Return to Oz

Based on L. Frank Baum’s “The Land of Oz” and “Ozma of Oz,” “Return to Oz,” released in 1985, return Dorothy to the magical land “somewhere over the rainbow.” Paul Attanasio said in his review, “Inventive in design, and with a sort of hokey grace, it's one of the better kids' movies in a year full of them.”

A Walt Disney release, it takes place sometime after “The Wizard of Oz.” Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) keeps talking about Oz, so her Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) takes her to an asylum where a nurse (Nicol Williamson) will give her the shock treatment. Along with a joking hen named Billina (Denise Bryer), she’s taken out of danger and back to Oz.

Attanasio said, “In the opportunity society, the new Oz would be an enterprise zone. The yellow brick road is a disintegrating berm of weeds, the Emerald City a Beirut beyond the clouds. Harlequin-clad vandals run free through the city -- they call themselves the Wheelers, because they roll on all fours, like a TV table.” The evil Princess Mombi (Jean Marsh) rules Oz, as a substitution for the Nome King (Williamson). Mombi is headless, but keeps so many heads in glass cases, choosing one to wear each day, as others might choose a hat. Attanasio noted, “The Nome King is made of rock -- a grotto will take on his features and begin to talk, and sometimes, his whole figure will emerge in all its granitic glory.”

Attanasio continued, “Dorothy, little charmer that she is, soon acquires a coterie of misfits: Tik Tok (Sean Barrett), a windup soldier who looks as if he could moonlight as a samovar; the aptly named Jack Pumpkinhead (Brian Henson); and the Gump (Lyle Conway), a Pegasus jerry-built from a hunting trophy, a couple of sofas and two palm fronds.” Together, they fly off to fight with the Nome King and free the kidnapped Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion.

Attanasio credited, “"Return to Oz" was cowritten and directed by Walter Murch, a fabled film and sound editor; as you'd expect, the movie is briskly edited, the sound complex and carefully organized. There is some nice knockabout ragtime music (by David Shire). The delights of the movie are the Nome King and his subjects, created by Will Vinton through his process of "Claymation" -- human features pop out of a schist of rock, a sneering visage blinks out of a grotto.”

“Return to Oz” won’t make anyone forget “The Wizard of Oz,” or even “The Neverending Story,” which it has a lot of similarities to. The script could be a lot funnier (Attanasio noted, “The wisecracking hen inspires thoughts of roast chicken). Then again, it's as good an excuse as any for treating the family to popcorn.” Just a word of warning, this may be frightening to very young children.

I had heard about this movie through James Rolfe and the Nostalgia Critic. I saw how this is the polar opposite of “The Wizard of Oz.” I decided to finally check this out earlier this year and this was not what I expected. Don’t get me wrong, this is a good movie, but I can see why this movie is not meant for kids. Check it out because I think you will like it and you will get scared by it. The only criticism I have is the age difference between Judy Garland and Fairuza Balk. In “The Wizard of Oz,” Dorothy looks like she was at least in her teenage years, like 13, but here, she is a little child that must be less than 10. What happened? Aside from that, still see this film on Disney+.

Tomorrow I will talk about a film that I saw a majority of on TV as a child in the continuation of “Disney Month 2023.”