posted by Stephen Knox
The first project to launch from the "Distorted Visions" company will be my Twisted Animated Novel based on the Wizard of Oz entitled "The Warlock" It's the classic story of Dorothy Gale, but with a unique twist (It's a secret twist). It's gonna be a pretty trippy story broken up into 5 chapters.
This Story starts off like the original. I just chose to show more of what Dorothy was doing before the events where movie started. Once she gets into Oz, that's where the "twist" begins. Dorothy makes different choices there, which brings a totally different outcome, and causes her to encounter a different cast of characters.
In the past I’ve seen many people attempt to share their own visions on this great story of Oz, that is fine, but I think that they always forget 2 key things
1. Oz is a beautiful place, which also has a dark side. I see many people trying to make Oz into more of a dark Goth thing, which is okay, but you also have to show the colorful side. The same side that captivated us as children.
2. The Wizard of Oz movie was a "Musical" and the main characters all had theme songs which sold their personalities. It's like "Hey, I don’t have a brain, but if I did have one, here's what I would do". Then they break into a song. At the same time Dorothy's over the rainbow song was beautiful, but sad. To help me with capturing that feeling, I asked "musical genius" Errick Shepherd to come on board to help out with the song writing. He's just as tripped out as I am, so it's gonna work.
Keeping that in mind, I realize that the story of Oz is much bigger than any of us who bring our own interpretations, so I try to respect the story at it's core. I even respect those that came before me, Like the Broadway musical "Wicked" Where they tell the story of the "Good Witch" & the "Wicked Witch of the West". I want to be sure not to contradict those stories in any way. Also, I purposely made her not to look like "exactly" Judy Garland for a few reasons, but she still looks like Dorothy
I think that this is honestly perfect timing for anew Oz story, after all, the original came out around the time of the first recession back in the 30/40's era; Therefore in a time where Everyday seems like a struggle, I happy to offer some escape from the ordinary. Just be ready for an awesome spectacle of fantasy, horror, and music. I'll be uploading more pics of the story this week. The first chapter should be ready by March 21st. Join the "7 mages" mailing list to be notified. I'll post a speed video of me painting Dorothy later this week |
