If you’ve ever read L. Frank Baum’s original OZ books, you’re probably aware of the fact that the books were somewhat darker in tone than the 1939 MGM musical. While I, personally, love the musical and claim it as one of my favorite films, I am aware that the film took some liberties with the work and made it a little less dark. Well, for the most part. Those flying monkeys were still a bit ominous.
In the mid-80’s, Walt Disney Pictures decided to take a chance and try a film that was closer in resemblance to Baum’s fantasy tales than that of the MGM musical. That film was, of course, Return to OZ.
Introducing Fairuza Balk (who later went on to star in The Craft and Waterboy) as Dorothy Gale, Return to OZ instantly won criticism among viewers who were expecting something closer to the MGM film. As such, for some time, the film was mostly forgotten by all but those who were lovers of all things OZ.
The film itself is actually a hodge podge of Baum’s OZ books as it tells the story of Dorothy, now back in Kansas, undergoing treatment for nightmares that resulted from her last trip to OZ. During an electrical malfunction that aborts her sleep treatment, Dorothy once again finds herself in OZ.
The OZ she returns to, however, is little like the one she left. OZ itself is practically in ruins. The Yellow Brick Road now lay in a post-warlike state and the Emerald City has been turned to stone. Dorothy, frightened at the thought of what fate might have fell on her old friends, partners up with a few new friends who will, no doubt, be recognizable to fans of the original book series.
This dark fantasy is much like many other dark children’s fantasies released in the 80’s such as The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth with its vivid characters and surrealism. That being said, there are some frightening images in Return to OZ (just as there were in the original books) and may frighten some younger viewers. Still, many children will get a kick out of the story and the adventure as Dorothy faces down another sinister villainess, Princess Mombi.
Return to OZ is available on DVD from amazon.com.