Just how did 'Wizard of Oz' at Sphere Las Vegas take Dorothy from 2D to 4D?
LAS VEGAS – In a month, the Las Vegas Sphere will be turned into the verdant splendor of Emerald City.
And the vibrant mosaic of Munchkinland.
And the dusty amber plains of Kansas.
It’s “The Wizard of Oz” not just as a film, but an experience. A place where the 160,000 square feet of Sphere screen transports you into Dorothy Gale’s world and, through the use of 4D and haptics, immerses you in the feeling of being inside a tornado and makes you cower at the sight of those dastardly flying monkeys heading from the Wicked Witch’s lair to your seat.
The film, which opens Aug. 28 at the technologically sophisticated venue just off the Las Vegas Strip, was chosen for Sphere-i-fication because of its generation-spanning appeal.
“It’s a movie that your mother watched, that you watched with your grandmother or your kids,” says Jane Rosenthal, the Oscar-nominated producer helping helm the production. “The movie became so beloved because you felt you could go into Munchkinland or the Emerald City even in a traditional TV format. It’s a natural for the Sphere because of the elements that can be made immersive.”
The Sphere's film has been in development for two years with a team of more than 2,000 filmmakers, technicians, audio experts and AI creatives working to transform Oz from a 2D world into an extraordinary envelopment of sight and sound.
Why the Sphere's 'Wizard of Oz' is an unparalleled experience
Those involved with “Oz” wouldn’t confirm the $80 million price tag alluded to when the project was announced in August 2024. But, from the near-final pieces of the film Paste BN observed in July, it’s evident this has been an exhaustive, finely detailed endeavor.
From the clarity of Judy Garland’s doe eyes with eyelashes that can be counted to the 16-foot-long helium-filled monkeys steered by drone operators, it’s sheer wonderment.
And the tornado? You’ll find yourself ducking in your seat at what feels like farm equipment and animals flying toward you as 750-horsepower fans built specifically for "Oz" hurl wind and (paper) leaves around the venue.
To assume the film is merely glorified IMAX is akin to saying earbuds provide the same sound quality as $16,000 studio headphones.
The $104 admission likely seems steep, but not as much after you factor in the cutting-edge experience and the Vegas location.
How 'ethical AI' transformed 'The Wizard of Oz' at the Sphere
The Sphere team worked closely with Warner Bros. and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to mine the “Oz” archives from its original 1939 form.
Transforming what was filmed for a 4:3 aspect ratio on a standard-sized movie screen to the 16K x 16K LED screen resolution of the Sphere required the use of what Rosenthal calls “ethical AI.” The time required to convert the film also required editing from its original run time of 102 minutes to 75.
The artificial intelligence in “Oz” was primarily used to extend frames to fill the Sphere screen.
Rosenthal gives the example of an early scene when irritable neighbor Miss Gulch wants to take Toto – himself given a furry glow-up – from the Gale home.
“That was originally a three-shot, but as you widen the frame, you now see Uncle Henry standing by the door. You train the AI on Uncle Henry to create him making a move like putting his hand on the door,” she says. “That stuff was difficult to do.”
The Sphere team, with the aid of Warner Bros., found props and set designs from the original movie so objects such as photos on the wall in Professor Marvel’s caravan could be generated onto the screen.
Every frame of the film takes 300 hours (12 ½ days) to render. An edit of a few seconds might take days to fix. And then there is the equilibrium between respecting a classic and elevating it to immersive heights.
Award-winning technician Glenn Derry, executive vice president of MSG Ventures who oversees the technology and physical effects in the venue, spent thousands of hours refining minutiae such as the breathtaking moment when Dorothy awakens in her sepia-toned heartland and steps into Technicolor Munchkinland, the yellow brick road seemingly stretching into space.
“We’re trying to be tasteful with these things,” Derry says of incorporating 4D effects. “I don’t want to distract from the film because it’s one of the great masterpieces. You want people to be part of it, but balance that with not being distracting.”
Emotion and revelations and nostalgia, oh my
So while the cranky apple tree will hurl featherweight red orbs at Sphere "Oz" viewers, and seats will vibrate with ominous warnings of the Wicked Witch or hopeful spasms when Glinda the Good Witch soars inside her pink bubble, the heart of “Oz” – as the Tin Man would appreciate – is intact.
Derry says his favorite effect is the hulking Wizard head, which almost sneaks in from the side of the screen while pyro is dispatched in front of it.
“It’s a nostalgic thing for me,” Derry, whose father worked in the industry as a machinist and physical effects expert, says. “I love the elements that you don’t notice and then you turn and are surprised.”
The revelations will begin as soon as moviegoers step into the atrium of the venue, which will be converted to an Oz-like atmosphere with interactive elements (that Wizard head might have another role along with booming on screen).
It’s an experience that simply cannot be duplicated.
“With the emotion of ‘there’s no place like home’ and ‘Over the Rainbow,’ I feel fortunate to bring this movie to life,” Rosenthal says. “A venue like Sphere makes you want to keep going to the movies.”