The following gives a pretty good description of the main thrust of this film:
"Dorothy wakes up in post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz
to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and
Glinda from a devious new villain, the Jester. Wiser the owl, Marshal
Mallow, China Princess and Tugg the tugboat join Dorothy on her latest
magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order
and happiness to Emerald City"
There are many wonderful voices that this film draws upon. I was particularly pleased that Patrick Stewart, of Star Trek fame,
voices the role of Tugg the Tugboat, who actually starts out as a tree, but ends up as a boat.
I have yet to see this film as I am out in the oil fields of North Dakota and away from movie theaters at the moment. I know that when I do see it, I'll be very interested in the role of Tugg, especially given that when I wrote Magician of Oz back in 2009, trees played a major role in the story. They include Tree-in-the-Road (an actual tree in Vigo county, Indiana that has a road built around it rather than having been cut down), the Council of Trees, the Gnarled Scrub Oak, the Flowering Plum Tree and especially The Sycamore, who leads an army of Fighting Trees against the Tin Woodman, who had destroyed so many of them back during the days of Dorothy's adventures.
Another odd Oz connection with Tugg the Tugboat for me is that in my second book, Shadow Demon of Oz (2010), I wrote about a boat that comes to life named Navicula and also plays a major role in the story. Oz is indeed and wonderful place for many wonderful visions.
I wonder if Tugg the Tugboat will utter Captain Picard's famous command: "Make it so!"?
James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison of Oz