'80s Class: Return to Oz (1985)

A very strange one-and-done Film that should be something more.  This is 1985's Return to Oz, a Film strangely-made by Disney.  Is that the Studio you think of when you think of Oz?  This apparently due to a number of bizarre issues with the rights.  This led to a slew of random Oz Adaptations, from Anime to Turkish to Filmation's unofficial Film Sequel.  By 2019, every random angle you can think of has been covered- including Prequel Tales for The Cowardly Lion AND The Wizard himself!  Thanks, Public Domain.  In 1980, Disney had the rights and wanted to do something with it.  As such, long-time Film Editor Frank Murch was given the chance to Direct.  Production was long and fraught, going so long as to have CEOs change at Disney during it!  Murch was briefly-fired, but the Film came out.  It made about half of its Budget.  Aw.  It is the Film Debut of Fairuza Balk and features a few notable Actors such as Piper Laurie.  It's weird and dark.  If you saw this as a kid, you may have some nightmares to thank it for.  After all this time, is it a Cult Classic or a confusing mess?  To find out, read on...

6 months removed from the events of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy still has trouble sleeping due to 'nightmares' of a magical world.

Thinking that she needs psychological help, they take her to a Doctor for Electro-Shock Therapy!

Lightning strikes before it can happen and she escapes with another girl.  They end up in a river and...now she's in Oz.

Toto isn't with her, but her favorite chicken is.  Alright...

She finds the Emerald City in ruins, the people turned to stones and meets the Wheelers, who surely scared a generation of children.

She finds new allies like Tik-Tok, a Royal Guard Robot who needs certain dials turned to do things like think, act and use logic.

If you guessed that this was a silly pretense to make the Plot work, you're right!

They end up with the evil Witch Mambi, who steals the heads of women to seem younger.

Again- this is NOT a Film for very young children!

Dorothy- joined by Jack Pumpkin and the Gump (on the right) end up in the clutches of the Nome King (no 'G') and he makes them solve a riddle to escape.

When you figure out the trick, it's the most obvious riddle in the world too.

Through the magic of a Chekhov's Chicken (the King is deathly allergic to eggs!), they save the day and free Ozma, who seems to be the girl with her in the Asylum.

She returns home and all seems to be normal...until she sees Ozma in the mirror.

I guess it was real the whole time.  Suck it, Producers who changed it in the 1939 Film!

A fun, but much darker tale.  Right off the bat, the Film looks really nice.  There are few 'seams' in the visual effects to really notice.  When she's first in Oz and looking at a Rear Projection Screen, it doesn't quite look real.  Beyond that, the Practical Effects- including Puppeteering by Brian Henson!- look really nice.  There are definitely limits- especially for 1985-, but they hide them well.  The only Puppet (of sorts) that looks awkward is the Cowardly Lion, who only gets a few minutes of screen time (possibly as a result).  The majority of the work is by Suit Performers- like for Tik Tok and others- and it works quite well.  For her first Film, Balk does pretty darn good.  They put her character through hell here and she makes it show.  The Screenplay gives her few times to really stand out as a Character, but she makes the most of those moments.  It's a bit odd how they excise the Characters you would think of most.  To be fair, of course, there are like 42 Books and not all of them feature the Characters from the 1939 Film.  If you're a big fan of the Books, you'll notice how they cherry-picked from two main Books and take Tik-Tock from a different Book from those (and change him a bit).  It's not the most faithful Oz tale, but it is quite nice.  It's a bit underrated as its box office failure makes it more of a Cult Classic.  Don't overlook it- it's dark, but good.  I have to note how much the DVD Cover (not the Poster) mucks up poor Fairuza's face.  One of them is real and one is fake- you figure it out!

Next time, something completely-different.  It's got Politics and looks kind of awkward given what we know now.  Stay tuned...