Small-time circus magician Oscar Diggs's life suddenly changes when he's hurled away in a hot air balloon from uneventful Kansas into the enchanting Land of Oz.

The inhabitants there see Oscar as the Great Wizard, and they shower him with the fame and fortune he has always imagined would be his. That is, until three very powerful witches start to question Oscar's abilities. Drawn into an increasingly dangerous world, Oscar must quickly figure out who is good and who is evil in order to combat the wicked forces at large. Putting his limited magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry - Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.