Fairuza Balk Movie:

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		Our Price: $15.18
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		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
You don't fool with Mother Nature, spit into the wind, remake Casablanca, or trash the land of Oz. Perhaps that is why the 1985 live-action sequel split critics and audiences alike. The 1939 classic musical is so beloved that it's almost impossible to imagine seeing Dorothy in shock therapy, a crumbled yellow brick road, the ruins of Emerald City, and the Tin Man turned into stone. But L. Frank Baum, the author of the original Oz books, portrayed just that with his continuing stories of Dorothy. When you get by these tough facts, the film version is solid entertainment for the over-7 set.

Dorothy (a 10-year-old Fairuza Balk in her debut) is back in Kansas, where Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) is at the end of her rope: her niece is not sleeping and going on about a place called Oz. Therapy may be the answer, but luckily the scary clinic goes dark before Dorothy can be, er, cured (but the lead-up will scare the munchkins out of most kids). She wakes up in the land of Oz, now in tatters, and searches for its king, the Scarecrow. A new set of friends, including a tin soldier, a talking chicken, and a pumpkin man, help her against new villains, including Princess Mombi (Jean Marsh)--complete with a set of detachable heads--and the evil Nome King (Nicol Williamson with a great assist from Will Vinton's Claymation). The sole directorial effort of Oscar-winning editor Walter Murch is stuffed with marvelous effects that foreshadow later works by Tim Burton and the Henson non-Muppet films. --Doug Thomas

Return to Oz [Region 2] Reviews:
On the Yellow Brick Road again
2009-12-18 - 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.

Way better than the 1939 version
2009-11-21 - This movie is probably the only live-action (I'm not counting live action/animation)Disney film that is dark, but awesome. It's more attached to the books than the sugar-coated 1939 version ever was. If L.Frank Baum was alive in the 1980's, then he would have loved this movie.
(spoilers)
Probably the scariest scene in the entire movie is when she is trying to get the powder of life from one of Mombi's cases. She's about to get it, and then this happens:
Mombi:Dooorthy Gaaale!
Heads from various women begin to scream as the real headless Mombi rises from her bed. Dorothy quickly grabs the powder of life and runs like there's no tomorrow.

This movie is so underrated and it's much better than the films these days, like those High School Musical crap (where are the goths, nerds, pregnant teens, and rapper-wannabees?) and Twilight (sorry, but I really hate these books/movies).

If you want a good fantasy film, go with this one. Enjoy!

The dark side of OZ...
2009-10-01 - An instant classic! Released the year I was born (1985) and remaining STILL one of my favorite films of all time, I was born to collect Oz memorabilia. I feel that this was a film that people really threw to the side and dis honed it. It never really got it's full true debut-which makes me sad. People seem to compare this, just cause it was a sequel, to the 1939 classic. It has NOTHING to do with is at all-it's a film that stands on it's own two feet. Created and written to follow the true spirit and imagination of L. Frank Baum's Oz books, it truly did just that. This is a cult classic and will remain that forever! I am a HUGE Oz fan and "Return" has the key to my heart and everything I have loved, read, and dreamed about Oz! Sure, it's a little too dark and sometimes a little scary, but I think it was made to be just that. A darker side of Oz. What really surprises me is that it was made from Walt Disney. I know that Disney has always been interested in making an Oz film, but I just wish that they would have made so much more of an effort to support it. Sometimes when I mention to people about "Return" they don't know it even exists. I'm like "WHAT!" How could they have never seen this film. Such a shame to have missed out on this childhood film. Everything about this is magical-the characters, actors, costumes, and story! Magic! Find a copy of this (sometimes really hard to find)Buy it, and sit back for a different path down the yellow brick road! Make a trip to "Return To Oz!"

This movie is in our darkest nightmares...and our greatest dreams
2009-09-29 - 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.






Best fantasy movie ever
2009-09-24 - Finally , after months of searching...me and my sis, finally decided to check on AMAZON---DUHH??!!
Just ordered this movie I have been wanting to see AGAIn, forever!! I AM SOOO HAPPY , cant wait to get it!!
We used to watch this movie ALL THE TIME, when we were kids. It used to F'n FREAK US out but that didnt stop us, we were glued to every minute of the movie.
So I just had to get a copy to show all my nieces and nephews.
This is not the type of movie to purchase if you are looking for something like the Wizard of OZ, or other Disney movies...cause it is soooo diffferent.
BUT ,this is definitely the movie to watch if you just want to see a good fantasy movie---think along the lines of Pans Labyrinth, the neverending story, or Willow.
It is Disney's best movie EVER besides "Watcher in the Woods"---anybody remember that???
Call me crazy but I was one of those kids that actually liked getting freaked out!!
ANyway, I totally LOVE this movie and think it is a must have for anybody who like CLASSIC- ORIGNAL and TIMELESS movies!!

I cant wait to get it to show my neices and nephews next time I babysit them and they "ACT UP"!
HA HA HA!!!!!