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The Wizard of Oz

Sphere
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Clicked 14 May 2026
#WOZatSphere

Enjoy a montage of video clips surrounding the Oz experience at Sphere.

The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is a tremendous immersive experience leveraging all sorts of modern technology. The totality of the experience is a remarkable marriage of art and science that stimulates the imagination.

The Movie Experience

Gotta admit to being skeptical of this one. The Wizard of Oz — originally released in 1939 — supersized for the ginormous Sphere screen and impeccable sound system? With AI? Whuh?

Turns out, it’s much more of an experience than I had anticipated.

As with U2’s Achtung Baby shows, the entrance sets the tone.

This time, the Sphere screen is done up to look like the grand auditorium of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The detail is immaculate, including the addition of seats down in front. Actually, maybe the illusion would be even more perfect without those seats.

The picture quality is spectacular. Simply stunning.

But it’s not about removing all the blemishes and airbrushing the imagery to a plasticine perfection. Many flaws are left front and center, particularly when it comes to all the skullcaps and noses and costumes. Oh my!

The lollipop kids in particular — it’s easy to spot their skull caps. Same for the Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion with their makeup appliances.

This is immersion of the first order. This is finally the cinematic experience that dwarfs IMAX. (Yeah. I want Christopher Nolan to set his sights on this venue now.)

It’s stunning from the opening frames. The sepia tone stretching from the floor and around and above and behind is beautiful. When you enter Prof. Marvel’s wagon, you are in his wagon. Look up and behind you; it’s the rear interior of the wagon, not a simple fade out of imagery. The detail is fantastic.

Then there are the physical effects. U2’s shows were an experiment, playing with many of the theatrical possibilities of the venue. This experience embellishes them, taking full advantage of the haptic seats (which weren’t ready for U2’s first show, nor should they be a part of concerts, when bands want the fans standing from the general admission floor to the nosebleed seats).

The tornado leverages the haptics and then the wind machines down on the bottom floor kick in. The breeze can be felt throughout the venue. The sound. And the leaves — light paper leaves. They come a’ blowin’ in the wind.

That’s immersion.

Entering Oz, what the heck is that? Those are butterflies. But they’re not on the screen and they’re not a silly 3D trick. They’re physical, large, floating butterfly props that are truly effective.

In the forest, more magic. The apple trees. With the rustling, unexpectedly and all of a sudden, soft foam apples drop from the ceiling into the delighted crowd. (For those who don’t have one fall in their lap or find one left behind on the floor, they’re sold after the show for $8 in the various merch booths. But only after the show. Not before. It’s a surprise. Shhhh.)

There’s also a snow-ish bubble effect during the poppies scene.

In the Wizard’s grand throne room, the on-screen flames are buttressed by on-floor fire bursts. Feel the heat, even in the upper sections.

Movie Miscues

The only physical misfire is the use of stiff, slow-flying monkeys. They all strike a Superman-style pose and float awkwardly (possibly drone-powered) during the first flying monkeys scene. But their display in relation to the on-screen action is awkward. They move too slowly. They need animatronics to bring them to life. They’re a good idea, but still in need of fine-tuning.

The one big issue for most is likely the truncated run time of only 75 minutes. The original full-length feature runs 102 minutes.

What’s missing? A big omission is the Lion’s If I Were King of the Forest. The bulk of the other missing moments are scattered, but the third act certainly takes the biggest hit.

It’s worth noting Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard from Earth had a similar 75-minute runtime, as did U2’s movie version of their concert. Certainly, shorter run times provide the capacity for more screenings during the day. As it is, on a concert day (such as with No Doubt’s later show start of 20:30), Oz offers 11:00 and 14:00 showtimes. And there is quite a bit to take in after the movie, as part of the post-show lobby experience. This extended lobby interactivity also factored into Postcard and U2 UV. I’m reluctant to write it off as a simple cash-grab strategy; I look at it as an effort to create a multi-format experience with the movie as one component of a broader experience in immersive technologies and artistry. In the case of Oz at Sphere, however, there is the mental challenge to overcome of the original Oz movie having that longer runtime.

Sigh. And, of course, there is the to-be-expected backlash for using artificial intelligence to remaster and expand the image to fit the screen. My simple counter-argument is this is a fantastic marriage of art and technology as a singular experience that — at least right now — cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world. The original movie has not been sacrificed in any way; it's still readily available for enjoyment across numerous formats, including streaming services in 4K. This stands in stark contrast to the “Special Editions” of the original Star Wars trilogy (Episodes IV-VI), which have been the only versions available in modern media formats. Rumor has it Disney might offer the original cuts as part of next year’s 50th anniversary of A New Hope.

The Lobby Experience

After the show, there’s live entertainment in the lobby.

There are lots of props that weren’t in the lobby (or were covered) before the show, including the Wizard’s balloon, a flying monkey and a complete throne room experience. The latter includes the Wizard’s large, animated head displays on Sphere’s transparent portrait screen.

This is an example of modern technology being put to terrific effect. Sphere is demonstrating motion capture animation, essentially the same technology that brought Gollum to life, in a LIVE setting. LIVE! The coolness of this element is easily lost amid the interaction and the crowd. The Wizard (a human actor) is to the left of the throne stage, behind the famous green curtain. He speaks with the crowd. There's some banter between the Wizard and his audience. It’s not pre-recorded. It can’t be, because the audience controls the direction based on the individual answers, such as where a person is from or a wish that is requested. The above video includes a terrific example of this dynamic aspect.

When the Wizard is revealed, look closely at the tech in the booth. Cool stuff in there.

Following this extended skit, there’s a photo opp available for those who want to take a picture with the live actors.

Of course, there’s also a jaw-dropping amount of merch is for sale. Loads of T-shirts, jackets and home décor covering a full range of prices.

The Exterior Experience

The experience begins outside Sphere. One of the all-time great visuals: those famous (giant) ruby red slippers and those black-and-white-striped socks extending out from “unde” the Sphere, a recreation of the post-tornado scene with the Wicked Witch of the West killed under Dorothy’s house.

This display isn’t intended to coincide only with the Wizard of Oz showings. It’s not constrained by concerts or other events. But it is wind-sensitive. On high-wind days, the display is rolled up and stored for protection. I was told Sphere’s already gone through a couple pairs and spent tens of thousands of dollars on repairs following wind storms and all the blowing debris that can damage the display. (Much like the tornado scene, ironically.)

Tickets

There was a surprisingly large crowd when I went on a Thursday afternoon in May, regardless of the ticket prices. The base ticket is fairly expensive for a movie, but this experience is more than only the movie. And then there are the now ubiquitous “VIP” packages that jack up the prices with limited extra value-add, such as the Good or Bad Witch VIP Packages, which offer “expedited” entry, food and merch vouchers and premium seating. The pricier Bad Witch package includes some sort of exclusive access to a memorabilia gallery that includes an original pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers.