Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 1, 2014

Those of us who grew up in the era before the advent of home video know that The Wizard of Oz was not always a ubiquitous home entertainment option but instead an excitingly rare annual television event, often centered around family-centric holidays like Thanksgiving. It was in fact these regular television outings that helped to create the modern appreciation for the film as one of the outstanding classics of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Oddly, the advent of home video may have lessened the “special” feeling many people, especially Baby Boomers who grew up with once a year viewings, experience for The Wizard of Oz, since it’s easy to pop in a Blu-ray disc any old time of the year now and relive the exciting adventures of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. Despite the prevalence of the film, there’s still a reactionary element which tends to dismiss most if not all new entertainments which seek to trade on the iconic Oz franchise. It’s instructive then to remember that none other than L. Frank Baum himself “revisisted” Oz some thirteen times after his original novel appeared and the Baum Trust has continued to accept manifold books by many other authors as part of the so-called official “Oz Canon”. Interestingly, books by L. Frank Baum’s own great-grandson Roger S. Baum are not considered part of the official Oz Canon since they play with original elements in non-standard ways. One of the younger Baum’s books, Dorothy of Oz, serves as the source material for the middling children’s film Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return. While certainly nowhere near the same league as the 1939 classic, or even many of the reboots and/or quasi-sequels that have appeared through the years, the film is still probably better than it has any right to be, aided by a first rate voice cast and a charming if hectic animation style that was obviously crafted to take full advantage of the film’s 3D theatrical exhibition (in what is kind of a depressing tradition with these lesser known animated films, the Blu-ray only offers a 2D iteration).

As was repeatedly the case in many follow up Oz books and films (and television outings), things are once again chaotic in Emerald City. The Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), The Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and The Cowardly Lion (Jim Belushi) are rushing through the Wizard’s palace in a frantic attempt to get in touch with Dorothy (Lea Michele), who is back in Kansas. The Scarecrow confides in his friends that though it seems to them that Dorothy has been gone for ages, to her it will only seem a like a day. Meanwhile, the Wicked Witch’s equally wicked brother, The Jester (Martin Short), has taken Glinda (Bernadette Peters) prisoner, and he reveals that she is about to become the latest in a odd menagerie of zombiefied puppets The Jester has made out of some of Oz’s leading citizens.

Meanwhile, things aren’t going much better in Kansas. In the aftermath of the tornado, homes and farms are completely devastated, and an unctuous appraiser (Martin Short) shows up to inform the Gale family that their home is condemned and they need to get off the property by sundown. Dorothy and Toto attempt to gain some emotional equilibrium around the farm and in a nearby field, which gives Dorothy the chance to sing the first of several pretty forgettable songs that dot the premises here. While the little girl and her dutiful dog are sitting there, they notice a beautiful rainbow, but then the rainbow seems to come alive and actually seems to chase the pair. Within a second or two, the rainbow has reached out and touched Dorothy and Toto, picking them up and depositing them in some unknown region of Oz.

Dorothy has been able to glean a bit of an emergency broadcast call from The Scarecrow during her rainbow ride, and she knows she needs to get to Emerald City to help her friends, but she can’t find the vaunted Yellow Brick Road. At this point she meets the first of several new friends who will end up accompanying her on her journey, in this case an overweight owl named Wiser (Oliver Platt), who has a nervous propensity to talk nonstop and an inability to fly due to his extreme girth. Meanwhile, the Jester has become aware of Dorothy’s presence and does everything he can to prevent her progress, including getting her arrested in a kind of Candyland, where she’s taken into custody by Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy). However, Dorothy’s outsized reputation gets her off the hook, and soon enough she’s on the way with both Wiser and Marshal Mallow.

A couple of more stops provide Dorothy with two more fellow voyagers, a miniature doll named China Princess (Megan Hilty, who ironically portrayed Glinda in the stage version of Wicked) and an aging tree named Tugg (Patrick Stewart) who provides the group with his body as a boat so that they can ford a river that has no other way of passage. The Jester monitors their progress with an increasing sense of disbelief that his many methods of menace are failing. Even the Flying Monkeys turn out to be largely useless and soon enough Dorothy is facing her new nemesis to return control of Oz (as well as the puppet-ized citizens) to their rightful owners.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is not very well developed, and in fact the “climax” is fairly unexciting simply because there’s no real sense of danger. But the voice actors do nice work with their characters (even if several of them are forced to sing pretty lamentable songs), and the breezy and colorful animation style will certainly enchant younger eyes. This film never quite gets over the rainbow, but as an unambitious time killer, parents may find this a reasonable enough addition to their own official Oz canon.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. While it's a shame that this Blu-ray doesn't offer a 3D alternative, especially since so much of this piece was obviously designed with dimensionality and depth in mind, this obviously flatter rendition is nonetheless incredibly colorful and even reasonably inventive. Rendering here is quite good, offering things like the Flying Monkeys' bristly hair with a lot of detail. The palette here is pretty wild, featuring extremely bright primaries and a wealth of subtler hues. Occasional shots are strangely soft, perhaps due to the 2D rendition (see screenshot 7), but overall Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return offers a problem free and visually enticing experience.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return features a pretty boisterous DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that may not be overly subtle, but which offers consistent immersion with a wealth of surround activity courtesy of nonstop sound effects as well as the lackluster song score. Dialogue is presented very clearly, even in busy sonic moments, courtesy of nicely done prioritization. There's some impressive LFE here as well in a couple of set pieces, and an overall nice lower range that helps put some oomph in a couple of the more rock oriented songs.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Legends of Oz: The Music of Oz (1080p; 3:08) focuses on Bryan Adams' score.


• Legends of Oz: The Legacy of Oz (1080p; 3:28) features more interviews with the cast offering their thoughts on the franchise.


• Sing Along The Yellow Brick Road (1080p; 10:57) presents the songs sequentially with subtitles offering the lyrics.


• Legends of Oz: Activity Sheets offers printable games for the kiddies, accessible through a PC or Mac Blu-ray drive.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:16)

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Perhaps surprisingly, Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return isn't downright horrible, and in fact the voice work and animation style are enjoyable enough if taken on their own terms. It's hard existing in the shadow of a classic like the original Wizard of Oz, but for those with younger kids wanting another dose of Dorothy and her friends, this is a decent if not fantastic alternative. Technical merits are very strong for those interested in purchasing this title.