actors for the main roles. Young Ekaterina "Katya" Chervova, who portrayed Ellie Smith, in his opinion, did a great job. But, most importantly, she did not complain about the difficult filming, went through fire and water, but showed herself to be a talented and resilient actress.
The Jack Russell Terrier named Udzher easily found a common language with the girl. But his voice was "given" to him by Denis Vlasenko (the film Matthew Passion).
One of the most difficult was the casting for the role of the Tin Woodman, but in the end the team decided to settle on the candidacy of Yuri Kolokolnikov. There were also difficulties with the Lion, but already of a technical nature: this character was created entirely with the help of computer technology. However, Artur Vakha conveyed his facial expressions, character and movements.
Filming
editPrincipal photography started in June 2023 and ended in mid-July. The film crew carried out the shooting process in the Republic of Dagestan, on the road from Makhachkala to Buynaksk, Moscow and the region of Moscow Oblast.
In Buynaksk, on the green plains of the Buynaksky District, Ellie and her friends were filming their way through a poppy field.
Release
editThe premiere was scheduled for December 26, 2024, but was later postponed to January 1, 2025.
Theatrical
editThe Wizard of the Emerald City had its world premiere at the Karo 11 October in Moscow on December 18, 2024, and was theatrically released by Central Partnership in the Russian Federation on January 1, 2025.
References
edit- ^ Alperina, Susanna (December 19, 2024). "Правнучка писателя Александра Волкова Наталья Машкова стала почетной гостьей премьеры фильма "Волшебник Изумрудного города"" [The great-granddaughter of writer Alexander Volkov, Natalya Mashkova, became an honorary guest at the premiere of the film The Wizard of the Emerald City]. Russian Gazette (in Russian). Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ Panicheva, Anna (December 18, 2024). "В Москве прошла премьера фильма "Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из желтого кирпича"" [The premiere of the film The Wizard of the Emerald City took place in Moscow]. TASS (in Russian). Retrieved December 23, 2024.
- ^ "Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из желтого кирпича / The Wizard of the Emerald City. The Yellow Brick Road, 2025". www.afisha.ru (in Russian).
- ^ "Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из желтого кирпича / The Wizard of the Emerald City. The Yellow Brick Road, 2025". www.kinoafisha.info (in Russian).
External links
edit- Official website (in English)
- The Wizard of the Emerald City at IMDb
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