Watch the Trailer for 'Oz: The Great and Powerful' with James Franco

We've been tracking this one for a long time, and at long last the first trailer has hit for "Oz: The Great and Powerful." With an impressive cast and "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi at the helm, the movie is a promising prospect for Disney, which has had a rough year with the disaster that was "John Carter."

The movie is based on the book by L Frank Baum, and acts as a prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," telling the story of how the wizard got to Oz in the first place. James Franco plays the titular wizard, who travels to the new land after leaving Kansas in a hot air balloon. There, he meets three witches: Theodora, played by Mila Kunis; Evanora, played by Rachel Weisz; and Glinda, played by Michelle Williams.

From the trailer, it's clear that Raimi's whimsical style will be playing into "Oz," and some of his horror elements will remain, even in this youth-skewing movie. Raimi sure loves to have nails scraping along things, doesn't he?

Also notable is the fact that the Kansas scenes look to be shot not only in black and white, but also in a smaller aspect ratio: once we get to Oz, things turn to color at the ratio widens significantly.

Check out the first trailer for "Oz: The Great and Powerful" below: