Return to Oz offers a dark adventure which intertwines cruel reality with scary fantasy. 

• Epic factor: ★★★★★
• Scare factor: ★★★★☆
• Gruesome factor: ★★★★☆
• Originality factor: ★★★★★
• Entertainment factor: ★★★★★

Return to Oz is a dark fairytale horror movie for children that takes Dorothy back to Oz to go on a new adventure full of dark events, scary villains but also with new friends who help her to defeat the evil Nome King. With a much darker tone this movie starts out with some very scary realistic scenes which continues in Oz that has changed into a dark realm with scary creatures and dangers. But despite all of this, Dorothy sets out on an epic mission that takes us through an imaginative Oz that has changed since the last time she was there.

Return to Oz is based on The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum. It stars Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, Sean Barrett, Denise Bryer, Brian Henson, Lyle Conway, Justin Case, John Alexander, Deep Roy, Emma Ridley. Directed and written by Walter Murch and cowritten by Gill Dennis.

Duration: 1h 53m

Plot

Dorothy is back with her aunt Em and uncle after her adventures in Oz. But she won’t stop talking about it and she is taken to see a psychiatrist who wants to treat her with electrotherapy. But when Dorothy is brought to the treatment room together with another girl by nurse Wilson, a storm breaks loose and both girls escape. They make it to a river and Dorothy can hold onto a wooden raft and is taken along the river. When she wakes up she’s back in Oz with her chicken Billina. Together they go to the Emerald City to find the new King the Scarecrow and her other friends, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man. But the Emerald City is abandoned and she learns that her friends are captured by the Nome King. While she is been chased by the Wheelers she makes a new friend Tik-Tok who’s the Army of Oz. Together they go on a mission to free her friends while along the way she makes new friends like Jack with a pumpkinhead and a bed with a moose head. 

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Short Review

Return to Oz is a far more scarier tale, than her first adventure. It has some dark creatures like the super scary Wheelers and some pretty dark villains. Mombi cuts off the heads of pretty girls and wears them for different occasions which is very cruel and a scary sight to see. And her own original head resembles the head of nurse Wilson of the clinic. 

But even before the scary adventure in Oz, the ride to the clinic and how Dorothy is treated, is also very scary in the real world with real horrors. The fact that nobody believes her is scary enough but that she has to be treated with scary electrotherapy is probably the scariest part of the film. Her fleeing the clinic in the dark, while a thunderstorm is crashing down and while Wilson is chasing her while we don’t even know if the other girl survived or drowned. It’s very realistic and horrifying. 

This dark tone continues in Oz where the first danger she encounters are the terrifying Wheelers. With their long legs on wheels they look surreal and alienating, and very creepy. They are made even more scary with their masks and they act the part as well. 

On the other hand her new friends are very imaginative, brave, naive and even childlike. Tik-Tok is brave and tough and a strong companion who needs Dorothy to wind him up but is a great help to her as well. Jack is a naive childlike figure who calls Dorothy Mom. And Gump made out of a bed, palm leaves and a head of a moose is Dorothy’s own creation and brought to life with magic. But in the end Billina is the heroine of the story.  And she can talk which is cause for some great dry humor from her part. It’s something totally different than a dog but they still managed to make Billina a genuine character. 

Dorothy’s adventure is very imaginative and thrilling but it also contains some humor to make the dark events and creatures a bit lighter. It’s an epic adventure with and epic quest, while escaping and fighting villains and solving puzzles. 

The mix of real life horrors and fantasy horror is craftily intertwined in the story. Nurse Wilson is Mombi and the Nome King is Dr Worley. Ozma who proves to be the real queen of Oz is held prisoner by Mombi and she looks exactly like the other girl in the clinic. While Dorothy saves Ozma and defeats Mombi and the Nome King and everything is restored in Oz, things are much darker when she returns home. The clinic is burnt to the ground and it has killed Dr Worley, while Nurse Wilson is taken prisoner and we never hear from the other girl again. Dorothy’s fears and imagination are cause for some obscurity and question the fact what really happened. Which makes it also a great watch for adults. 

My favorite part

I loved this film as a kid and I still do. The dark tone was very scary but enticing at the same time. The characters are truly original and imaginative and add a new and fresh vibe to the story. Each bring something totally new to the story and each have their distinctive traits and talents. But the best part is a chicken as Dorothy’s companion. It’s so unconventional. But the villains are masterfully scary too. I had nightmares about the Wheelers. It’s a great fantasy horror to introduce kids to the horror genre and does treat children seriously when it comes to disturbing and scary things. That’s why I loved it then and now.