Return to Oz
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Movie Reviews of Return to Oz
Movie Review: AN EVERLASTING, TERRIFIC CULT CLASSIC
Summary: 5 Stars
Let's make a little background. I am a huge fan of sci-fi, adventures and romantic-comedy genres, but cartoons are very special to me. As a cartoon lover, Disney movies -and Disney brand in general- are such a genre that always delights me. So, since I was a child, I was acustomed to all what my parents put on TV about Disney. So,it was inevitably caught by the influence of Disney's "freak movies-era", mainly by two movies: The Watcher in the Woods and this one -Return to Oz. Of course I was watched the musical classic -The Wizard of Oz, with the star-icon Judy Garland- and I must said I really enjoy such movie. But this one, Return to Oz, is the one who had put its influence in most of the things I remember as a child, and whose really terrific and vivid scenes influenced in my creative development. So, when I'd got the chance to acquire this movie from Amazon, I had no doubt about the purchase. Wonderfully, the product got at home in less than ten days -the web page says it usually takes between two or three weeks to arrive home-, a very good surprise. Well, I just waited one day to open the package and release the DVD case. I was so delighted: the movie I used to watched as a child almost 23 years ago, was in my hands again, and in the best quality it is available to be acquired. So, since the moment I put it on the DVD player, I got totally hypnotized, as memories from the past came to my mind: since the first scene, when the main titles appears on the screen, in bright-green colors, as the camera makes a paneo of the Dorothy's room troughout the mirror -what a intriguing movie intro!- was just the beginning to a sea of thoughts, sensations, recurrent visions which have with me since then, etc... all of that came to me, in seconds. I couldn't believe it then and now, that I finally got the movie, that movie that accompanied me as a child, and now as a young adult, I am thrilled as the first day a watched it, but I can appreciate it more now, because I can see, in detail, all the backgrounds, the special effects, scene sequences, and of course the dialogues and characterizations. WHAT A GREAT MOVIE IS THIS ONE!! And, what can I say about the high-intensively vivid scenes, as the one in which Dorothy is chased by the Wheleers in a ruined Emerald City, until she gets into the princess Mombi's palace; or when she meets princess Mombi, passing trough the Hall of Heads, until she stole the Powder of Life from the cabinet in which the main head -princess Mombi's head itself- is kept in there, and screams "DOROTHY with that really scary yell?? Or when she is inside the Hall of Ornaments, in a very desperated situation to look for the ornament in which the Scarecrow -the ruler of Oz at the moment the Emeral City was taken- was converted by the Gnome King? Oh, we have dramatic scenes, too! One of the most touchy in the movie is when Dorothy, after been grabbed by Mombi, is taken to a room in the top of her Palace -apparently a child's room, surrounded by toys but garbage, too; once in there, she takes a slow look of the room and, suddenly, Dorothy -exceptionally well played by a very young Fairuza Balk- stops while the camera guides the spectador to what Dorothy is looking directly: a big paint in which our beloved characters the Scarecrow (with his crown), the Tin-Man and the Cowardly Lion are in there, smiling to her, just in the moment we feel what Dorothy is experimenting in that specific moment: a vague nostalgia about their friendship, and the lack of strenght because she -and us, as we form part of the movie, too- cannot do anything to find a way to save them -all in Oz was became into stone- and the sadness invades us... but then, a crisp of strenght appears when Dorothy realises that the Gnome King's mountain is straigh ahead -takin a look from a big window- and, surprisingly, Jack Pumpkinghead appears on screen... and then, the idea of scaping and save Oz gives us a light of hope. Wow!! What a great movie is this one!!
Well, after these words, I just can recommend you this movie, touchy, scary, but, all in all, magical and realistic, closer to the Frank L. Baum's vision of what Oz is presented in his books, and a movie for all ages -well, maybe not for little ones ;). I mean, even with the wave of technology we can appreciate nowadays, if your children watch this movie now, we can swear it was made using the best technology currently available -but avoiding cgi ;P. In fact, this movie was made using the best technology avaiable then -based in Animatronics, miniatures, etc.
Please, to all of you who have grown with Disney, or just if you are a geek sci-fi-movie fan, take a look to this sparkling cult gem. You will get astonished!!
And, of course, buy through Amazon. It is really secure and fast. I live in Mexico, so find such kind of movies is a bit difficult, but TG we have Amazon; nice delivery service and good prices. Highly recommended to find and buy products. And about the movie, just give you the chance to purchase and watch it :D -a reminding and a refreshment of what great movies are made of!!
Thanks for reading this review!!
Return to Oz
Movie Review: The True land of Oz
Summary: 5 Stars
This film is a highly underrated masterpiece. Why it is underrated is for several reasons. Several audience members do not understand the true beauty of Oz. It's not a sing-a-long fairytale lala land. Oz is a place of the imagination. A place where dreams are possible, but reality still lies with in this imaginary land.
The classic American fairy tale, "The Wizard of Oz" struck audiences in awe because of the fact that it was in color, the songs at the time were probably about the best thing anyone had really ever heard from a movie from a musical standpoint; and the whole concept of a place where all the joy and wonders could be escaped.
Think again. First off, this really isn't a sequel because it takes place in 1899, closer to 1900 when the original books where first produced, which would've been a good 31 years or so to when the first movie took place. The original movie took place during 1939 when the movie was made, because if you check the Munchkin Coroner's sign it says that the Witch died on May 6th (I believe, it's not the exact date but around there), 1938 (when they started shooting). So, thusly the movie took place around that time period. This movie is a continuation of the books by L. Frank Baum.
Now, plot summary. Dorothy Gale (potrayed by ten-year-old Fairuza Bulk) is back in Kansas roughly six months after the tornado. Aunt Em is uncertain of Dorothy's mental stamina, since all she talks about is this place called "Oz". She sends her to Dr. Wooly, a psychatrist/doctor a couple of miles away. Dr. Worley tries to attempt eletricial shock on Dorothy. Dorothy is escourted out of the "asylum" by a mysterious worker. Dorothy escapes and swims away in a river.
Dorothy arrives in Oz, with her talking hen Billina. Billina & Dorothy find Oz in a wretched state. The munchkins, yellow brick road, Scarecrow and Emerald City are gone. The Emerald City has turned to stone and is now being inhabited by a headless creature named Mombi, (by headless I mean she has different heads, she actually keeps heads in cabinents to put on. She has worn three throughout the film, Mombi was actually Princess Langwire in the book, Ozma of Oz) and Mombi has these creepy slaves named the Wheelers, who have wheels for feet.
Dorothy, not knowing where to turn, ends up being chased by these "Wheelers" and finds a robot named Tik-Tok; who eventually scares off the Wheelers. Tik-Tok is now Dorothy slave, and they seek Mombi to tell her what has happened to the Scarecrow, the Emerald City, etc. Mombi tells her the Nome King is now King of Oz and has imprisioned the Scarecrow and has taken back all the Emeralds in the Emerald City.
Mombi imprisions Dorothy all of a sudden because she wants her [Dorothy's] head. Dorothy is now in Mombi's well--I guess you'd call it a storage room with no doors, which is supposidly a "dungeon" but whatever. Dorothy meets this thing, yes I said "thing" called Jack Pumpkinhead which was created by Ozma (the Queen of Oz) to scare off Mombi, who was later imprisoned by Mombi as a slave of the mirror, (meaning she is trapped inside a mirror) and so Ozma being Jack's creator, Jack refers to Ozma only as "Mom" not knowing her real name throughout various parts of the film.
Pumpkinhead has a Pumpkin for a head, and sticks and a shirt and pants for a body and was brought to life by some magical powder of Life. Long story short, Dorothy steals the power from Mombi's original head which is in a cabinent, goes back upstairs to Tik-Tok, Jack and Billina and they bring this thing called a "Gump" to life. A Gump is like a moose, but it's green and it can talk. So, the Gump is only a Gump's head on a plaque on the wall. They make the Gump's head come to life, then get some sofas and palm tree leaves, and put them all together to make a flying contraption with the help of the Powder of Life.
They escape Mombi's palace, fly to the Nome Kings Mountain. The Nome King, they find is an arrogent jerk who is made out of stone and lives underground in the mountain and stole all the Emeralds from the Emerald City and has turned the Scarecrow into an ornament. So, all the gang [Jack, Gump, Tik-Tok, Dorothy and Ballina] play a guessing game to guess which ornament is the Scarecrow. Well, in a short context they find the Scarecrow, find the Ruby Slippers and Dorothy wishes that all of Oz would be back to normal.
All of Oz turns into the beautiful city it once was, Ozma is freed from the mirror, the Nome King dies, and Mombi is powerless. It's all happy until Dorothy declines being Queen of Oz and staying in Oz forever. So she goes home and finds that the asylum has burned down to the ground when an electrical storm hit and that Dr. Wooly is in jail and his assistant, Nurse Wilson is also in jail. So it's all grand and happy.
I know that was long, but it's a majestic, beautiful work of art and is frowned upon for the wrong reasons.
Highly Reccomend!
Movie Review: An excellent movie - edgier and darker than the 1939 film
Summary: 5 Stars
Like almost everyone else in the universe, the 1939 movie, "The Wizard of Oz", evokes fond memories from my childhood. Because this movie is one of the most beloved films of all time, I would never have believed that anyone would have the audacity to create a sequel, but somebody did. Released in 1985, "Return to Oz" continues the story of Dorothy Gale (played perfectly by Fairuza Balk in her cinematic debut) after her return from the land over the rainbow.
Since sequels rarely match the quality of the originals, I probably wouldn't have wanted to see this movie if not for the overwhelmingly positive reviews here on Amazon. My curiosity was piqued, so I rented the movie and watched it last night. All I can say is, "Wow".
The story begins six months after Dorothy taps the heels of her Ruby Slippers and returns to Kansas. She tells Auntie Em and Uncle Henry all about her trip to Oz. Of course, being the average skeptical adults, the relatives don't believe her, especially since Dorothy lost the Ruby Slippers during her return voyage and has no proof that her stories are real.
Concerned about her mental health, Dorothy's well-meaning relatives borrow money to send Dorothy to the clinic of Dr. Worley, who has recently discovered a miraculous new medical treatment - electroshock therapy. Dr. Worley convinces Auntie Em that a round of cranial electrical currents will solve Dorothy's delusions, so Auntie leaves Dorothy in Dr. Worley's care. Luckily for Dorothy, a mysterious girl arrives just in time to help her escape the clinic and, through a series of events, Dorothy ends up back in Oz.
Dorothy finds that Oz has changed since she was last there. The Munchkin village is gone and the Yellow Brick Road is in tatters. She finds the Emerald City in ruins and all of its inhabitants turned to stone. The city is under control of "The Wheelers", nightmarish creatures with wheels in place of hands and feet. Dorothy escapes from them with the help of a mechanical man, Tik-Tok, but soon falls into the clutches of the evil Princess Mombi. This part of the movie may disturb small children because Mombi has a huge walk-in closet which contains an assortment of heads. Yes, heads. Mombi changes her head like other people change shoes and wears different heads depending on her mood. (She has quite a collection which she has gathered from people who probably weren't too thrilled to part with them.)
Dorothy discovers that the destruction of Oz was caused by the Nome King, who has also captured the Scarecrow. She escapes from Mombi with the help of several new friends and they travel to the Nome King's mountain to free the Scarecrow and restore Oz to its former glory.
The script for "Return to Oz" is based on two of the original L. Frank Baum books: "Ozma of Oz" and "The Marvelous Land of Oz". It's been a while since I've read any of the Oz books, but this movie seems more faithful to what I remember of the mood and tone of the books than "The Wizard of Oz".
Three things that I really liked about this movie are:
1) The characters don't suddenly burst into song. As much as I liked the music in "The Wizard of Oz", it's nice to watch an Oz movie where the story takes precedence over the choreography.
2) This movie is edgier and darker than the first one. The Wheelers are on the verge of insanity and are truly frightening (at least until Tik-Tok beats them silly). Mombi is also pretty darn scary. The movie also includes the Deadly Desert, where contact with the sand will kill any living creature. We see that happen, too.
3) 1980s animatronics and claymation bring several well-know Oz characters to life. This wouldn't have been possible in 1939. In addition to Tik-Tok, we meet the Nome King and his minions, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the Gump, a creature with the head of a moose, a sofa for a body, and palm leaves for wings. As impressive as CGI (computer-generated-imagery) is in today's movies, there's a realism about human actors interacting with physical characters that just can't be duplicated using a blue screen.
I highly recommend "Return to Oz". I suggest that you come in with no expectations that this movie is an extension of the original. "Return to Oz" stands on its own and there's a lot to enjoy here. However, I suggest caution if showing this to young children - they may have nightmares in which the Wheelers and a headless Mombi are coming to get them.
Michael Mihalik is the author of Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money. Learn how to gain control of your finances, pay off your debt, and create financial security!
Movie Review: This movie is in our darkest nightmares...and our greatest dreams
Summary: 5 Stars
At best, people understand in retrospect that this movie gets a bad rap, simply because of it's connections to Disney and lack of Disney-fied elements. That Disney shut down production of this movie three times during the making of it and then failed to market it to the "appropriate" audience. It was released at the same time as Back to the Future, Out of Africa, and the Breakfast Club. It failed at the box office and is seen to have the same kind of followers as the Dark Crystal and Star Wars. As I mentioned before Disney had absolutely no participation in the actual production and had little knowledge of what a "dark, haunting, and fantastical" movie it was. And yes, despite it's many homages and references to it, it is "NOTHING LIKE THE 1939 CLASSIC"....but...SO WHAT?
To those who actually saw the film and attempted to make comparisons to the 1939 "original", I say you have no right to even share your dissatisfaction. This movie was made just shy of the 50th anniversary of the original release and is therefore completely separate; even in it's attempts to sequel it! How dare film makers make a dark film geared towards children, only Tim Burton is allowed to do that!
As a very young child I was privy to see the 50th anniversary documentary about the "chaos, confusion, and terror" that went on behind the scenes of the MGM flick. While I was captured by the movie itself, I was even more intrigued by the amount of dedication, toil, and tears that went into it. Because of that early dose of reality to this day I see it as retro nostalgia of epic proportions; a beautifully scored train-wreck. To the dismay of fellow movie-goers/film buffs, I love it as much as I despise it. Despite the fact that I still nod to the original cast for their immense talent and ingenuity, I have reconciled to the fact that the entire OZ empire is ironically a complete sham. The man behind the curtain has been revealed. This point proven to me even more by the recent re-release of their NEW REMASTERED BLU RAY DVD AND ALL THE NEW PRETTY SHINYS THAT COME WITH!
It is this pandering and sugar-coating, that made some of us yearn,no- ache, for something like Return to OZ. I will explain why with details too vague to be considered spoilers.
The audience of the original film that was captivated and intrigued as I was,were just as equally captivated by a movie so separate from it. For those who enjoy fantasy films, and are children of the eighties, we have been given many new worlds to explore, ones that our parents could hardly dream of. Once we are apart of this new world, we want to understand it in a deeper way. We want it to always be there for us, to know we always belong there. This is the essence of Return to OZ.
What audiences of this movie would want to remember in viewing this, though I cannot imagine how it is lost on them, is that OZ is a world that exists in the mind of a child. Even the "original" Dorothy can only arrive in OZ with a swift bump on the head. Once she is there, however, this world is to the child what she desires it to be; whether it comforts her, illuminates her, challenges her, frightens her, or empowers her. This is her world.
The world in which she actually exists, one just as dark and frightening, is not her world. This is a universal theme that should be experienced by young children, despite the many elements that may make many parents uneasy.
To ease those parents, I suggest they concentrate on the many wonderful educational experiences their child will receive from this film. First, it should be considered as a period film. Kansas: the dress, the mentality, the family dynamic, the living conditions, etc. are all very true to the time the books were written and were something as a child that I found fascinating (something the original is lacking). Second, the musical score is distinctly instrumental, but breathtakingly beautiful and engaging to any child or adult. Third, the story of friendship and loyalty goes beyond helping your friend find their brain and is wrapped up in themes of memory, love, forgiveness, charity, protection, appreciation, gratitude, accountability, the list goes on...
Finally, if you are still not convinced that this movie deserves 5 stars...I suggest giving it another go...or showing it to a lonely nine year old brunette girl, and see how she reacts to it.
Movie Review: On the Yellow Brick Road again
Summary: 5 Stars
During the 80s, the Walt Disney decided to do their own followup to the original 1939 Wizard Of Oz movie, but unlike Filmation's Journey Back To Oz, this one was live-action(although it had was some killer claymation). No relation to the Rankin/Bass animated TV special of the same name, Return To Oz was done in conjuction with MGM and weirdly enough George Lucus. The movie acts as a sequal to the 30s movie, as well as a combo of Land Of Oz and Ozma Of Oz. Taking place about 6 months after the cyclone hit, Dorothy's constant going on about Oz has her aunt and uncle worried that she's crazy, so they send her to a clinic to get lobotomized by a 19th Century pinball machine. She gets sprung by a mysterious blonde girl, and falls into the river during the middle of a rainstorm, and is swept back to Oz in a crate. Once there, she is suprised to see her hen Billina from back on the farm with her. They find Dorothy's old house near the ruins of the Yellow Brick Road, which is a little strange since the house didn't really go to Oz in the first movie as it was all a dream. She heads for what's left of the Emerald City where everyone has been turned to stone. Dorothy is then chased by some of the monsterous Wheelers(who're supposed to be in Ev!), and finds the robotic Tik-Tok in a closet. She winds him up, and he helps fend off the Wheelers. They then go to confront "Princess" Mombi, who here is more like the character of Princess Langwidere from Ozma Of Oz, where as Mombi from the books was your stereotypical wicked witch character. Princess Mombi kidnaps Dorothy so she can use her as one of her spare detachable heads, while Tik-Tok is unable to help her as he's wound down. While locked in a tower, Dorothy befriends Jack Pumpkinhead, a living wooden man with a pumpkin for a head. After winding up Tik-Tok again, they use the special Powder of Life to bring a flying creature with the head of a moose-like Gump to life and fly away. Dorothy and Co. end up on the mountain of the Nome King who they learned is responsible for totally screwing over Oz. The Nome King offers them the chance to save the Scarecrow who he's keeping as an ornament, but only at the cost of them turning into ornaments themselves. He also reveals that he managed to take over Oz thanks to the power of Dorothy's ruby slippers that fell into his desert when she went back to Kansas. After only Dorothy is left to go choose, she manages to free Scarecrow and the others, but the Nome King is a sore loser and threatens to devour all of them. Fortunately, Billina manages to lay an egg in his mouth, and eggs are poison to nomes. The Nome King kicks the bucket, and the Emerald City returns to its green glory. Dorothy is asked to become the new Queen of Oz, but says she wants to go home instead. However, Dorothy releases Princess Ozma(the true heir to the throne)from Mombi's magic mirror, who it turns out was the girl who freed her from the asylum, and uses the ruby slippers to send her back to Kansas. This movie was a drastic turn from the cheery musical that had until then become an American standard, and drew it more into the darker tone that the original L. Frank Baum novels had. Another aspect of the books taken into the movie was the character designs and the look of Oz itself. The movie's scarier motif actually frightened alot of kids and parents from seeing it in theatres, which subsequently turned this into more of a cult film. If you were expecting this to be something you could sit your toddlers down to watch without them peeing in their pants, you might wanna wait until they're a little older. Aside from that, the film is an almost perfect homage to Baum's legacy. Most notedly are the performances by Fairuza Balk as Dorothy who is the closest to being like the fictional character as possible, while at the same time is modeled after Judy Garland, although more closer the Dorothy's actual age. The other good performance is by Jean Marsh as Mombi, who reprised her character of an evil witch in the film Willow. I greatly admired the effort put into this, and truly believe it is a worthy continuation of the classic movie. Hopefully future Oz-related movie productions will make the same attempt to capture the magic of the original books.