Director Sam Raimi only has good words for James Franco, the star of Walt Disney Pictures’ 3D fantasy adventure “Oz The Great and Powerful.”

“James is a very sensitive guy and we really needed that for this character,” says Sam. “We needed somebody who’s in touch with his emotions because he plays a character with a good heart...James, while funny and loving, has got real heart that he shares with the audience.”

In “Oz The Great And Powerful,” James plays Oscar Diggs, a small-time magician who takes his act on the road as part of a traveling circus in the American Midwest. A man with dubious ethics, Oz is a handsome, charming charlatan who is skilled at smooth-talking his way out of problems. When he is hurled into the magical Land of Oz, Oscar faces a fight-or-flight dilemma that holds the fate of a kingdom in the balance.

“The character was written in a certain way – part goofball, part con man, part seducer, part vaudeville guy, all of which appealed to me,” said Franco.

The actor described Sam as having “a great imagination” who “cares just as much about the characters and the story.”

Opening across the Philippines on March 7 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D and regular theaters, “Oz The Great and Powerful” is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International through Columbia Pictures.