Review of Return to Oz (1985) by Maineutral R — 18 Feb 2014

Return to Oz is not bad because it's darker, it's not bad because it lacks songs, it's not bad at all. It's just...very inferior. This isn't necessarily a sequel to the 1939 version, but the comparisons are still at hand, cause it's a cinematic version of the books, and this one doesn't quite do as good. It is entertaining, it does have good characters, it does have some good imagery, but the story itself never gets too exciting.

There's just not much to recall other than the imagery. In the previous cinematic adaptation, we had a lot to recall: the yellow brick road, the characters, the emerald city...this movie shows some good scenarios too, but then again, nothing gets too exciting, and in a movie about a travel to a magic world, that's bad. Unfortunately that's a big problem here, and maybe it's the only thing it got wrong, but it was huge detail gone wrong. It's not bad, but it isn't very remarkable.

Return to Oz could have been worse nevertheless, it could have been like the recent Oz: The Great And Powerful, but the things this got wrong are still noticeable and problematic, and at times, bothering. I didn't feel all that comfortable or charmed, but neither scared nor creeped-out, but definitely intrigued by this film's outstanding imagery and stop-motion effects. It is worth checking out, just have in mind that it never gets to be like the 1939, plus this one is based on the books and are actually closer to the latter ones than the 1939 film, so there's a chance of you liking it anyway. Not bad, but still half-satisfying, never entirely.