Return to Oz - Nostalgia Critic
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- Опубліковано 22 лют 2022
- This sequel is messed up! Nostalgia Critic talks about one of his favorite dark children's films from the horrifying decade of the 80s. Let's take a look at Return to Oz.
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Return to Oz is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, directed and written by Walter Murch, co-written by Gill Dennis and produced by Paul Maslansky. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is an unofficial sequel to the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz, and it is based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century Oz novels, mainly The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) and Ozma of Oz (1907). In the plot, Dorothy returns to the Land of Oz to find it has been conquered by the Nome King; she must restore it with her new friends Billina, Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Gump, and Princess Ozma.
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Who else still loves this creepy movie?
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"Remember I died for your sins."
- Optimus Prime, Surf Ninjas' review
Can you review The Transformers: The Movie? I'm curious to see how you would do it.
I do
Review the Star Wars movies, the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy in a Star Wars month.
Now do Dorthey's Return!
review the Captain Underpants movie please
I love that she escaped during an electrical storm that happens at the same time she’s supposed to get shock therapy… further making the point that it could all be in her head and she could actually just be crazy.
But also working it all out in her own way without the (questionably) organised solution that was presented to her.
You know when you think about it she's basically going through the same adventure as Alice in wonderland did. Two young kids possibly having a dream of another world vastly different than their own with parallels to things they've seen before but twisted in a way to be unique.
Same as Harry potter the first words were wake up Harry were going to the zoo...... He's also dreaming or has a psychotic break and Hogwarts is a mental hospital.....they travel on a train which is exactly how the old institutions used to transport mental patients out of London to the local asylum. Could be why Harry wakes up in Hogwarts hospital feeling all better and talking with dumbledore before he goes back home. There's always a nightmare before he sets off for a new term. Haven't watched yet but I think this will have the same connotations.
Or she got the therapy and this was her coping.
The thing is, though, whether it’s a dream or not is more ambiguous than in the 1939 film. You could interpret it either way, and it fits the “facts” of the story just as easily.
The Wheelers did not scare me as a toddler for a very specific reason: My dad was in the army and looked a lot like TickTock (I associated his helmet and the stache with him), and I internalized this as "if the Wheelers mess with me, my dad will kick their asses." I was a LOT more afraid of Mombi's screaming head.
There's no protecting yourself from a very vein scary lady that keeps a collection of 30+ realistic looking heads in her closet.... I suppose finding mannequin/humanesque figures harmless might help a bit
@@execrisiscoreonearth they were real heads.
@@elleeme9451
I think I was meaning a theoretically similar type of person in real ass life, just in the sense that this general description of a person.... Is frankly frightening in itself.
I don't think you are in for a good time, if you met someone with many "replica" heads in her giant closet, magically talking or not. *ESPECIALLY* if you are a young woman, not unlike the many heads she seems to highly value/showcase... The whole thing just screams deep, unrelenting envy for the beauty of others.... Etc.
What I mean/meant to say, is someone like mombi is just a legitimate, rational fear to have, in general. Specifically, because of the underlying implication of that aforementioned envious nature inherent in such a "gallery", magically based or not.
Fearing mombi makes sense. The wheelers just aren't as sinister as the implications behind mombi's actions and collection.
Aawww thats sweet
It's funny and strange how we relate, rationalize and internalize things as child.
Honestly, the Nome wearing the Ruby Slippers is such a power move.
For real. He's like "I took your vacation spot, your friends, even your yeezys. You don't wanna know what I did to the Good Witch."
@@eliegbert8121 I'm glad you never stopped wearing them. They honestly took you from a munchkin to a short short man. I know many women say they don't want a short short man, but that has never kept you from taking a "woman" named Pat home from the bar. Cheers.
Saw this in theater when it came out, and the audience response was amazing. Sure one or two parents ushered their kid out, but amazingly I saw a few LEADING THEIR PARENTS BACK IN. Like, "No ma... I like this... gotta see the ending!" Good times and still one of my favorites.
That is a unique, one-of-a-kind story! Those kids are going to be great adults one day.
Bruh I'm a adult who spent most of my pre teen and teenage years in love with horror movies but my god. Seeing and hearing the wheelers do literally anything for the first time I can never explain in words how horrified I am.
Wow!
Ah, that is sweet to hear. I don't know how I survived it, probably was in shock. I was obsessed with it, but when I had the picture book, 2 of them I believe, when I opened to the page with the Wheelers, I remember running to hide...just from the picture!
Honestly describing this movie as “Freakshow Cinema” feels like an understatement with how freaky and insane it gets
Preach
and its odd linking to MKultra processes ought to be at least mentioned
@@skidmc the whole mind control trauma thing is rather niche. Not many people in this corner of the internet know about it.
Ruby slippers!!! Aunt Mentions ruby slippers....pans to the child! Once you see you can never unsee! I'm only five minutes in and had to cut away to see what other people were saying. Breaks my heart how out in the open and in your face it is! After a couple of years the outrage slowly quietens down and you realise there's nothing you can do about it
Between the two Oz films, Dorothy is an extremely underrated protagonist. I find her a lot braver than a lot of modern female protagonists these days because she's more vulnerable but doesn't give up.
If you interpret the electric storm as Dorothy being shocked then it makes the movie even darker. You could argue that her brain being fried is what causes her to re-imagine Oz as a broken, empty place because her imagination has been altered or destroyed by the "treatment".
Very interesting theory! It would make sense that Oz was in ruins because of the treatment being done to Dorothy. I remember that Ozma explained to Dorothy that the people that Dorothy heard screaming and wailing down below were patients that lost their minds permanently because of the treatment!
My favorite thing about this movie is the detail. The costumes, the sets, EVERYTHING is SOOOO WELL DETAILED. the 1900s period clothes are amazing and the sets and environments feel very real and lived-in. I also think it sux that this is walter murch’s only movie :(
My significant other and I also loved the music. Especially in scenes in the beginning while she's in Kansas
@@gianinabadami5341 the soundtrack is AMAZING 😍 there are so many tracks and they should all be on youtube! I hope one day to be able to own it on vinyl although it is rare!
I love the fact that the characters look like the Frank L. Baum drawings.
It never fails to tickle me when I remember that *Disney,* the studio with the reputation for being wholesome, squeaky-clean, sanitized, song-filled, family-friendly fun for all ages, is responsible for one of, if not *the* most terrifying, childhood trauma-inducing films ever made.
IC..you forgot Bambi's mom
Which one?
Yeah, it's kind of a pity that nothing really came out as a hit at the time for them during the post-Walt, pre-Eisner days, because that's when they got the most experimental. At least they got a couple cult classics out of it nowadays.
Don't forget about "The Black Hole," the PG-rated science fiction horror movie featuring zombies, a killer robot and a journey to hell. I loved it when I was a kid.
Also can't forget about how they released a racist movie called song of the south
I first saw Return to Oz when I stayed home sick from school. When my sister got home I told her all about this wild sequel to the Wizard of Oz, but she managed to convince me that it was all a fever dream. Five years later I was validated but have still been unable to convince my sister that it's real to this day.
Buy a copy on Amazon, and watch it with her. Then see her reactions.
That’s really ironic, considering the content of the movie!
Kinda surprising you never dared her to do a search online for it, showed her a copy of the film, or even just a short clip online.
Now you can just link her to this video with a great big "Told ya!' :D As for myself, I had this on tape and watched it a lot as a kid, but for some reason associate it with my Nana's house, so maybe I first saw it there. I remembered all the heads, but didn't remember that they came from the townsfolk lol
@@RaphBlade7
Yeah, especially as IMDb was one of the first websites ever. I'm calling bullshit on the fact that the sister doesn't believe it exists to this day, unless she's always lived in a isolated wilderness, but then again there would still be plenty of physical media you could use as proof.
Fun fact: Not only did they not hold back when it comes to scaring kids, they went out of their way to do so. They specifically looked up a study on what things kids are scared of, and put in everything on the list they could fit.
The YT channel In Praise of Shadow actually did a deep dive into that
My mom took me to the theater to see this movie when it was first released in 1985. She was under the impression that it would be like the Judy Garland Oz movie. At the scene where the heads wake up, my mom had to carry me out of the theater, crying with terror. I was a little short of being 3 years old at the time. When I was 8, we saw the movie again on home video and I absolutely loved it. It helped that in the 5 and some change years between viewings I had discovered and loved the Oz books, which were every bit as weird and surreal as this movie. Jack Pumpkinhead was my favorite Oz character in both the books and the movies.
I watched "The Blob" at age 3, "Creature From the Black Lagoon", and older old horror classics. That was 1979. I'm old!
I read every single Oz book and still have a copy of each back in my childhood home. I was obsessed with them and this movie! Jack was probably my favourite character as well!
Hell ya, found the other Jack fans. I’m glad I’m not the only one
I'm so glad this movie wasn't lost to time.. It's such a nostalgic gem for me.
I used to own it in DVD back in the day, but my teacher took off with it lol
“Why? Because it gives him the giggles.”
Accurate.
I grew up loving this movie, but it did creep me out. Fun fact: the lady playing Mombie also plays the villain in Willow. Not sure if you’ve covered that before.
It’s also interesting to think about the Dr. and the Gnome King mirroring each other. There’s so much meaning you could infer from that and the way they seem kind, but they hurt you. Another fun fact, the egg killing the gnome king has roots in old folklore. I can’t remember specifics at the moment.
I’m so happy to see you give this movie a good review!
My birth month is Dark Knight month? Interesting…
Another memorable villainess role by that actress, Jean Marsh, is in the 90's British kids' sci fi show 'The Tomorrow People.' She played a mosquito- obsessed mad scientist named Dr. Culex who was the Big Bad in one of its seasons.
Oh hey, my birthday's next month too.
Same
He did not. Realy good suggestion in my opinion. Almost forgot that one.
March Babies Unite!
I can't stress how much I absolutely love this film. This movie was a big part of my childhood and also kickstarted my fascination with the Oz books. I'm also happy to announce that I have kids of my own and yes, I have shown this film to them and they both love it as well. It's truly a timeless classic.
I'm still surprised there hasn't been an attempt at doing a true Wizard of Oz reboot in all these years. Especially given the popularity of large movie franchises, you would think someone would jump at the chance to do an adaptation of the classic thirteen book series in an attempt to be the next Harry Potter.
agreed there are plenty of books in the series. I mean Lord of the Rings was made into some well done movies, I think Wizard of OZ would do great. i know Hollywood is usually reboot heavy but it feels like stuff Wizard of OZ, Casablanca, Gone with the wind etc are off limits. Hell just pick up with the third book or do it as a streaming series, each season could be book.
Gale - Stay Away from Oz is an upcoming horror movie
ua-cam.com/video/H0u8yO9kiAA/v-deo.html
People attempt it more often than you think. SyFy did a sequel miniseries, Sam Raimi took a stab at a prequel, etc. I think the prequel bombing, both critically and commercially, scared off anyone from trying it again, but that’s been over a decade ago, at this point, so it’ll happen again eventually.
@@joeycoe85 Except in both those cases they attempted to use the IP nd make their own prequel/sequel stories. No one has ever tried to adapt the actual book series faithfully. The original Wizard of Oz was an "ok" adaptation with a few changes and omissions, then Return to Oz was a horrible mash-up of the second and third books. Taken one book at a time and done faithfully, I think it would be a great movie series, or at least and interesting mini-series.
Hardly any living director would do it decently, or studio. Perhaps only Del Toro like his Pinnochio or Studio Gible?
I couldn't agree with you more, Critc! I grew up with the Return To Oz and it's still as amazing as I remember! I would always watch it whenever it was on TV in my youth. It was awesome as a kid and it's still awesome to this day when I am grown-up! A real treasure indeed~
Really nostalgic. Yet a fond memory of my childhood
Bought a region free dvd import bout 7-8 years back. 😄
@@randalgraves6979
I must see if I can get my hands on one
I should watch more dark kids fantasy movies. I always enjoyed films, live or animated, where kids go to another world, have an adventure, and I then brought back home where you wonder along with them, if it was indeed real or just a dream. Like Little Nemo in Dreamland (I don't give a shit that movie is great) and The Pagemaster.
Yep, OMG me too, always used to watch Return to Oz whenever it was on TV..such a nostalgic part of my childhood!
It's true that this movie is a nightmare, but you have to appreciate that they actually tried to do a sequel showing the "real events" that happened to Dorothy instead of remaking the same Oz story for the 50th time.
It's not supposed to be a sequel. It's a separate adaptation of one of the books. The only really inaccurate things about it are that Dorothy should be blonde, & Mombi & Langwidere were combined into a single person.
@@LikaLaruku yes!
I look forward to the day that I see Dorothy portrayed as blonde!
And hear her say "I b'lieve you won't"
As a fan of the books, it always amuses me that this film is such a faithful adaptation. I love it!
Ask Tip how faithful?
I love that we get a small snippet of the REAL story of the Tinman when Dorothy is recalling her first adventure in Oz. A nice little reminder that this is NOTHING like the Garland picture
“Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high, there’s a hellish landscape I’ve heard of once in nightmarish lullaby.
The Wheelers never once scared me as a kid (in fact I've always found them really goofy, don't know why), but that head going "Dooorooothyyy Gaaaale" and the entire premise of the severed heads made me cry, hard, of fear, back then. Even now I still find it incredibly unsettling. Scariest fucking scene in the entire flick, no contest. I absolutely loved this movie.
The wheelers are actually revealed to be harmless in the book, with their motivation behind their frightening guises being entirely out of self-defense.
@@shigerufan1 that's interesting. I never got around to reading it, unfortunately. I guess what I perceived as an ultimately goofy portrayal actually makes sense then. They wanted to be intimidating but couldn't.
Same here. The Wheelers were more of annoyance than a threat to me. I mean, what are they going to do to you? They don't even have hands, they have wheels. Mombi and the Nome King however? Terrifying.
I made my mom always skip the wheeler part, I thought they were just weird, the head part made me wanna cry tho
For the time the effects were amazing, and even today the practical effects are insane. I still am drawn in by how much Jack Pumpkinhead is so fluid and expressive.
I actually saw this movie in a theater when I was a kid, snd I have ALWAYS preferred it to the original, but movies like The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, Krull, and other similar films were my absolute favorites when I was a kid. I HATED being talked down to when I was a kid, even by my media
Seeing the Gnome King's eye cloud over was always the scariest part to me. It was like the life was being drained from him bit by bit, leaving him just a pile of lifeless rock, and his eyes were the first to go. He had no way to see what was happening to the rest of him. He just had to feel himself crumble to pieces.
*Nome King
The movie is indeed a love letter to the original books and I believe L. Frank Baum understands that kids can not only handle a bit of darkness in their fiction but actually enjoy it and the director Walter Murch recreated that beautifully. Yes it's dark and creepy, but it's an amazing recreation of the books and anyone who says "This film is too dark for kids!" (Especially Siskel and Ebert) are quite frankly talking out of their ASS! Kids are stronger than people give them credit for. When there's a scary moment, it's followed by a light-hearted comedic moment to balance it out. (So it's not really THE scariest kids movie that some make out unlike Legend, Dark Crystal or Neverending Story.) Making a semi-sequel and going with a serious tone and staying faithful to the books is gonna be tough. The original was a musical and changed many things from the books, but it's a film everyone grew up and it's very difficult to change an audience's perception on what a new film version should look and feel like.
Also, The villains for this film, The Nome King, Mombi and the Wheelers are etched into people's mind's for a reason. They're damn good villains, I don't think anyone watching this for the first time ever doubted what these characters were capable of. They are always given the right amount of gravitas and never reduced to punchlines and of course, they were made scary which is important to the story. And I hope it's well remembered by people in the future as much as the original movie IMO.
It's the truth man
Baum didn’t quite agree: In the books, the Wheelers were a bunch of playground bullies, but no more. Mombi, from Land of Oz, was a standard grumpy old witch (and an amateur one at that), and the Nome King was more mischievous than threatening. Princess Langwidere was the spoiled princess with the head collection, who only wanted to swap Dorothy’s with one of her own throwaways (which wouldn’t have been fatal in Oz). It’s only Walter Murch, and his “Childcatcher syndrome”, who went in with the “Kids’ films should be SCARY!” filter that most of us unfortunately have.
*L. Frank Baum
@@ericjanssen394 but it wasn't his intentions to make a terrifying movie. He wanted to engage the audience but not meant to traumatized them. Baum also once said his books are not meant to be compared to Grimm Fairy Tales but feature scenes like Tin Man hacking up Flying Monkies. The director was a hardcore fan because his mom always read him the books growing up and the changes here made sense within the story and have purpose and we're necessary.
Too dark for kids? Bah! I enjoyed being scared as a child! It made happy endings so much more rewarding!
You'll have to read/listen to both Return to Oz and Ozma of Oz to find out which parts came from where, they did a pretty good job of integrating both books in a way that isn't too jarring.
They also left out the baby-eating tiger for reasons unknown...wonder why that was.
If the Hungry Tiger had been in THIS movie, he would have absolutely been shown eating babies like Pringles and would have totally said, "You can't eat just one!"
Ozma? You haven't let her escape as well?
Maybe they thought the Hungry Tiger was too scary!
Return to Oz is a great movie, I love the atmosphere. A truly underrated sequel
Two underappreciated elements are that atmosphere. Which is partly the echoing audio of the voices on the farm. Just chilling. And the stunning music. Everything, even the happy ending, is drenched in sadness....
A childhood memory of mine. The Wheelers, Death Desert, Tiktok, the Hall of Heads, and the escape on Gump scene were my favorite parts of the movie.
Wasn't it called The Deadly Desert, not The Death Desert?
The ballsiest sequel ever made. Considering how nostalgia driven cinema is nowadays, Return to Oz deserves to be treasured.
It's not a sequel. it's a totally separate adaptation of the books.
@@LikaLaruku it was marketed as a sequel, hence being called "return" to Oz
@@ryanparker4996 I think its better to call it a loose sequal than actual sequal
@@jadenbryant9283 SEQUEL.
I remember seeing this as a little kid and that scene of the Wheeler turning into crumbling sand scared the bejesus out of me at the time. Like, I was afraid to go to the beach for a while because I thought touching sand could kill me.
My first “horror” movie and I love it! Still watch it every now and again.
I remember an episode of Supernatural, when Dorothy (who is a badass by the way) showed up to help Sam and Dean fight the wicked witch. They make witch killing bullets out of the poison poppies, Dorothy carries the Tin Man's head after he died in a war, and if I remember correctly killed the witch by stabbing her with the ruby slippers. Hows that an awesome childhood scarring?
Huh. So Wolf Among Us 2 won’t be the first time the Oz characters are portrayed in that kind of light. Interesting.
The SyFy channel had a fun miniseries about Oz called Tin Man. It takes place in the distant future in universe with Zooey Deschanel playing DG (the Dorothy character).
@@michaelnelson1127 and, in Once Upon A Time, disturbing doesn't even begin to describe what happens in Oz.
Seeing the Wicked Witch literally rip Scarecrow's brain out of his head as he pleads for her not to... that's some really messed up shit right there.
And Don't get me started on the fate of poor Auntie Em in the Underworld or the visuals and haunting ideas of how it happened. YIKES!
I'll just say it about the Wheelers: I thought they were epically creepy....until you find out those freaky faces are just helmets, then it just feels like a Haim Saban creation. And regarding the animatronic moose....how many opportunities have you had to refer to the Country Bear Jamboree now, and you've missed them yet again? One more thing: I thought Fairuza Balk was a better Dorothy than Judy Garland; there, I said it.
Things quickly went from 0 to 100 to -100 with those face reveals.
Totally agree about the Wheelers
They never bothered me one bit and I never understood what's so frightening about them.
All they had going for them was that they had wheels instead of hands and feet. That's weird, yeah, but even as a kid I knew this is Oz where scarecrows sing and dance and monkeys flew. It's supposed to be weird.
I agree 100%. Judy was way too old to play Dorothy. Fariuza was just the right age, and gets the book character just perfectly.
Yeah, the helmet faces were the only thing scary about the wheelers. Frankly, as a kid I wasn't really afraid of them, because they were kinda goofy.
This film really resonates with me for a really terrifying reason; when I was really young I had dreams about a small hilltop stable, think something along the lines of the shier from lord of the rings but I had never seen the films at that age. It was always in spring and I was always alone other than all the animals like ponies, rabbits, squirrels and dogs. But a couple of years ago I dreamt I was back at the stables after nearly a decade but everything was dead: the stables were falling apart, the sky was filled with clouds and the animals were no where to be seen, despite it being a dream I could still feel the cold. I've never dream of that place since, I swear on my grandma's grave this is true.
I recently just saw this film in full a few days ago, and I can attest that it’s now one of my top five favorite films. I have this habit of either skipping through a film to get to the good parts or just zoning out completely and losing interest during a movie, but this is one of the only movies I’ve ever seen where I’ve been completely immersed and interested the entire time. I actually just about cried at the end when Dorothy had to leave, because I honestly didn’t want to leave Oz either.
It’s a shame this film is so underappreciated (as are the books), and I think they both deserve more love than they get. There’s so many little visual details that I especially adore in this film; The fact that the pails look like fruit, the nomes’ stop-motion, the dozens of book cameos at the ending celebration, the fact that the Emerald City actually looks like a lived in city rather than just a giant castle, the Wheelers’ extravagant clothing (which is also book accurate!), the matte painting backgrounds and so much more. I also love the main group’s dynamic, it feels organic and the characters don’t suffer the trope of constantly clashing with each other despite all having very different personalities.
I gotta say, out of all of the characters in the movie, the Wheelers are by far my favorites. I just adore their designs - they’re so ridiculously strange and I think they’re some of the most unique and creative creature designs in media. I’m honestly pretty happy they were redeemed in the end (you can see them celebrating and dancing amongst the parade - the leader and some of his men are even with the main group congratulating and saying goodbye to Dorothy at the end.) It honestly makes me think that they were never truly malevolent to begin with and were more or less slaves under Mombi. Their scary trickster act was all just a ruse to either scare or fuck with people (which is also book accurate; they’re described as mischievous by nature but only act tough to intimidate others since they can’t actually defend themselves. They don’t actually go out of their way to hurt or kill anyone - they’re purely neutral and mainly just do their own thing.) They honestly remind me a great deal of the Hyenas from TLK, minus the killing and eating people part.
Have you ever seen "Mirrormask?" That's a great freaky/trippy childrens' movie from the 2000s that goes somewhat underlooked. But if you like movies like Labrynth, Return to Oz, Coraline, etc I'd at least recommend giving it a go. Was made on a very low budget (by effects-driven fantasy film standards) but carved out a unique visual style despite how fake it looks. Would make a decent Freakshow Cinema episode.
Agreed I Have The Film On DVD It's Amazing Artistically.
Well, written by Neil Gaiman (Coraline) and done by Jim Henson's Creature Shop (Labyrinth), it makes sense.
@@johntumahab323 Don't forget Dave McKean's designs, brought to life by Creature Shop.
Can't go wrong with Neil Gaiman.
Oh My God, Yes Please! I saw the Trailer as a kid and I thought I lost my mind.
"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORTHY GAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLE!!!!"
*the headless woman said calmly*
The best part about the wheelers in my opinion is they NEEDED, actually factually needed, that first impact of getting a big scare out of Dorothy. They're all bark and no bite, but they do a hell of a bark. We see through the rest of the movie they're plenty intimidating and fast, but can't really DO much and are pretty dumb, so they NEEDED on every level to nail that scare. And audiences agree, they did their job and did it well.
I was actually curious about Dorothy's age from the books, which I started reading around the beginning of lockdown for the pandemic, and I found her age is never mentioned. Yet I agree both actors seemed to capture the essence of being a kid in Dorothy's situations
As soon as you created freakshow cinema i knew you would cover this i mean its even in the intro!
That's why I'm still waiting for a review of BRAZIL.
I'm glad to see him cover this, but I hope one day he covers 'Nothing but Trouble' which has Dan Akroyd, Chevy Chase, and John Candy in some of the craziest stuff ever put on film. Akroyd directed it, too!
I still remember this movie to this day. The most frightening parts for me was the headless Mombi and when the Nome King goes berserk. But otherwise, it was a fun and exciting adventure. A real shame movies like these aren't made much today.
I also still remember the cover on the video, featuring all the characters. Including Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion. So I was kinda disappointed that the cover was kinda lying to me, since both Tinman and Cowardly Lion were turned to stone already and the Scarecrow only showed up during the third and final act. I was under the impression that they all would be on this adventure together.
But you gotta love how even the Scarecrow is terrifying in this film
@@ThenewTchannel Honestly, I never saw him as terrifying. Not even Jack scared me.
@@BBBHuey neither was I. There’s a difference between being scared by something and acknowledging that it’s scary without being scared by it. None of these Freakshow Cinema movies ever scared me, but I understand the horror value in them regardless
I wasn't able to finish this movie as a child because of how fucking terrified I was. Seeing these scenes again obviously doesn't affect me, but I can still very clearly remember the terror I felt all those years ago.
@@Marcelelias11 what was scarier to you, the Wheelers or the screaming heads?
Thank you for exposing me to this. This looks amazing. The biggest problem I always had with the Harry Potter series was that it seemed too hesitant to really go to extremely dark and scary places. Kids are emotionally intelligent and want to be pushed and challenged. Too bad movies like this could never be made today.
The director of this movie directed the episode involving General Krell. When you've seen Return to Oz you can see the bizarre, relatable and unforgettable experience of why he directed such an important episode. Return to Oz teaches children important lessons while holding true to it's tone, characters and story. The General from the Clone Wars in its own way does the same.
I just wanna say I love this movie. There were times I'd catch this late nights on Disney Channel, thinking ' Wait...is this a Disney Film?!' But I love its creative art direction and to this day, it's still better than all the other OZ movies that's been released for the last 20+ years! I still adore The Gnome King!
For a time, it was a Disney Channel holiday staple, always airing around the Halloween season and often Double-Featured with LABYRINTH.
@@van8ryan man I remember that! I even remembered Dark Crystal followed by Raggedy Ann and Andy's Musical!
So, you thought Will Vinton's Claymation in "The Adventures of Mark Twain" wasn't weird, artsy and nightmare-inducing enough? How about the Nome King claymorphing into the Gatemouth of Hell?
That's what I thought when I watched Taran and the Black Cauldron at my grandma's "is this a Disney movie??" because I was so used to them being more brighter and more colorfuller.
To quote the late great Norm Macdonald and something Dorothy definitely should of thought about before going back to Oz "It's a very odd thing with Hollywood, where you do stand-up, you're good at it, then they go, 'How would you like to be a horrible actor?' Then you say, 'All right, that sounds good. I'll do that."
This film is one of the most beautiful, terrifying, edifying and profound works of art ever made. Every frame, every line of dialogue is a multifaceted jewel-like life lesson - and most amazing of all… it’s an unsolicited collaboration with Frank L. Baum that spans pretty much the whole the 20th Century. It actually adds richness to the already timeless literary work it was based upon. Fairuza Balk is pitch perfect, the art direction and special effects are still stunning. I can’t get over this one.
Not much of a feel-good kid flick, to say the least. Ha.
So much the better. Gotta grow up sooner or later.
I love a line from Entertainment Weekly: "The official record for staying awake consecutive nights is eleven days. I'm pretty sure I broke that the first time I saw the hallway of heads scene."
Oh Dorothy were definitely not in Kansas anymore
I remember watching this randomly and not guessing how disturbing it is
The girl that played Dorothy in Return To Oz grew up to be Vicki Vallencourt from The Waterboy LOL
This movie was the stuff of nightmares as a kid, along with a few others, such as Krull, but it grew to be one of my favourites. Although I never realized the subtleties when I was younger and the connections between the ordinary world and Oz - such as Mombie being the nurse, the electric shock therapy machine being Tick-Tok, the wheelers the hospital porters, the doctor the Gnome King etc etc.
A masterpiece. Totally unique.
I only just watched this film for the first time last year and I loved it! It's one of those movies that has just such a specific mood, like Labyrinth. Even if you didn't grow up with it, it casts a spell on you with its visuals, childhood whimsy, terrifying creatures, feelings of dread, wanting to sob with nostalgia, there's a few films that carry that specific mood for me. It was just as dark as I'd been expecting but also just as engaging. It was a folk horror children's fantasy and movies that are made that way and feel that way are harder to find now, at least the live action ones. If it freaked me out watching it on Disney+ I wonder what kids of the 80s felt watching it on a flickering VHS tape. 😆🧡
Well, the VHS tapes flicker now because they're all so old and have been watched so many times.
Back when they were new, they didn't flicker at all!
I guess you're right. 😅 I was a child of the early 2000s and still remember rewinding the actual tape back into its place when it became tangled in its place or asking a family member to clean it because "it keeps jumping."
I'm still impressed that Disney was brave enough to release it on Disney+
They released The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Black Cauldron on Disney+. Disney isn't really shying away from the darker movies they've made in the past.
@@mask938 those were dark, but they didn't give kids nightmares. There's a difference
@@CaptainCat101 How do you know they didn't give kids nightmares?
@@mask938 you know what I mean
@@mask938 and Roger Rabbit
As an Oz fan, this is a wonderful adaptation of the source material, being true to the originals while also making appropriate changes to combine two books into one movie and composite characters like Mombi with the Queen of Ev for the cinematic medium. Not to mention the pop culture element of things the color of Dorothy's shoes from the original film being considered important enough to spend money on. This movie really is an example of how to adapt something properly and doesn't get talked about enough.
One of my favorite movies! I saw it when it came out and loved it back then too!
A scene that always makes me cry is when Dorothy's uncle finds her washed up near the river - his emotional reaction, tears of joy, and relief feel very real and sincere and deep; it always gets to me.
As someone who grew up with the original Wizard of Oz, I was intrigued by this film. I saw Return to Oz several times as a kid and was freaked out by this film so much that it gave me so many nightmares. I do love the sets, the actors, the puppetry and the camerawork. Maybe I’ll revisit it after all these years…
Ah, this movie brings out so many happy memories on my early days in the NJ Pine Barrens! Crazy houses with electroshock therapy, batshit insane mutants living in the woods, demons that come out of the ground.... so many happy memories of the nightmarish Pines!
The director is indeed a prolific editor. He worked on Apocalypse Now all on his own, and the reason he kept this directing gig is because Lucas and Coppola vouched for him.
I saw this on the Disney Channel as a young child and I was instantly in love! Unfortunately, it didn't air very often and I have a clear memory of being angry that my dad taped over it (remember when that was a thing?) . So when I got older and was terribly bored by the Wizard of Oz but adored Alice in Wonderland, my brain thought I had seen return to Wonderland. Much later with the help of reddit, I discovered I had seen Return to Oz and I have watched it once a year since!
Finally watched this in full back in 2020, believe it or not.
Firstly, there wasn’t much to do obviously. Secondly, Disney+ was less than a year old.
Happy that I did. This is an interesting movie, very strange, but also pretty fun!
I freaking love this movie...I was born in '99 so it was quite a bit before my time, I saw it on an old burned from tv vhs when I was 7 and was just hypnotized by it. It's a real gem
When the Nome King tells Mombi to kneel, she does, then orders her to kneel lower. She lays face down on the floor and he says "LOWER!" Gets a laugh out of me every time.
I freaking love this movie, it’s scared the hell out of me as a kid, and close to being 37 years old I still love this movie
The Wheeler breaking into sand at the deadly deasert gave me the only legitimate nightmares I had at age 9.
My sister wanted to show this my nieces (7, 5, and 3 years old). Luckily, I was there to stop her _just_ in time!
That was the point where my child self just turned off the tv in horror.
This movie is scary for a child. I personally think it's as scary as you can make something without bumping up the ratings to M or something.
One of my all-time favorites that terrified me and fascinated me as a child. Great job summarizing it without once giving away how they manage to win at the end!
I watched this on repeat as a child, and as someone who was terrified of that one episode of SpongeBob with the bee closeup, I don’t understand how this didn’t scare me at all.
It’s sad that the Oz books haven’t gotten proper adaptations. I always liked the Tip/Ozma character and the adjustments they have to make when they have to give up being a boy to become Queen. Emerald City is really the only show that gave them any focus.
Doug if want an insane film for your Freakshow Cinema segment check out the film by Danny Elfman’s brother called Forbidden Zone. It is so insane, but you can’t look away.
Also in regards to this film I asked Leonard Maltin on one of his livestreams if he thinks he was too hard on this film as it is closer to the books than the film to which he replied that he understood where I was coming from, but people shouldn’t have to know the books in order to watch the film.
Great that we finally got to see Doug take a look at this classic. I have always loved Return to OZ, not just for how dark and scary it is, but also for how creative and imaginable it is.
I recently saw another review of this movie by Deusdaecon that I recommend, he really goes into details that you might have missed.
I remember the first Oz crew being painted on my elementary school's library. The Return to Oz cast was there too, but I never knew exactly who they were.
This is, in actual fact, my most anticipated NC review EVER. I have waited years for this, slowly wondering if Doug would ever review it and here we are.
I first watched this on TV as a kid with my grandma years before I watched Wizard of Oz - despite Return being dark, I absolutely loved it. It was so dark and amazing that by the time I watched Wizard, I was put off by how lighthearted and childish it was.
Needless to say, Return to Oz holds a special place in my heart and is an underrated, overlooked gem that deserves more love in my opinion.
Finally! Return to Oz is so underrated, I saw a lot of twisted fairy tale movies in the 1980s, we had Labyrinth and all those puppet and claymation movies. They don’t make scary PG kids movies anymore!
Coraline was probably the last one, and that was back in 2009.
@@dreamlandnightmare i believe the other world be "9", same year i think?
@@dreamlandnightmare that’s animated, I was referring to dark live action movies rated PG, like Labyrinth and Gremlins. Those movies scared lot of kids with their transformations and the kids fighting the monsters!
Thanks so very much for this review Doug! I feel that not enough folks are aware of this films awesomeness. I think it's damn criminal that the only Blu-ray available is the Disney Movie Club edition, as it certainly deserves a wider distribution.
Definitely one of my fave fliks from that era. I sincerely hope more folks get the opportunity to view it.
When i was a kid I read all the Oz books, then was disappointed in the Judy Garland version. When I saw return to Oz, I was so happy they made the effort to have the characters resemble the books.
I'm so glad I can experience nostalgia critic now, before when i was younger i never cared for movies because of adam sandler and master in disguise but watching every single episode of nostalgia critic has helped me to see movies can help people more then money can, and i thank you for that sometimes you feel so lost in this world and its all good we can come together here and experience retro media. I love wizard of oz, i still havent seen this movie yet, ive seen james rofle review tho. NERD! still tho your awesome doug and ya im happy to see new videos from you :)
Jesus that's a tragedy, you were disinterested in movies because of one of the worst movies ever and Sandler's puerile antics. Did no one ever show you Star wars/Indiana Jones/Alien and Aliens/T 1+2/every other amazingly epic movie or franchise?
My mom told me about this when I was little… I was creeped out about it, and then I saw a poster for it… and it traumatised me for life… and that was just a poster! Not even the actual film!
I haven't even seen most of the films Doug reviews, but I like watching these kinds of videos just for the hosts. They're always such brilliant fun. They are full of humour, kind, candid, super expressive, honest, slightly childish and have lots of humour. That's the sort of vibes I want to give off.
I remember seeing this one at eight years old and loving it so much, I would watch it again and again and again. I haven't seen it in a long time but I still remember and find myself going back to this for creative inspiration. Thanks for reviewing this one.
Dorothy: Hey can i have some drugs?
The Directors: YEAH GO BACK TO OZ
I think Dorothy saw the new Shaggy Dog remake and said naw dawg I'M GOING BACK TO OZ
The irony of The Wheelers was better described in the book. They act fearsome and chase people…but they’re literally incapable of actually hurting anyone since they have no hands! They have to pretend to be scary because they’re always afraid.
There's just something about taking stories from our childhood and giving em a scary twist that just puts a huge smile on my face
You know I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet A pawn and a king but never a wheeler unfortunately
This was an old nostalgic movie and it made me pretty interested in what they were going to do even if it was frightening so thank you for actually taking a look at this nostalgia critic it was awesome ☺️
Always love your take on movies, and your review here is spot on.
It is definitely one of my favorite movies of yesteryear. I showed this to my daughter when she was around 8 or 9 and she loved it.
Oh yeah, and more Tamara! 🖤
In case you know Russian, there's an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's first and second books called "The Adventures in the Emerald City". It stays true to the spirit of the original, but it's not as spooky as "Return to Oz". If anything, this version's Mombi is a comedic villain, who's pretty hillarious and doesn't chop anyone's heads off.
This movie was so scary to me when I was a little kid.
I remember when I first watch this movie and thinking WTF. Now this is one of my favorite Oz adaptations.
The SCRIPT is one of the best, and true-geekiest, adaptations of post-Judy book-Oz, and a good working translation of Ozma of Oz, one of the better ones to start with.
The director, however, was a disturbed lunatic way out of his technical depth.
I can speak from experience, chickens hate being wet. We had a chicken that fell into the horses watering tub and somehow she kept on the surface and didn't drown. She was really tired when I saw her in there and got her out. She was fine after a rest and a dry off.
Doug , for me Return to Oz is the Black Swan of kids movies. People showed up to Black Swan expecting cute ballet and got paranoia , depression and mania. Similarly , parents and kids thought this would be a cutesy Wizard sequel. However , this was Disney in its savage mid 80s Black Cauldron period - so you get Mombi (never looking in a dresser full of heads again) and stop motion rock faces forming behind every group shot. A kick in the arm shot of alternative brilliance.
I've been watching your reviews for a decade now and I've been waiting for this review for almost that entire time. And you know what? 100% worth the wait! This movie scared the living daylights out of me as a kid and I've loved it ever since. So glad to see there's a whole group of people who have lived that same experience.
Okay, am I the only one that remembers that he reviewed this like 6 years ago? I feel like I'm in the twilight zone over here.
@@Alphamike14 I mean, there was a Disneycember segment on it, but not what I would call a real in-depth review. He also has mentioned it when talking about other movies over the years, but that's all.
My brother and I grew up with this (we're early 90's kids) and it's still one of his favorite movies! I showed it to some younger millennials a few years ago and I had forgotten just how bonkers it is until they reacted. It's just warm, fuzzy nostalgia for me! lmao
I never thought I'd see a charity shout-out for Epidermolysis Bullosa. I've suffered from EB Simplex my whole life, but it's really hard to explain to people because it's so rare.
You should do _The Adventures of Mark Twain_ sometime down the line. It was directed by Will Vinton, and, even though it was rated G, it scared the shit out of the kids who saw it.
Never thought he would FINALLY get around to this movie
He did it 6 years ago as part of Disney ember.
@@Alphamike14 Oh
I remember that movie it was a little confusing at first because I definitely thought it was a sequel to the original but I still thought it was pretty good otherwise maybe not the best but good
Me too... that's why I had watched it years ago and as an adult... and regretted ever since... it kinda sticks to you and not in a good way...
In the books, it is an fact that Oz does exist. After Dorothy goes back in the first film, her parents ask where she has been the last couple days.
The black void eyes of Jack were the scariest thing to me in what I saw of this and it's what scared me out of seeing the rest of the movie. I gave up after just a few scenes with him despite really enjoying the Wizard of Oz.