Return to Oz

• Co-Written and Directed by Walter Murch
• June 21, 1985 (US)
• Unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz and also based on the L. Frank Baum novels The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) and Ozma of Oz (1907)

Dorothy returns to the Land of Oz and finds it has been conquered by the wicked Nome King and his servant Princess Mombi.

Sometimes a movie may sound like a good idea, but it really is not. Such is the case with Return to Oz which is a weird unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz that does its darndest to straddle being its own thing while also being a sequel by pushing allusions to the 1939 classic as far as it can without violating copyright law. It makes for an uncomfortable viewing experience as it gets you to believe this is a legit sequel before tossing in a random element that breaks the stride. Like Dorothy’s close bond with her chicken Bellina (voice of Denise Bryer)-a character from the books but not the film-that leaves you asking why Toto got left behind? I think the dog is in the movie but cannot recall anything specific.

The story (sort of) takes place after the events of the MGM classic yet also does not. Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) keeps talking about Oz and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark) think she’s lost her damn mind. Dorothy feels her insomnia is the result of her trip to Oz and back. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) believe it is the sign of burgeoning mental illness so serious that they ship her off to the sanatorium of Dr. Worley (Nicol Williamson) and Nurse Wilson (Jean Marsh) for some pleasant electroshock therapy. This against a backdrop of the Gale Family facing financial ruin.

Much like the 1939 film, the story of Return to Oz draws from Dorothy’s struggles at home. Dr. Worley gets recast as the Nome King with Nurse Wilson becoming the head-switching Mombi. A little on the nose considering what they were trying to do to Dorothy. The Nome King is turning everyone that remembers the Land of Oz to stone and once there is no more memory of the place he and all of his subordinates live along with every other talking thing/creature he is ignoring live in he will become human. He is making this happen by turning them all to stone or magic baubles he keeps in his basement cave. He does both.

Dorothy keeps going on about Princess Ozma (Emma Ridley) as a girl at the sanatorium but the character is far from integral. Beyond providing a New Hope-esque ceremony at the end for Dorothy and the new characters she could have been completely dumped from the movie. She is a bit of character motivation for Dorothy but though Dorothy knows her, the viewer does not so you just do not care.

I heard this movie was dark, but never quite understood how dark it could get. It doesn’t take long before we get into sanatoriums and insanity and frying brains to make Dorothy normal. This was aimed at children? Though an unofficial sequel it lacks a single musical number which is a little unusual considering it began as a musical film decades prior called The Rainbow Road to Oz. Several numbers do exist from that.

Dark fantasy was in full bloom during the 80s when this came out. This falls into (or attempts to do so) that genre by pushing the weird aspects. We have The Wheelers (people with wheels instead of hands and feet) and a talking mechanical man named Tik-Tok (voice of Sean Barrett). It ultimately offers up a weird mix of nightmare fuel and annoying children’s show characters making it all a bit of a turn-off because it’s trying to be two distinct things.

Emotional moments are unearned. Perhaps that’s because characters are woefully undeveloped. The presentation of Dorothy relies on everything we know about Judy Garland’s version and not on developing Dorothy Gale as played by Fairuza Balk. Weird how the same actress from The Craft and The Waterboy plays sweet and innocent Kansas native Dorothy Gale.

The film just inundates you with strangeness and events. Because of that nothing can be developed. The cast is unusually small feeling. Admittedly some of the things to bring characters like the Nome King and Tik-Tok to life probably cost a pretty penny back in the 80s but you need to have the world feel lived in meaning more people even if they are extras. This reality feels emptier than a stage play talking about the bustling world outside.

I just finished the film bored and disinterested. While there were moments that appealed visually, the story failed to keep me entertained. There was a careening nature to it. Not one of a fun and chaotic ride but closer to nobody having a tight grip on the plot. They checked off boxes in rapid succession.

While visually impressive Return to Oz lacked so much else. What could’ve been a good story is just an interesting curiosity but not necessary viewing.