Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Return to Oz Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf August 2, 2015

Somewhere over the rainbow, there’s a little girl awaiting shock treatment.

The fantasyland of Oz, as brought to world by author L. Frank Baum, is many things. But to most audiences, Oz is only one thing: a 1939 classic film starring Judy Garland. Attempting to recapture the magic of “The Wizard of Oz,” many sequels and knockoffs have failed to achieve the same level of wonder, whimsy, and song. 1985’s “Return to Oz” offers a teasing title that hints at a revival of Technicolor awe, but it’s a very different picture, taking a creative route that doesn’t welcome musical numbers and one-liners. It’s a stark, grim adventure that boldly returns to Baum for inspiration while trying to remain as far away from “The Wizard of Oz” as possible. Although certain elements of the feature miss their mark, “Return to Oz” is ambitious, daring, and delivers incredible technical achievements, offsetting initial disappointment and confusion by generating its own mood and dramatic objectives. Instead of amazement, it’s foreboding and periodically scary, subverting expectations in the best possible way.

Six months after her original Land of Oz adventures, Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) can’t break out of her depression, unable to share experiences with Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark), who fear she’s lost her mind. Bringing the child to a sanitarium for shock treatment, hoping to blast her back to life, Aunt Em leaves Dorothy to Dr. Worley (Nicol Williamson) and Nurse Wilson (Jean Marsh). However, before treatment begins, a storm breaks out, allowing a mysterious little girl (Emma Ridley) to help Dorothy escape. Making her way to a raging river, Dorothy awakens in Oz, only to find the Emerald City in ruins and her friends transformed into stone. Joined by pet chicken Billina (voiced by Denise Bryer), Dorothy ventures into the dangerous land, finding help from mechanical soldier Tik-Tok (Sean Barrett), mounted moose Gump (Lyle Conway), and Jack Pumpkinhead (Brian Henson). Facing the wrath of witch Mombi (Marsh) and the Nome King (Williamson), the gang works together to save Oz, while Dorothy looks for the ruby slippers she lost long ago to help her return home.

Stripping the feature of famous visual cues, director/co-writer Walter Murch goes right to the heart of concern in the opening of “Return to Oz,” imagining Dorothy as an insomniac, unable to shake her Oz experiences. The stories worry Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, who begin to suspect mental illness has taken the little girl, scheduling an “electric healing,” a turn-of-the-century treatment that finds Dorothy strapped to a table, braced for a mighty brain scrambling. There’s no black and white, no “Over the Rainbow,” and Toto, Dorothy’s beloved dog, only makes a brief cameo. Darkness is immediate in “Return to Oz,” and for more adventurous viewers, the tonal severity is fascinating, treating the heroine’s fantasyworld as something to be burned out of her, not encouraged. It’s a brave opening act, taking time to establish despondency and fear, giving Dorothy every motivation to revisit her second home, arriving with hope to see old friends and, in a way, restore confidence in her reality, shaking off doubt from outsiders as she marches down the yellow brick road once again.

Cruelly, Dorothy isn’t greeted with warmth, but confusion. Roads have been wrecked and the Emerald City is reduced to rubble, giving the Kansas girl a mission to restore order. In possession of a special key, Dorothy investigates the Emerald City, encountering the Wheelers (highly decorated ghouls who roll around on all fours) and greeting a partner in Tik-Tok, a loyal robot in desperate need of winding to keep on task. Production design achievements rework the Emerald City into a more practical palace-like environment, and one that houses Mombi, a witch who hordes a collection of severed heads in her closet, choosing a different face as her moods change. Mombi is really the first horrifying element in a feature that’s filled with unsettling discoveries, giving Dorothy something to be truly scared of as she tries to make her way to the Nome King. The screenplay attempts to alleviate terror by including quests, including the gang’s acquisition of the Powder of Life, which awakens inanimate objects. There’s the construction of a flying sofa to bring some degree of lightness to the production, permitting escape into the sky, which introduces some aerial acrobatics as Jack fights to keep his head on his body.

“Return to Oz” is teeming with technical achievements, acting as the bridge between the puppet mastery of “The Dark Crystal” and the more set-bound delights of “Labyrinth.” Although it’s missing Jim Henson’s vision, the feature resembles his work in many ways, with specific attention to practical character mobility and design invention, finding the Nome King’s early mountain wall introduction and rock-based minions captured with stop-motion animation, adding a dash of calloused-hand artistry to an already triumphantly imagined effort. “Return to Oz” doesn’t have much narrative momentum, but it’s a feast for the eyes, generating a rich fantasy vibe that carries the picture through dramatic inertia. It’s truly something to see at times, with young Balk’s delicate performance at Dorothy adding weight to all the metal, clay, and rubber that surrounds her.

Return to Oz Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation gives "Return to Oz" a competent upgrade to HD, delivering a predominately sharp and clear viewing experience. The film's color palette is already on the muted side, trying to express the new Oz world through a dialing down of vibrant primaries. Mood is preserved, with intended hues registering acceptably, boosted slightly with Mombi encounters, finding the witch's costumes flavorful and her palace highly decorated. Skintones are accurate, with more extreme creatures also stable. Detail is satisfactory, surveying fantasy touches with clarity allowed by softer cinematography, and textures are encouraging on fabrics and exteriors. Delineation is never threatened. Grain is present but not defined in full, but the viewing experience is filmic. Source is clean and secure.

Return to Oz Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA sound mix isn't an event that utilizes surrounds to the fullest, remaining surprisingly calm with sound effects and onscreen action, which rarely envelops the listener. It's a frontal track, and dialogue exchanges are fresh and true, handling performances with care, while dramatic range is protected. Nome King encounters are more monstrous, with a deep electronic sound that carries power. Low-end is nicely active with thunderstorms and creature movement. Scoring is bright and supportive, with communicative instrumentation. Atmospherics are busy, with Oz environments pronounced and flying sequences conveying movement.

Return to Oz Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There is no supplementary material on this disc.

Return to Oz Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dorothy and her army eventually face the Nome King, a bellowing monster who delights in games and claims emerald ownership. It's a furious conclusion to an already menacing movie, but it does leave a question mark that the production conveniently ignores. While faced with threat from all sides, why would Dorothy even want to leave Oz and return home? The 1939 picture made a reasonable case for the preciousness of family. "Return to Oz" depicts Aunt Em and Uncle Henry as desperate souls turning to quackery to solve a profound problem. If I were Dorothy, I'd stay with friends who love her and a land that's grateful for her heroism. Of course, the story needs to return to Earth, but "Return to Oz" is missing a sense of warmth and belonging. Its creative endeavors are beguiling and wholly impressive, but the feature is undeniably cold to the touch.