Return to Oz (1985)

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.

Director:

Walter Murch

Writers:

Walter Murch (screenplay), Gill Dennis (screenplay)

Stars:

Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fairuza Balk	...	Dorothy
Nicol Williamson	...	Dr. Worley / Nome King
Jean Marsh	...	Nurse Wilson / Mombi
Piper Laurie	...	Aunt Em
Matt Clark	...	Uncle Henry
Michael Sundin	...	Tik-Tok
Tim Rose	...	Tik-Tok
Sean Barrett	...	Tik-Tok (voice)
Mak Wilson	...	Billina
Denise Bryer	...	Billina (voice)
Brian Henson	...	Jack Pumpkinhead (voice)
Stewart Larange	...	Jack Pumpkinhead
Lyle Conway	...	Gump (voice)
Stephen Norrington	...	Gump (as Steve Norrington)
Justin Case	...	Scarecrow

Storyline

Dorothy Gale has recently come home to Kansas from the Land of Oz is now almost back to perfect health since the incident of the tornado, only she cannot get that wonderful place out of her head. She frequently talks about it and cannot get any sleep at night. Aunt Em worries about her health/well-being. Thinking that she is suffering delusional depression and acute insomnia, she decides to take her to see a special doctor in another town. While he tries to treat her with electro-shock treatment and take those nasty dreams away from her head, she is rescued by a mysterious girl who leads her back to Oz for a new adventure.

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | king | mysterious girl | chicken | delusional depression | 

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Taglines:

An all-new adventure down the yellow brick road.

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 June 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Oz

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

BMI (No. 9) Ltd., Oz Productions Ltd., Silver Screen Partners II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min 110 min (uncut) 109 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the desolate Emerald City is first seen, there is a close-up of a bas relief portrait of a creature with a lion's head, a monkey's body, and an eagle's wings. This is a faithful reproduction of John R. Neill's portrait of the aptly named creature Li-Mon-Eag, which appeared on the back cover of 'The Magic of Oz', an Oz tale by L. Frank Baum, first released mere weeks after the latter's death in 1919.

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Goofs

The number of Wheelers changes between scenes.

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Quotes

Dorothy: You're so beautiful. What's your name?
Ozma: Ozma.
Jack Pumpkinhead: MOM! My *real* mom!
[he faints into the crowd]

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Connections

Referenced in My Life Is a Video (2012)

User Reviews

Not a sequel, judge it on it's own merits.

Despite the title, this is not a sequel to the classic film that everyone loves. This is a different story about Dorothy and OZ that is actually more faithful to the series of L. Frank Baum books than the Judy Garland film was. Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, Mombi, the gnome king, and the wheelers were as much a part of the original stories (published in the very early 1900's) as the scarecrow and tin man were. I understand why some people don't like the movie as I didn't the first time I saw it. No film that trashes emerald city and has Dorothy recieving shock treatment is going to make fans of the first film very happy.

However on my second veiwing years later it was nice to get an idea of the much darker vision that the author of the books had created. He created an OZ that had a very scary side to it, but ultimately good would always triumph. Although this isn't a film for kids under 8 years of age, I believe most kids would probably like it. I do think the special effects could have been a little better, as this was made in 1985. And I wish that they would have had Dorothy interact more with the scarecrow, lion and tin man.

If you only want to see more of the first film then I wouldn't recommend this, otherwise enjoy.