Watch the New Trailer for Disney's Oz The Great and Powerful!

With all the fuss on the internet recently about Disney's acquisition of the Star Wars franchise and the rest of the Lucasfilm empire, as well as Marvel and Pixar too, it's easy to forget that they do actually still make movies of their own every now and then. To that end they've just released the full trailer for the new Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz The Great and Powerful. Have you ever wondered how the old man behind the green curtain got to Oz in the first place? Well that's what director Sam Raimi (of the Spider-Man Trilogy) and star James Franco want to show you in this epic adventure movie, opening in the spring.

The trailer starts off in dull-old-monochrome-four-by-three-aspect-ratio Kansas - just as Dorothy's adventure does in the original film – only this time, when the inevitable switch to the 21st century equivalent of "glorious technicolor" happens, it's an even more extreme difference thanks to the CGI-filled, over-saturated world Oz has become this time around. It looks a lot like Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland in that respect, which isn't such a big surprise as the two films share the same producer.

Instead of a Lion, a Tin Woodsman, and a Scarecrow for company, Franco has a porcelain doll and a flying monkey, and of course there are witches and munchkins aplenty, and even a tiny glimpse of the green fingers of the Wicked Witch. There seems to be plenty of great locations to visit on the journey and, thankfully, no one bursting into song at the drop of a hat.

Here's the official blurb:

Disney's fantastical adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," directed by Sam Raimi, imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum's beloved wizard character. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot—fame and fortune are his for the taking—that is until he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity—and even a bit of wizardry—Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful wizard but into a better man as well.

"Oz The Great and Powerful" opens in U.S. theaters on March 8, 2013, and you can keep up with events surrounding the movie on the official site, Facebook and Twitter