Return to Oz

Plot

Six months after the events of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale's continued talk of Oz leads her aunt and uncle to take her to a sanatorium. Dr. Worley plans electrotherapy, but a mysterious girl rescues Dorothy. During a storm, Dorothy floats downstream in a chicken coop and wakes in Oz with her chicken Billina, who can now talk. The Emerald City lies in ruins, its citizens turned to stone.

The Wheelers capture them, but Tik-Tok, a mechanical man, saves them and says the Scarecrow awaits her. They visit Princess Mombi, who wears interchangeable heads and imprisons them after revealing the Nome King holds the Scarecrow. In a tower, they meet Jack Pumpkinhead, and together they build a flying creature from furniture and the head of the Gump, using stolen Powder of Life to animate it.

The Gump flies them across the Deadly Desert to the Nome King's mountain. Dorothy briefly reunites with the Scarecrow before the Nome King turns him into an ornament. The Nome King offers each of Dorothy's companions three guesses to identify the Scarecrow among many ornaments; all fail and are turned into ornaments. The Nome King then offers Dorothy her lost ruby slippers to return home, but she refuses.

Production

Walter Murch began developing Return to Oz in 1980 after telling Disney production chief Tom Wilhite of his interest in an Oz film. Disney owned the rights to the Oz series and wanted a new film before the copyright expired. In September 1981, Disney president Ron W. Miller announced the film would be a new story with a different look, not a sequel to the 1939 movie. The screenplay, co-written by Murch and Gill Dennis, draws mainly from The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, with elements from Tik-Tok of Oz.

Murch also used Wisconsin Death Trip as a historical source. The film was intentionally made unlike the 1939 film to avoid accusations of blasphemy. Executive producer Gary Kurtz stated the movie would be more faithful to the books than the 1939 adaptation.

Murch knew his darker take was a gamble. During development, Disney leadership changed, and the budget rose from $20 million to $28 million. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was not involved, but Disney paid a fee to use the ruby slippers, which were MGM's intellectual property. Murch kept the framework of Kansas characters reappearing in Oz to maintain harmony between the two films.

Release

Return to Oz premiered in the United States on June 21, 1985, opening in 1,300 theaters including Radio City Music Hall. Disney spent about $6 million on printing and advertising, and added a Return to Oz float to Disneyland's Main Street Electrical Parade. The film opened in London on July 11, 1985.

It was the first film to use the Walt Disney Pictures logo from 1985 to 2006. Home video releases began in December 1985 on VHS, Betamax, and Laserdisc, with a list price of $79.95 for VHS. Disney reissued it in 1992 with alternate cover art.

In 1999, Anchor Bay Entertainment issued full-screen and letterbox VHS and a DVD with an intro and interview featurette by Fairuza Balk. Disney's own 2004 DVD added anamorphic enhancement, 5.1 surround sound, TV spots, and a trailer. The film is available on Disney+ in the "From the Vault" section.

Reception

Return to Oz earned $2,844,895 in its opening weekend, finishing seventh, and $6.5 million in its first ten days. Some theaters took only $300–$400, which was considered poor. Commonwealth Theaters' city manager suggested a bad release time and the perception of it being a children's film as problems. The film grossed $11,137,801 in North America.

On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 59% positive rating from 111 reviews, with the consensus that it taps into the darker side of Baum's books but never recaptures the magic of its predecessor. Critics familiar with the Oz books praised its faithfulness; Harlan Ellison said it was in the tradition of the original Oz books. Many critics found the tone too dark and intense for children.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times said children would be startled by its bleakness. Ian Nathan of Empire gave it three out of five stars, calling it an homage that is not a good one. Jay Scott felt the protagonists were too creepy for viewers to relate to.

Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader called it bleak, creepy, and occasionally terrifying. Amelie Gillette of The A.V. Club noted its dark nature as unsuitable for young children, though it was one of her favorite movies growing up. Other reviews described it as a horror show under the banner of family entertainment. Neil Gaiman, writing for Imagine magazine, called it terrifying, visionary, funny, and exciting, and one of the best fantasy films he had seen.