Review of Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) by Novastream — 15 Sep 2014

When the land of Oz is mentioned most people think of the 1939 classic ‘The Wizard of Oz’ starring Judy Garland. Since then many others have tried to reprise the tale such as ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ (2013) and Disney’s ‘Return to Oz’ (1985). While even the Muppets have visited the land of Oz back in 2005 with Ashanti as the protagonist.

After a number of some-what failed attempts to bring Oz to younger audiences of today, producers Ryan and Roland Carroll and large number of various co-producers thought it was a good idea to try again. ‘Legends of Oz: Dorothy Returns’ (2014) was no different to past attempts. ‘Loosely’ based on Roger Stanton Baun’s novel called ‘Dorothy Of Oz’ who is the great grandson of L. Frank Baun, the original writer of ‘The Wizard of Oz’.

‘Legends of Oz: Dorothy Returns’ is a 3D animated musical, directed by two former Disney patrons; Will Finn and Daniel St Pierre. The film borrows the talented voices of Lea Michele (as Dorothy Gale), Kelsey Grammer (Tin Man), Dan Aykroyd (Scarecrow), James Belushi (Lion) and Martin Short as the Jester.

The story begins in Emerald City that has been overcome with darkness. It’s been several years since Dorothy saved everyone from the Wicked Witch of the West but her friends are in need of help again. A device called the rainbow mover is used to summon Dorothy who has only just returned to Kansas as time works a little differently in Oz. The Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow team up to stop the evil Jester who stole the Wicked Witch’s magical broom stick. While back in Kansas, Dorothy’s home is beyond repair from the yesterday’s tornado and her family is told to move. Dorothy doesn’t really have time to process the disaster as she is whisked away in a rainbow back to Emerald City. It’s there that Dorothy meets an annoying owl, a dainty china princess and Marshal Mallow (voiced by Hugh Darcy). They cross rivers, china walls, to find the yellow brick road and return to Emerald City before it’s too late.

In one of first scenes, Dorothy said “Oh Toto, this doesn’t look like the Oz I remember.” Well, I couldn’t agree more. The film’s overall quality of animation is fine but is nothing special in terms of 3D animation. Visually, Oz is lovely and inviting. The scene with the all you can candy county will make you hungry but the film is missing the magic only ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ has been able to capture so brilliantly. The soundtrack had a very pop sound opposed to the classic Broadway musical songs, we know and love today from the original film. Glee’s Lea Michele did a great job executing her songs but failed to make any real connection or emotions shine.

The character Dorothy does not fit the usual profile, she lives in a modern world with skateboards and has braided hair. Wears cowboy boots and is missing an authentic Kansas accent. Also where did the famous ruby slippers go?

The narrative was far from compelling and had plenty of terrible jokes.The film fails to draw you in due to the boring script and the 2 dimensional characters with no real personality. It kind of reminds me of the crappy cheap movies that came out on VHS during the 90s but honestly, Hollywood you should know better by now.

Espite, having an all star cast, ‘Legends Of Oz’ has become an box office bomb as it struggles to gain an audience. It also received many negative reviews from critics and was only able to get a 16% on rotten tomatoes (Ouch). This film definitely screams direct-to-DVD material and it probably shouldn’t been released in cinemas. There’s no way I can get those 88 minutes back. However, ‘Legends Of Oz’ is kid friendly and has some beautiful meanings within the storyline.

For parents seeking entertainment for their children, ‘Legends of Oz: Dorothy Returns’ is not an ideal choice if you’re planning to sit through it too.