Return to Oz |  | Director: Walter Murch
Actors: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Matt Clark
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.99
Buy New: $5.75
as of 7/31/2010 14:34 EDT details
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New (35) Used (15) from $4.95
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Rating:  305 reviews
Sales Rank: 1504
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Running Time: 113 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DISD33595D
UPC: 786936233780
EAN: 0786936233780
ASIN: B0000DZ3EN
Theatrical Release Date: June 21, 1985
Release Date: February 3, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Movie DVD
Amazon.com
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
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 305
 You never send it to me i paid 28 dollars for nothing July 30, 2010
Erika
You have a very bad service i paid for my movie and you never send it to me, please return me the money, i don't want it.
 Got here on time... I just didn't know it... July 20, 2010
Paul Peloquin
So I can't fault the business for not getting my hands on the product when I was supposed to. It was in my mailbox, but i thought it would be coming to my door as deliveries often do when you're in an apartment with a small mailbox. Anyways, Enjoyed the movie, lots of childhood fun to be had.
Good movie, but not original by the author July 5, 2010
Adam Dahlkoetter (Ogallala, Nebraska United States)
The review by amazon is incorrect. This movie, although good, is not based of the original works of the author of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum. This movie is an odd mixing of the two books, the Land of Oz, and Ozma of Oz. Please do not think that this story is actually from the original author. Read the books for a full look at Oz as it was meant to be.
The original Wizard of Oz movie was horrible. It is very loosely based on the original Wonderful Wizard of Oz book. A new movie series should be made.
Not a proper sequel, but an enjoyable experience June 21, 2010
I, Da Ca$hman (Colorado)
For all my reviews visit my website [...]
I am NOT reviewing the DVD. Just the movies unless otherwise stated.
Please note that the rating above might not accurately reflect my thoughts, you will see a rating sentence at the end of the review.
So, how do I describe this? Hope you can deal with my tired self and allergies self. It's Spring at 9:44 P.M. Mountain Time. So, how do I describe this? A movie that deserves a cult following. It's a movie that not every child should watch, but the most righteous should definably check out at a young age. I feel bad that I had not. I have not even seen Love Bug, Apple Dumplings Gang, or even the original Witch Mountain movies. I feel I lost out on some real growing into a more patient man. Fortunately, I grew up good enough. But, no more whining, let's get on with the movie.
Well, lemme tell you the bad things: The original cast of Todo, Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion don't play too much of a part and are replaced with Tick Tock, Jack Pumpkin Head, Gump and Melinda the Chicken. The good news on this: they're are executed in a well manner. Now, the original Wizard of Oz shall never be even matched, it's like [REFERENCE TO PUNCH-OUT] Mike Tyson vs. Glass Joe. However, we do all love Glass Joe as Punch-Out fans, because of the awesome way he is carried out as an underdog and an over looked Gem.
And that's what this movie is, an over looked Gem. It's not a masterpiece, but still classic. My biggest thing on a kids movie is does it give you some emotions? Heck yes does this one. It scares the crap out of you especially if you are a child, and has some disturbing things for the adults. DOROTHY IS PUT IN AN ASYLUM! HOW'S THAT FOR MESSING WITH YOUR CHILDHOOD! But, she does escape. It all symbolizes the world we want to go to and the bad people in our lives who don't have a clue and try to stop it. Just like in the original, only you haft to have seen the original to spot the symbolism.
I do wish they kept the Kansas scenes B&W. But, the idea of Oz being in color in '39 was symbolic it showed the world that Oz was a beautiful fantasy in the form of symbolism. But, color was in full force at the time, and so it may have seemed to cliche to have done that way. And personally, I'm starting to realize that myself. Another thing I am mad about, is that they changed the apple trees to lunch pail trees. Seriously! Plus, there's no witches nor is there a real Wizard. It's a whole new storyline, that makes you feel like you're watching a movie that's completely different with many little references and similarities.
At this time of day, there isn't much more to talk about. I say, if you love the original but just on the right note, check it out. The Rating? 3.7/5
 My kinda Oz June 12, 2010
rmcrae (Houston, Texas)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I'll probably be stoned for saying this, but I've never been a fan of Judy Garland's The Wizard of Oz. I don't think it's a bad movie, but the sunny, sing a long disposition and sugary tone made my teeth ache. I'm far from a "dark" person, but too much happy gets on my nerves. Return to Oz is where it's at for me. I was born 2 years after it's theatrical release, but fell in love with it at the age of 5 and consider it one of the best fantasy films ever.
First things first, this isn't a sequel to the 1939 musical. The only things they share in common are 1) ruby slippers are used instead of the book's silver and 2) people in Oz mirror those in Kansas. That's it. Return to Oz sticks closer to L. Frank Baum's books (a mashup of The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, to be exact) so the story is given a darker backdrop. No breaking out into song on this one.
6 months after the tornado that transported Dorothy and her dog Toto to Oz, the little girl suffers from insomnia and talks incessantly about her adventures there. She becomes convinced that Billina, one of the farm hens, helped her find a key sent by her Oz friends on a shooting star. Aunt Em (as well as Uncle Henry to a lesser degree) grows concerned for her niece's sanity and takes her to see a Dr. Worley to administer electro-shock therapy to cure her of her "waking dreams", once and for all. Dorothy discovers that the hospital is really a poorly run mental institution with damaged patients locked in the basement. She's saved by a mysterious girl her own age and is transported back to Oz by way of a river during a thunderstorm. She wakes up inside a chicken coop with a talking Billina, but quickly discovers that Oz ain't what it used to be. The yellow brick road is in shambles, the Emerald City is an "emerald-less" wasteland, and all of it's residents have been turned to stone. It's up to Dorothy to set things right with the help of new friends Tik Tok (the mechanical man), Jack Pumpkinhead, and the oddly constructed Gump. Her new foes are the head collecting baddie Mombi, the freakish Wheelers, and The Gnome King who's stolen the emeralds as well as the Scarecrow.
Fairuza Balk does a phenomenal job as Dorothy. Not only does she fit the character's age (about 9 or 10), but her Dorothy is a combination of fearful, curious, and determined to save her friends. Jean Marsh is downright creepy as the cold, unfeeling Mombi and Nicol Williamson's Gnome King is calculating and maniacal. The sets are colorful and surreal, but also lifelike. So much like Baum's original vision for Oz. The animation isn't the best out there compared to today's standards, but ahead of it's time considering it's from the mid-80s. I wouldn't recommend the movie for kids under the age of 6 or 7 (didn't scare me at all as a 5 year old though), but anyone older should be able to handle it. So grab a snack from the lunch pail tree, avoid the Deadly Desert, and enjoy a fantasy movie that'll keep kids and adults satisfied.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 305
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