Review of Return to Oz

Return to Oz (1985)
9/10
very dark, but fascinating
14 February 1999
I've never seen the entire movie all at once, but the bits I've caught on television probably nearly make up the whole thing. This movie is so fascinating and eye-catching, that I can't resist watching it every time I catch a glimpse. The claymation, cinematography, costumes and effects are all marvelous, and create the right sort of fantasy ambience.

I read about five or six of the Oz books as a child and loved them dearly, and this movie makes up for the disappointment I felt with the famous Judy Garland Wizard of Oz. I recognized Tik-Tok, Ozma, Jack and Dorothy as being so much more the way I had envisioned them than the manner in which the Scarecrow, Lion, et al had been realized in the Wizard of Oz movie. Some of the Hollywoodized elements that people expect--the slippers being ruby instead of silver and the "Oz" signs with the z inside the O, for example--are still remaining, but almost everything else is quite true to the books as I remember them.

Yes, it has its faults, but Return to Oz is a very underrated movie in my opinion. I enjoy it more than The Princess Bride.
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