Review of Return to Oz (1985) by Gerry P — 06 Oct 2012
It's really a horror film disguised as a family film. It's very dark and disturbing and that explains why it wasn't successful on release. Disney didn't know how to market this dark, dark, creepy, creepy movie. How can you?
It is very scary. People talk about how they were frightened of the wheelers, the screaming heads, the headless Mombi "DOROTHY GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE!" (for me, that's the most frightening scene- the sequel to Wizard of Oz, everybody!) and the finale with plenty of demonic looking creatures, brimstone and fire every where. What does that remind you of? I know.
The first 30 minutes take a while to get going but when Dorothy arrives in Oz, it starts to pick up.
The effects; the bluescreen hasn't aged well, the stop motion is okay, sometimes it's good, other times is bad, Jack Pumpkinhead and some of the puppets look good. The characters are more true to the books instead of the first film. I actually prefer Fairuza Balk's performance to Judy Garland's. Fairuza works because she was a child, Judy was 16 when she did the first film. A 16 year old was cast because at the time, it was too much for a child too handle.
My favourite character in the film is Tik Tok, he's just so cool. I want one.
It's defiantly not as good as the first film, but it's more true to the books.
If you like 80's fantasy films, give it a go. Don't expect anything pleasant in this film.
This review of Return to Oz (1985) was written by Gerry P on 06 Oct 2012.
Return to Oz has generally received positive reviews.
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