AFTER THE WIZARD
A winsome family tale of hope, imagination, and helping others.
Should You Watch It?
After the Wizard is a clean, winsome family movie with a strong moral worldview. It centers on hope, the power of imagination, and helping people in need. Its performances, editing, directing, and makeup are generally decent, and some scenes are genuinely funny and charming.
The tradeoff is modest filmmaking. The writing can be too wordy, some dialogue is unnecessary, and several scenes are long and drawn out. Those weaknesses dilute the story’s conflict and jeopardy. Still, there is no foul language, violence, sexual content, or nudity, and the moral concerns are minor.
If your family enjoys The Wizard of Oz, this gentle story will likely amuse both young and old viewers. Take the trip if you want a clean, hopeful family movie and can accept its low-budget limitations.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESElizabeth is an orphan who believes she is Dorothy Gale from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The orphanage director humors her, even as Elizabeth struggles to be happy.
Meanwhile, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman are having trouble ruling in Oz. They travel to America to seek Dorothy’s help, landing in New Jersey and trying to find their way to Kansas. Their journey eventually brings them toward the orphanage where Elizabeth lives.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means a worthwhile but uneven family film. After the Wizard has some nice performances, decent editing and directing, and generally decent makeup. Once the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman reach New Jersey, the story picks up as they try to navigate the modern world.
A train-station scene, in which a ticket man explains the difference between Kansas City, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, is especially funny and plays like something from Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” sketch. However, the writing is sometimes too wordy, the dialogue can be unnecessary, and some scenes are drawn out. The conflict and jeopardy could be stronger. The balloon scenes also have echoing sound that indicates they were shot in a studio.
The Worldview
The film strongly values hope, the power of human imagination, and helping others in need. It also includes light Christian, redemptive values and a theme of repentance, although its Christian values are not overt and do not dominate the story.
The story presents compassion and practical help as important responses to trouble. It also treats disobedience, deception, and sneaking into an office as minor moral problems. One scene briefly mentions the “good” witch in Oz, but the movie’s central moral emphasis remains hopeful and benevolent rather than magical.
At its heart, the film asks people to help those who are struggling and to hold on to hope. Scripture similarly calls believers to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong moral worldview about hope, the power of the human imagination, and helping others in need, with light Christian, redemptive values, including a theme of repentance; no foul language; no violence; no sexual content; no nudity; no smoking or use of drugs except for one man who is about to light a cigarette, but his lighter gets extinguished by the Tin Woodman; and, minor immorality such as minor character deceives strangers, girl briefly mentions the “good” witch in the Land of Oz, disobeying authority, characters sneak into an office to look at files when they aren’t supposed to do that.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Elizabeth struggles to be happy while holding on to hope. What helps you remain hopeful when your circumstances are difficult?
Romans 15:13 · Psalm 42:5The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman seek help when they cannot solve their problems alone. Why can asking for help be a wise and courageous choice?
Galatians 6:2 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–10The story includes disobedience and deception. How should we respond when we have done wrong?
Proverbs 28:13 · 1 John 1:9The film highlights helping people in need. Who around you might need practical help this week?
James 2:15–17 · Galatians 6:10The Final Word
After the Wizard is a clean, hopeful family movie with appealing performances and moments of real charm. Its writing and jeopardy are uneven, but its strong moral values make it a worthwhile choice for all ages—especially families who love Oz. WORTH THE TRIP.
