Return to Oz (1985)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Dreadfully Boring

Disturbing yet enthralling

An absolute waste of money

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.

"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!!!

The Wizard of Oz has been deemed to be the classic children's movie that gets played countless times for kids, and adults who appreciate the piece that is nearing it's 80th anniversary all too quickly. Fast forward to 1985. The decade of the 80s brought new technology for film, more specifically the early stages of CGI and anamotronics. Beyond that, the fantasy films of the 80s still lacked continuity with the many layers that often made the final cut look cheap, (despite that it was considered the best advances of the time). A piece like Return to Oz falls under the category of 'sci-fi and fantasy' and seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the many film pieces coming out at the time. I didn't pick up on this movie until Oz the Great And Powerful showed a documentary on The Wizard of Oz and it's involvement with Disney over the years. This is actually one of the few movies that actually got the layering effect right! I was very impressed with the clay-mation shots and the cutting away back and forth between the foreground and background parts of the stage. There aren't many notable actors who took the stage for the movie, however I did recognize western actor Matt Clark, who I remember from BTTF Part III as the bartender. Another notable piece of trivia concerning BTTF is that Christopher Lloyd and Mary Steenbergen almost got the roles of Mombie and the Knome king. This is an 80s gem, that for the kids who remember the movie can pass it down to their children as part of The Wizard of Oz folklore.

"Return to Oz" was the Disney Company's first attempt at a sequel or prequel to the classic 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz." It resembles nothing of the MGM classic and is almost no comparison in regards to achievement or style. Nonetheless the film has been endured as a family-friendly version of Oz and has achieved cult status. "Return to Oz" is the black sheep of the Oz film family in this writer's eyes.In honor of Roger Ebert, who passed earlier this week, I would give this film one thumbs up, as it sparked my interest enough to watch it, but not enough to take it seriously after seeing the 1939 classic it is a sequel of. It has a hint of Disney magic, but nothing full flair like many Disney adaptations today, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" or the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. However, "Return to Oz" does build on a classic and that is why it is still remembered today.I was only glad to hear that Disney Corp had decided to make "Oz the Great and Powerful" as a prequel to the 1939 classic. May it stand the test of time like "The Wizard of Oz" has for many generations to come.