Return to Oz

Rating:
Summary: Quite a contrast to the first!
Review: When I bought this film I was expecting sing-song Munchkins and talking trees- I should have been more open minded! It is so much darker and in some places scary (for young children), e.g. When Dorothy is trying to get Mombi's "Powder of life", she has to get a key off Mombi's headless body (Uurgh!) and Mombi is quite scary in herself. Anyhow, I found this film really interesting and I wasn't bored a bit!

Rating:
Summary: A Haunting And Beautiful Fantasy!
Review: I really love this film. I saw it for the first time years ago and recently tracked it down on DVD. This film has a strange effect on me. No matter how many times by now I may have watched it, I never fail to be entranced by the vividness with which Baum's creations are brought to life. Fairuza Balk is an excellent Dorothy. The supporting characters who join her on her journey are instantly endearing; Nicol Williamson and Jane March excellent (and menacing).Then - and this is something I really love about this film - there's the whole look its set designers came up with: storybook landscapes and colorful, otherworldly sets that look to the original Oz books as much as they do to other early 20th C. fantasies as "Little Nemo". Imagine if Windsor McCay, creator of "Little Nemo", had been able to design a film. This would be it. I can't recommend this one enough!

Rating:
Summary: Much more faithful to the books than the first movie
Review: I just wanted to say that I think this is a much better movie than the first movie. Why, you ask? Because it follows the books more closely than the original movie. For example, the makers of the film paid really close attention to Jack Pumpkinhead's description in the book. They got his clothes almost exactly right. I say almost because in the book he isn't wearing a vest. Also, the makers of the film altered Tik-Tok significantly, but they changed him for the better. In the books, Tik-Tok's face wasn't very good, but in the movie, he had turqoise eyes, a handlebar moustache, legs that resembled pistons instead of real legs, and no mouth. Tik-Tok's moustache moved when he talked, which made this version of Tik-Tok a lot more interesting. Not only that, in the books Tik-Tok's behavior is almost exactly like that of a machine's. In the movie, Tik-Tok was given more human-like qualities, such as his sputtering as his speech was first wound up, as if Tik-Tok had just woken up. Also, when I read Ozma of Oz for the first time, I was shocked at how much it and Return to Oz were alike. These are the reasons why I think Return to Oz is superior to the first movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great sequel!
Review: I remember seeing this movie when i saw probably 5 or 6. I'm now 20, and I still love this movie! It's a nice contrast from the original too: the once stable Dorothy now sees a therapist for her obsession with Oz, the once beautiful Emerald City is now in ruins, and there are new friends and villians too. This movie keeps you wondering what is going to happen next, and where Dorothy is going to end up. Fairuza Balk, in her debut, does a great job playing her. People who loved her work in The Craft will love seeing her in this film!

Rating:
Summary: Good story that is faithful to the original books.
Review: I first saw this film when I was 7 or 8 years old. Before I even knew about the Oz books. The scary scenes didn't necceserily give me nightmares. But I am glad that I didn't see it when I was younger. I really don't think that this is a sequal to the MGM movie. This film was founded on Walt Disney's original plan to make a musical film about Oz using the Mouseketeers for the cast. But after three years (1958) the project was dropped because of Disney's frustrations with the script and designs. Some 33 years later (1985) the project was reopened with an entirely different plot and there aren't any songs in it at all not even a theme song. The film was made in England and their is one rather important scene of about 4 minutes that was cut for the United States version in which the Scarecrow decides at the coronation that he doesn't want to be King after all. I am currently searching for a British version of the film so that I can see that scene. At the coronation I noticed a lot of other Oz characters in the background, including "Froggie". But not "Woggie", sorry.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutly Wonderful!
Review: This movie is based on L. Frank Baum's second and third books "The Land of Oz" and "Ozma of Oz" It is a very good movie, but if you are not at least a little bit familiar with the books you may get lost. Although this movie is based on the books and not the MGM classic Dorothy still has her magical Ruby Slippers, which in the books were only silver shoes! All and all it is a movie any OZ buff should be shore to see!

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting and Original!
Review: I thought that this movie was very detailed and really broughtmany of L. Frank Baum's books together. For those people who aredevoted "Wizard of Oz" fans, they may not enjoy this movieas much. I for one have not read the books...YET! I plan on reading them though. This is overall a great movie for the whole family, but I suggest that little children not see it only because of some the scarier parts in the movie. Also, don't expect any singing and dancing, and no munchkins! I loved this film.

Rating:
Summary: Something to Remember!
Review: I remember watching Return to Oz for the first time.. I was mm say 5 maybe 6. I loved it from the start, and here I am almost 18 and trying to remember every detail of the movie. We used to watch it in Kindergarden whenever we had a spare moment on those cold friday afternoons. I would say this is the perfect gift for any generation! Trust me, if they didn't see it in 1985.. show it to them now!

Rating:
Summary: excellent fantasy film
Review: It's a wonder this film ever got made. It's so bizarre and dark for a children's film, especially princess mombi who decapitates the heads of all the women in the emerald city and keeps their heads in glass cases so that she can change them for her own when she feels like it. Good cinematography, great effects. One of a kind. Wouldn't show it to kids who scare easily though.

Rating:
Summary: This movie is EXCELLENT, FABULOUS, WONDERFUL....I LOVE IT
Review: This movie is so much better than The Wizard of Oz you wouldn't believe it. Fairuza Balk is the best dorothy there ever was...not to mention the new characters introduced in this movie (esp. Belina). The Gnome King is much more cunning and subtle thant he wicked witch. In conclusion this movie is stupendous and everyone should see it...if you don't like it, well I can't even think of such a thing.