A new trailer for Sam Raimi’s Oz: The Great and Powerful has been released online, ahead of its March release date.

This second trailer takes a more in-depth look at the story than the original cinematic trailer unveiled at ComicCon, despite the fact that it begins in almost exactly the same way as the first. The Evil Dead director has been taking his time over this movie. It started production back in July 2011, according to the Indiewire blog and Raimi will be hoping that all of the time and money spent on the movie has paid off. Not only is he toying with cinematic legend, by creating a spin off of The Wizard of Oz, but he’s doing so with some of the hottest names in Hollywood. James Franco stars as Oscar Diggs, whilst the witches are played by Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz.

The response to the new trailer has been mixed so far. Indiewire are full of praise for Raimi’s efforts, going so far as to say that he could even put Tim Burton to shame. They’re impressed by the visuals, though that seems to extend to the ‘visual display’ provided by the three witches, as much as anything else, it has to be said.

Over at Collider.com, though, they were less impressed. In fact, the basic premise of the movie seems to be a non-starter in some quarters. “I can’t help but be confused as to why three witches need the help of the Wizard simply because we’re going to the lame plot device of ‘the prophecy,’” writes Matt Goldberg. And – less impressed by those same visuals that inspired Indiewire, surmises “As for the look of the movie, I’m seeing lots of special effects but almost none of Raimi’s personality. Billed as ‘From the Director of the Spider-Man Trilogy’ and ‘The Producer of Alice in Wonderland’, Oz looks like it’s more from the latter. Oz: The Great and Powerful will be released on March 8, 2013.

Watch the trailer for Oz: The Great and Powerful