Oz

source: Oz

This film shows more of what OZ really was, or is, if you believe an alternate universes. It's a mirror of our own world. And we can exist there and here at the same time, all we need is a pair of ruby slippers and a counterpart who lives in a mirror. I rented this on a beta tape and watched it with my mom after it had finished its original theatrical run. We both liked it, but without the widescreen format and a theatrical sound system, it lost some of its ability to overwhelm us. But we still enjoyed it, quite a bit. I wish my mother were here now that I have a 50" HDTV and a halfway decent DVD copy, and a Kenwood surround sound system. I can sit in the middle and it is just as if I am sitting in a seat in a theater because that's where this needs to be watched. Because when I watched it last night, I was completely overwhelmed by this amazing movie. The "Kansas" scenes are very dismal, not sure where they were filmed actually although I know some of this was filmed in London. But the landscapes looked very much like a dismal Kansas late fall prior to the turn of the 20th century. Nicol Williamson represents a type of "doctor"/quack that dangerously fiddled around with electronic devices before people really understood how electricity worked, and his Oz mirror alternate is none other but the Gnome King himself . Joan Marsh was his nasty looking nurse (and Mombi). Piper Laurie is Auntie M and Matt Clark is Uncle Henry. But the breakaway performance in this film is Fairuza Balk who really captures the spirit of Dorothy as laid down by Judy Garland. The DVD which I found has a very good interview with Fairuza where she talks about being one of 1000 girls that they interviewed for this part, of all the kids that they looked at she was the most perfect for this. Although this film does not have musical numbers, it does have animatronics by Brian Henson and I didn't know it at the time but claymation by none other than Will Vinton, who put life into the Gnome King in such a frightening way. Some other reviewer said this, but this is actually a horror movie, the last we saw Oz before Dorothy went home it was not like this Oz. This is apparently six months after that and something very bad has happened and it is up to Dorothy, her chicken, and the Royal army of Oz "Tic Toc" to find out what is going on. And there is also a mysterious girl who shows up in mirrors, that gives Dorothy a helping hand now and then: Who is this? This movie could have and should have been made long ago, shortly after the original had been made. But if it had been, there's a high probability it could not have been done as well as this. And somebody else also said this is not a sequel to the original, but it is a continuation of that same story. Most importantly, it reveals characters that were part of the Oz stories that were not mentioned in the first film. Bellini, Tic-Toc, Ozma, Mombi. Maybe in another 20 years they can continue the story. It could happen, and it should happen.

While "Return to Oz" is an interesting curio, it pales in comparison to "The Wizard of Oz." The difference is simple: "Wizard" connected with audiences on an emotional level, and for the most part, "Return" did not. The sequel had more than a fair chance to become a hit; audiences simply rejected it. I can understand that fans of "Return to Oz" want to make a case for the movie, especially in light of its total commercial failure, but trashing "The Wizard of Oz" is no way to begin. Neither is disparaging Judy Garland. Garland's performance as Dorothy will linger in our collective memory long after the world has forgotten Fairuza Balk. That's an irrefutable truth. The best "Return to Oz" can hope for is a small cult following... and, frankly, that's all it deserves.

Most of the comments on this film seem to be from people who saw this when they were little, and haven't been able to forget it. The imagery of this film lingers long after first view, and its marked stylistic and thematic differences to Wizard Of Oz have a hypnotic effect on a certain type of viewer. In Return, the central theme is one of deep unhappiness with reality and a wish to return to fantasy, where as Wizard focuses more on the concept of "there's no place like home". I admire and am still deeply effected by this film because, in some ways, it is braver than Wizard. It isn't afraid to deal with the conflict - that the misery of a grey Kansas is very real. It expresses a rippling dissatisfaction that seems more in keeping with Baum's original works, and is all the more satisfying for it. In particular, I enjoyed the parrallels between the real world and Oz- for what it suggests about our world- and the Nome King's conversation with Dorothy. For a children's film, there is great depth in both, and most of the film can be interpreted on several different levels. The implications of the corridor of heads alone is enough to send any first year pysch/lit student into a whole mess of garbage. But don't be fooled. This also an excellent children's film, that deserves more attention than it got.

"Return to Oz" is not the sort of film I'd normally watch. However, my daughter insisted I needed to see it simply because the movie was so incredibly dark and child-unfriendly. This had my curiosity piqued--and I finally got around to seeing this film. Soon after the film started, I saw just how dark it was. In this semi- sequel to "The Wizard of Oz", it picks up several weeks or months after the previous film. However, continuity and realism is the key--the Gale family home is NOT magically restored like in the previous movie but WAS destroyed in the storm. As a result, Dorothy's uncle has PTSD! But even worse, when Dorothy regales her aunt with her stories of Oz, Auntie Em thinks Dorothy has lost her mind. Eventually, she takes Dorothy to an ultra-creepy clinic where a psychiatrist is planning on giving her shock treatment to stop these delusions!! Just after Dorothy is strapped down and she's about to receive a bazillion volts of electricity, a little girl shows up and saves her--and whisks her magically back to Oz. Oz has changed a lot since Dorothy left. The Nome King and Mombi (who are Oz incarnations of the evil psychiatrist and his nurse) have destroyed everything and the Emerald city is in ruins. So, it's up to Dorothy and some creepy new friends to right everything and make the kingdom a happy one once again. If this doesn't sound like a good film for your kids, you are correct. It's a film I would never dream of showing to younger kids--this would be like child abuse. But, for older and more cynical folks, it's a neat re-imagining of the books. However, there IS one major problem regardless--and reason I disliked the film. Dorothy's companion from home is NOT Toto (who is a Border Terrier in this film instead of a Cairn) but a super-annoying chicken. The voice is just awful and the comments are very often obvious and banal. I truly hated everything about this character--even if she did, inexplicably, help to save the day. I'd have just roasted her!! Also, because Kansas is so dull and awful, why in the heck did Dorothy want to return?! She MIGHT have gotten shock treatment or been lobotomized!!!

Honestly I do not know how I am this sane because when I think of my childhood, one of my favorite movies was Return to Oz. I absolutely adored this movie, but it scared the heck out of me. I was shopping and found Return to Oz on DVD and without hesitation bought it, it's always nice to go down nostalgia lane and I was thinking maybe since I was a kid I was just easily scared by silly things, nope, I was so wrong. This is a major mind screw of a movie. However, I cannot believe that I still adore this movie, I love the risks it took and that it didn't insult children's intelligence like most movies do. Don Bluth, one of the greatest animators and story tellers of our time, said that kids are more resilient than you would think. That's so true and Return to Oz is a wonderful magical movie that leaves you breathless. Dorothy Gale has become a melancholic child who cannot stop dreaming of the people she met in the magical world of Oz, concerning Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. The two decide to take her to see Doctor Worley, known for his shock therapy treatments. Before going, Dorothy finds a key she believes her friends from Oz sent to her on a shooting star. Aunt Em leaves Dorothy at Dr. Worley's laboratory under the care of Nurse Wilson. As she is taken to have treatment, the lab has a blackout, and Dorothy is saved by a mysterious girl who reveals that some patients have been driven insane by Worley's treatment. The two escape but fall into a river. The blonde girl vanishes underwater and Dorothy returns to Oz. Upon awakening, Dorothy finds her chicken who can now talk named Billina for company. The two discover the ruined Yellow Brick Road, which leads them to the Emerald City, now in ruins, missing its emeralds, and all of its citizens including the Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion turned to stone. She swears that she will restore Oz with the help of some new friends while being chased by some disturbing new villains. I remember as a kid being terrified by Princess Mumbi, she has this room full of heads that she can change as she pleases and when Dorothy has to go to retrieve a potion from her cabinet with the "main head" she accidentally knocks over a jar and the head screams "Dorothy Gail!!!" and all the other heads start screaming! God, that scene is still horrifying to watch! But there is an extremely touching scene that always gets me in tears, Jack Pumpkinhead who Dorothy meets asks her if he could call her mom until he finds his real mother, she agrees with a kind heart and as they are laying on their flying couch called The Gump, he puts a scarf on her and says "good night, mom". I loved their relationship, it was beautiful. Also she has a great relationship with Tik Tok, a robot who was part of the Army of Oz and has to be wound up in order to work, his personality fits so extremely well with the group since you have the silliness, you need the intelligence too. The effects are still outstanding to this day in my opinion, the acting is very good, the sets, the lighting, the costumes, the characters, I just love Return to Oz. It's a great movie. Parents today are so afraid of showing their children movies like Return to Oz because it might give them nightmares, take advice from me and Mr. Bluth, your kids are a lot stronger than you think, and I'm perfectly fine and I'm so glad I have this movie in my collection. It's a wonderful film not to be missed. 10/10

I saw this for the first time when I was under ten and wasn't scared at all. In fact I loved it, but because it was on television I forgot about it for a long time. I recently rediscovered the movie and even as an adult I still love it. Yes, the movie is considerably darker the Wizard, but in my opinion it is a better and more interesting story. In light of the violence in movies today I do not think it is out of the question to allow a ten year old to see it and if you are a teenager or older I would certainly recommend this film. If you found Wizard of Oz too cutesy for your taste you may be pleasantly surprised by this underrated film.

As a young kid, The Wizard Of Oz was one of my favourite-est movies in the world. The movie was bright, colourful, cheerful, happy and undoubtedly saccharine. And while it was a Box-Office smash and collected millions of Oz fans worldwide, it displayed nearly none of the points that made the book series so successful. So when after viewing Return To Oz, I was extremely happy. While thousands blasted the film calling it 'dark' and even 'scary', I thoroughly enjoyed it. New characters, magic powders, creepier witches, talking chickens and flying couches - what more could an imaginative youngster want?! Faruiza Balk portayed Dorothy Gale exceptionally well, and at times, takes on Judy Garland's version so similair, it's scary! Return To Oz was, I mean, is, better than the original, because it was more based on the books, whereas The Wizard Of Oz was a cross between the original book, bittersweet sets and a symphony orchestra. While some disagree, I believe that 'Return' was not all a weak sequel, but more of a non-sequel sequel, which had little to do with the original, and had an exciting, haunting, script, which worked really well. Well it's been about 10 years since I first saw Return To Oz, and I still think that it's one of the best children's movies ever made (however scary) and it's in everyone's best interests to rent it out - even if you hated it's predacessor.

After reading about 40 of the other comments here, all of whom say RETURN TO OZ is dark and disturbing, I will make a different comment. In the early 80s Disney certainly were off the cash trail with a range of films, each expertly produced, that were box office disasters. One may recall SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, TRON, THE BLACK CAULDRON, ONE MAGIC Christmas and a few others that had much to offer any thinking crowd,and each had special effects that were quite astonishing. Disney were in a very bleak period and the films, attempting to reflect perhaps a more mature or even grown up perspective chose, oh dear I have to say it: a dark and disturbing theme. At the time of release every critic bleated at the grim and melancholy tone of RETURN TO OZ, and sadly themselves neglected to celebrate the original book look, a choice Disney execs applauded themselves for. One Exec infamously said to us theatre owners: "We're going for the Frank L Baum book illustrations and nothing like that 1939 vaudeville thing". Oh dear, I thought at the time. You mean the world's most popular kids film? Well. $27 million dollars later in production costs returned maybe a quarter in theatre film rentals and RETURN TO OZ for all its merit and lavish production care and superb scary special effects....was consigned to the Disney dud bin. At the time I was irritated by the fixed goony expressions on Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow (loved Tik-tok, though, a fascinating and completely compelling design and movement piece) This time around I didn't mind it and actually appreciated the fact that they were 'book' expressions. Viewed 20 years later on a Disney DVD of dubious quality, I have to say it is a film more suited to these dark and disturbing times and if released today would certainly get a better reception and better crits...and possibly make a lot of money. I think the world is tuned into this type of family film more now than in the Flashdance 80s. The production values of RETURN TO OZ are simply breathtaking. Scene after scene perfectly realised: the green walled horror of the psychiatric asylum in reel one, the amazing claymation of the Gnome King, and especially the glittering halls of Mombi's castle. One genuinely screamworthy scene in the hall of Heads with a headless Queen rushing about in a nightmarish vision is almost only for adults, so intense is it's genuine horror. The glittering climax of a restored Emerald City is a triumph of green and silver/gold set design, I defy any viewer not to rewind it several times just to see each and every part. Yes nominated for 5 Oscars, it won none and vanished for 20 years. The no-marquee name Fairuza Balk didn't help the public embrace, no matter how exquisite she is. At least she wasn't named Soleil Moon Fry. In the same class as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, RETURN TO OZ now deserves its place there as part of a trilogy of superbly crafted fantasy for smart kids and astonished adults. That 'vaudeville thing' it certainly isn't. But not a failure either. The DVD is lacking trailers and production material that should and could be included. Bad Disney! Good film! I also defy any viewer not to shriek with laughter at the Gnome King revealing he is wearing the ruby slippers, a sly joke well presented.

The first time I saw this movie I was about 6 or 7. It really scared me, I remember having nightmares of Mombie for weeks... I also remember rewatching it week after week. Now 10 years later I've rediscovered it and it's still chilling. Not because it was meant to be a horror, but because the imagery and plot is so vivid and captivating I can't help but feel like I'm really drawn into another world. Very few movies have done that for me... this is right up there with movies like Willow, Labrynth, and The Neverending Story. If you like musicals, bright colors and munchkin's dancing around, then stay away from this one, but if you want to go on a journey of pure imagination that will leave you breathless on the edge of your seat, rediscover Oz for yourself!