We all know the 1939 MGM classic "The Wizard of Oz", a film with great songs, great characters, and of course a great storyline. As decades went by, some directors tried to re-imagine the great land of "OZ", such as "The Wiz" and a few animation works, but in 1985 Disney has released their own re-imagining of "OZ". Walt Disney had the rights to the "OZ" stories for quite a long time and he planned to make a movie based on one of the books in the series. Surprisingly, he never made the attempt, but he planned to have it in animation. In 1957 on the show "Disneyland" in the Episode called "The Fourth Anniversary Show" (Which by the way I reviewed that Episode on the DVD "Walt Disney Treasures Collection: Your Host Walt Disney") Walt and the Mousekeeters had the idea of making an "OZ" film starring the Mousekeeters and during the program the Mousekeeters did a few Musical skits to show what the film would be like. Unfortunately, Walt decided to do "Disney's "Babes in Toyland" instead. As time went by, Disney was at its lowest (Compared to now, Disney now is sadly almost hitting rock bottom), while the company still had the rights, they felt like it was time to make a movie based on one of the "OZ" Books.
Six months after Dorothy’s (Fairuza Balk) visit to the land of "OZ", Aunt EM (Piper Laurie) thinks Dorothy is not well due to the fact that she doesn't believe about Dorothy's visit to "OZ", and as a result Dorothy can't sleep. So Aunt EM sends Dorothy to an Asylum to get shock therapy. On the night when Dorothy was supposed to get shocked, the power goes out due to a storm and a mysterious girl helps Dorothy escape. Dorothy then wakes up back in "OZ" and finds that a lot of things have changed for the worst since she left. The Yellowbrick road is destroyed; the Emerald city has lost all its Emeralds; her friends (Lion and Tinman) have been turned to stone; the Scarecrow is missing; and "OZ" is taken over by the Evil Nome King (Nicoal Williamson), The Wheelers, and the evil head exchanging witch Mombi (Jean Marsh). Dorothy is not alone, her favorite Chicken from the farm Bellina (Who can now talk) is with her and she makes new friends such as The Robot Solider Tik Tok, The Jackalattern Scarecrow Jack Pumpkinhead, and a moose-like animal whose body is made from a winged sofa named GUMP.
When I first heard the plot of this movie, it kind of reminded me of the plot of the Video Game "American McGee's Alice", I also thought the plot was pretty dark for kids, not to mention the fact that it's not even a Musical. The film got a poor reception at the box office and two of my favorite critics Siskel and Ebert both gave the film a thumbs down. However, there were two people who convinced me to see it. My favorite critic of all time Doug Walker (AKA That guy with the glasses) put this film as number 4 on his top 11 list Underrated Nostalgia Classics. Seeing some of the images and hearing what he has to say about it, made me want to take a look at it. The reason why I'm reviewing this film now is because a special friend of mine said that this was a childhood favorite hers, and since she's now officially an adult I thought this would be the perfect time to review this film. Oh, and just because it's a request from a friend that doesn't mean I'm going to hold my negative opinions back, please know that when you do request me to review a film.
The characters in the film are as lovable as the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. Bellina the Chicken makes the movie fun for children, and is the comic relief character throughout the film. There is one question I do have about the character. In the real world, Bellina doesn't talk, but when they go to "OZ", Bellina can talk. Dorothy did say the animals in "OZ" can talk, which explains why Bellina talks, but how come Toto didn't talk when she first came to the land of "OZ". I don't remember any of the other adaptations of the "OZ" stories when Toto talks. Tik Tok kind of reminds of the advance Tin Man, only difference is he has no emotions, he's just programed to follow orders, however, while the film progresses something told me there is a heart somewhere inside that robotic body. Even though Tik Tok has intelligence, his fighting stinks, I mean the way he fought off the Wheelers was one of the corniest fight sequence's I've ever seen. Gump is also another cool character with a funny personality. What's cool about him is Dorothy and her new friends made him with the help of magic powder; and the fact that he can fly just makes him a lot cooler.
My favorite character out of all of them is Jack Pumpkinhead because he's very sweet and lovable. He also calls Dorothy "MOM" thinking that she's the one who created him, which I find it to be very heartwarming. One of the main reasons why I love this character is because this is the character that Tim Burton modeled Jack Skellington after. Actually, just looking at this film in general, it looks like something Tim Burton could have done or is maybe one of those films that inspired Tim Burton to create some of those bizarre dark images we all know and love. Fairuza Balk as Dorthoy is one of the best film adaptations of the character Dorothy that I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, Judy Garland in "The Wizard of OZ' did a tremendous and iconic job as the character as well, but I personally think Fairuza Balk closely resembles the character. She just looks more like the character, which might have to do with her age.
A lot of people told me the film was too scary for kids and hearing the plot and seeing some of the Images it even sounded and looked too scary for kids. I even read that they had to censor a few scenes on TV to make it less scary. To be perfectly honest, I didn't really think it was that scary. The scenes that seemed to creep me out the most or make my heart beat faster is the whole Asylum Sequence; The separate moving heads; The Nome King's challenge; the climax, and that's it. To be fair, maybe it's because of my age, but when I see a kid’s film I usually try to put myself in a point of view of a child. I'm not saying the films not going to give the kids nightmares, but it's not as scary as I thought it would be. By the way, the villains in the film are really cool and terrifying.
The special effects are nice and give the film its imaginary feel and look. Despite the fact that the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Special effects, I really wasn't all that impressed. I like that they used all kinds of special effects like puppets, Claymation, animatronics, but I felt like it wasn't good enough to be nominated for an Oscar. Most of the special effects kind of remind of previous films made in that era such as "The Never ending Story" for example. Then again the special effects do show the creativity that was put in the film. However, I do find it creepy that the Scarecrow's lips hardly move when he talks.
To my surprise, I actually enjoyed the film. The film has great new characters, a dark storyline, and nice special effects. I think the main reason why the film got a poor reception is because a lot of people thought it was a sequel to the 1939 classic. It isn't a sequel to the classic we all know and love; it's a sequel to the story. Take "Tim Burton's Alice in wonderland" for example. The film is a sequel to the story of "Alice in Wonderland", but it's not a sequel to any of the film adaptations of "Alice in Wonderland". I'm actually glad they didn't make "Return to OZ" into musical because I personally think it would ruin the seriousness of the film. Even though I wouldn't recommend it to a younger crowd of kids 4 and under I still think it's a film that kids will enjoy. However, this film is just one of those films that people will either love or hate, I personally love it.
RATING 3/5
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