return to oz: this movie sucks!
written by rob on 11/29/06

as we all know “the wizard of oz” was a classic story and wonderful movie about a girl in search of something more, but throughout her journey she discovers that the best things in life were family, friends and her home; all of the things that she already had.

so what do you do disney? you write the return to oz; a story in which dorothy forgets all of her lessons learned and returns to oz, and because you’re sick freaks, you take the oz we loved remember and turn it into fright fest. your villain rotates between a collection of heads, dorothy’s wonderful companions have been replaced with a side show, among them a giant talking jack-o-lantern. it gets better. during the course of this movie, you place dorothy in a straight jacket as she prepares to undergo shock therapy to “forget.” i only wish after this movie i too could do the same.

what the f? do you like butchering american classics. why not make a sequel to citizen cane, this time rose bud can be a toy car, or how about a sequel to gone with the wind, “we thought the war was over but there was another war, rebuilding the south: gone with the wind part II, the chronicles of reconstruction!” maybe you can ruin Casablanca? elsie can turn the plane around and run into rick’s arms. Something tells me disney, that you hand your hand in the godfather part three. what do you want disney! when will you be happy! when you butcher every movie ever made with a psychotic sequel! is that when you’ll be happy! Huh? Huh

that aside, I felt the movie did a nice job keeping with the imagery and story-telling of l. frank baum.

15 comments


filed under disney

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15 comments

  1. brainpan Nov 30

    I was reading IMDB for reviews of this movie and they all looked good. Also, I think this is based on a book in the OZ series by Frank Baum and not just some Disney bullshit. There is also a 1964 version of this film as well. Anyway…..just though you’d like to know.

  2. Daroff Dec 1

    other fun facts:

    dorothy is played by evil witch/neo-nazi fuck puppet Fairuza Balk

    the movie was directed by Walter Murch, my patron saint of editing. the man cut godfather I and II, The Conversation, the english patient, and cold mountain.

    i played the voice of the big talking head in a musical called “welcome back to oz” which no one has heard of.

  3. Bust A Keaton Dec 8

    FAIRUZA BALK IS NOT A FUCK PUPPET. SHE IS THE PRETTIEST GIRL IN OZ. IF I COULD MARRY HER I WOULD BE THE HAPPIEST EVER.

  4. Jade Dec 26

    OK i love this movie!!!!!

    I loved it when i was growing up as a kid * my mother taped it on vhs* and now 22 got it on dvd and watch it almost every week.!!!

    Its strange and unsual , I LOVE IT!!!!!

  5. Monkey nuts Jan 10

    Yeah, I loved the movie too. and I’m 20. Its dark and strange, theres no lollipop guild, theres no skipping around in leggings, and yes, Disney didnt dream this up, its from the original book. I guess they did a bit of tweaking, but not much. The only thing I dont like is Jack’s stupid contributions to the conversation.

  6. mane Feb 14

    Daroff on dec 1 says ” Walter Murch dircted this film and that he’s the same guy who directed Godfather1 and 2″ Return to oz is directed by Walter Murch , Godfather 1 and 2 is “NOT DIRECTED BY WALTER MURCH” as stated he’s only credit on sound department in Godfather 1 and 2. Godfather 1 and 2 are directed by Francis Ford Coppola, NOT WALTER MURCH.

  7. Daroff Feb 14

    thanks for taking the time to comment.

    apologies for the miscommunication, but if you go back and read it, i said walter murch CUT (edited) godfather 1 and 2. return to oz was his directorial debut.

    walter murch is an amazing editor who worked with coppola a lot. they went to usc together (along with george lucas), and formed a creative partnership that lasted many years. his specialty is, yes, sound editing, but in most cases he was a supervising editor who worked with the entire post-production team. he was not the credited editor, but he worked very closely with the editor, and even coppola during production.

    for more information about walter murch, i highly recommend the book “the conversations” by michael ondaatje.

    thank you for keeping on top of me, mane. i’m all about factual accuracy.

  8. che Feb 26

    I agree this movie is weird and shit. period.

  9. Courts Mar 19

    I have to disagree with everything you said. I found the MGM Wizard of Oz to detract far from the book. I’m a huge fan of Return to Oz and after watching the film I decided to read some of the books on Oz that Baum had written.
    You say that Return to Oz is a fright fest? I highly suggest that you don’t read the books. You won’t find Judy Garland skipping down the yellow brick road in any of them.

  10. Alice Mar 27

    This movie isn’t a sequel to the 1939 movie, it’s an adaptation of two Oz sequels Baum wrote. You can’t compare the two movies…and really, the Baum stories are a lot darker than the musical. I love the Garland movie like most anyone else, but this version was more like something Terry Gilliam would direct…and it’s truer to life than the Great Depression fantasy musical. I think this was a beautiful and horrifying film, but no better or worse than Garland’s Oz. Remember, they are allegories for 19th century politics.

  11. Mikey Apr 4

    Thanks for posting my trailer! ^_^ I wish you would’ve asked my permission to post it here though…especially if you were going to bash the film.

    If anyone wants to check out my other trailers and music videos that I’ve edited, then check out my Youtube page! http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=MikeyPaniker

    There’s another Return To Oz video there, featuring the Scissor Sisters song of the same name.

    Hope you enjoy the rest,
    Mikey

  12. Perroquet Apr 20

    Just wanted to say I think Return To Oz is a wonderful film!! - beautifully acted, scripted, directed, edited. If you’re looking for another Wizard Of Oz - it isn’t. But it’s truer to the original books and full of subtle layers and meanings, a classic that will endure! P

  13. A guest Apr 17

    L. Frank Baum actually wrote many, many, many books based on the return to OZ. I think Dorothy’s Aunt and Uncle eventually venture into the land of OZ as well in one of his books.

    Disney took a lot of the plot in Return To Oz from his books, a few I believe. So, yes, L. Frank Baum did get darker as he progressed in his OZ series.

    http://www.jobrific.com

  14. Rav Apr 27

    It’s not a sequal. Do some research before you make yourself look like an idiot with a misinformed blog.

  15. HexenDarkside Apr 27

    Whatever, Rav. He wasent trying to be an “expert” on wether the movie is a sequal or not… the article was about how the movie sucked in comparison to the original. You dont have to do research to have an opinion. So if you dont like the “misinformed blog” thats too bad.

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