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The Wizard of the Emerald City (titled onscreen as The Wizard of the Emerald City: Part I) is a 2025 Russian live-action fantasy adventure film directed by Igor Voloshin, and production was handled by Central Partnership in partnership with Petr Anurov’s Kinoslovo company.

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 as Ellie Smith along with her dog Totoshka, Yuri Kolokolnikov got as the Tin Woodman, Yevgeny Chumak will turn into the Scarecrow, Artur Vakha will transform into the Cowardly Lion, and Svetlana Khodchenkova has been announced as Bastinda.

The Wizard of the Emerald City premiered at the Karo 11 October at Arbat Square in Moscow on December 18, 2024, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in Russia on January 1, 2025.

The sequel, The Wizard of the Emerald City: Part II, is scheduled for November 2026.

Premise

The film tells the story of a girl named Ellie, 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.

Cast

• 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 Ann Smith, Ellie's mother

Voice cast

• Denis Vlasenko as Totoshka (voice acting)
• Artur Vakha as the Cowardly Lion
• Yana Sekste as Ramina, Queen of the Field Mice

Production

The 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 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

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 Lev, 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

Principal 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 way from Makhachkala to Buynaksk, in the pavilions of 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

The premiere was scheduled for December 26, 2024, but was later postponed to January 1, 2025.

Theatrical

The 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

1. Alperina, Susanna (December 19, 2024). "Правнучка писателя Александра Волкова Наталья Машкова стала почетной гостьей премьеры фильма "Волшебник Изумрудного города"" [The great-grandfather of writer Alexander Volkov, Natalia Mashkova, becam an honorary guest at the premiere of the film The Wizard of the Emerald City]. Russian Gazette (in Russian). Retrieved December 23, 2024.
2. 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.
3. "Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из желтого кирпича / The Wizard of the Emerald City, 2025". www.afisha.ru (in Russian).
4. "Волшебник Изумрудного города. Дорога из желтого кирпича / The Wizard of the Emerald City, 2025". www.kinoafisha.info (in Russian).

External links

• Official website (in English)
• The Wizard of the Emerald City at IMDb

• 2025 films
• 2025 fantasy films
• 2020s children's fantasy films
• 2020s children's adventure films
• 2020s fantasy adventure films
• Russian children's fantasy films
• Russian children's adventure films
• Russian fantasy adventure films
• Films based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Russian-language films
• 2020s Russian films
• Films shot in Moscow
• Films shot in Moscow Oblast
• Films shot in the North Caucasus