Return to Oz

1985 Action/Adventure

This '80s follow-up to The Wizard of Oz is based upon two of L. Frank Baum's later Oz books. In Return to Oz (a version that may be a bit too scary for young children), Auntie Em sends Dorothy to a sanitarium where hopefully she will clear her head from all of the "Oz nonsense." This doesn't work, for soon Dorothy manages to return to Oz, but things have definitely changed. She finds her old friends turned to stone and discovers that the awful Nome King has taken over Oz.

Director: Walter Murch

Starring: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie,Matt Clark

 15 Reviews  3 Awards

Reviews

  • First of all, it has no music. That aside, it doesn't have any wit, joy, or drive. Children who haven't had the pleasure of seeing The Wizard of Oz might enjoy this film, but it will also frighten them. There are some fine, Oscar-nominated special effects, but the excitement just isn't there.

    - TV Guide

    27 April 2013

  • Everyone who grew up with the full range of the Oz books is deeply in Murch's debt. However, the framework surrounding Return to Oz is dark and, I suspect, terribly frightening for very young children.

    Sheila Benson - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • It's bleak, creepy, and occasionally terrifying. Studio pressure apparently forced Murch to back off from the full fury of his conception, but this is still strong stuff.

    Dave Kehr - Chicago Reader

    27 April 2013

  • It's enthralling as well as rambling, you do miss the songs, but there is clearly no place for them here. Best to see them as individual films with nothing in common apart from source material, one a classic, the other a strong enough picaresque amongst some decent fabulation.

    - Empire

    27 April 2013

  • The inventiveness that has gone into this, and into turning Oz into a land of lavish special effects, will be lost on anyone with a fondness for the 1939 musical classic. That film will always enchant adults and children alike. This joyless new Return to Oz isn't likely to appeal to the former, and may give many of the latter a good scare. Children are sure to be startled by the new film's bleakness.

    Janet Maslin - The New York Times

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Best Effects, Visual Effects

    Academy Awards (1986)

     

  • Best Costumes

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (1986)

     

  • Best Starring Performance by a Young Actress - Motion Picture

    Young Artist Awards (1986)

     

Lists

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