Dorothy of Oz - TrailerThough not outright remakes, several film projects in the works have flirted with the idea of of remaking one of the few films widely considered untouchable to the Hollywood money-grubbing remake machine. A Sam Raimi directed film called Oz, The Great and Powerful that explores the period of time before Dorothy arrived at the merry old land of Oz is in the finishing stages getting ready for a release to theaters early next Spring.

And then likely sometime after that, families will be treated to a slightly more bizarre trip over the rainbow in the animated Dorothy of Oz that is based on children's book author Roger S. Baum's - yes, that's Frank's great-grandson - book of the same name. You can watch the trailer for the upcoming film below to witness the wonderful color palette and whimsical new characters that populate Oz when Dorothy (voiced by Glee's Lea Michele) has to return there shortly after arriving back in Kansas.

Once there, Dorothy learns that Oz has been taken over by a wicked Jester (Martin Short) bent on ruling the land for some unrevealed reason. In the short teaser, we meet the familiar Lion (James Belushi), Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd) and The Tin Man (Kelsey Grammar) but are also introduced to many more interesting characters such as a strange Stay-puft(?) marshmallow man, an obese owl, and a China Doll Princess. Other entertainers who lend a voice to the cast are Patrick Stewart, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy, and Bernadette Peters.

We expect more story details to be revealed when the actual full-length trailer eventually arrives, but from what we see here, it appears to be simply a beautifully illustrated, harmless little piece of family entertainment, and not another brick chipped away from the wall separating one of the few untouchables from the Hollywood remake machine.

Watch below to see the first teaser trailer for Summertime Entertainment's Dorothy of Oz. The film doesn't yet have a release date but is expected to hit theaters, in both 2D and 3D, sometime in 2013.