"Return to Oz" is not the sort of film I'd normally watch. However, my daughter insisted I needed to see it simply because the movie was so incredibly dark and child-unfriendly. This had my curiosity piqued--and I finally got around to seeing this film.

Soon after the film started, I saw just how dark it was. In this semi- sequel to "The Wizard of Oz", it picks up several weeks or months after the previous film. However, continuity and realism is the key--the Gale family home is NOT magically restored like in the previous movie but WAS destroyed in the storm. As a result, Dorothy's uncle has PTSD! But even worse, when Dorothy regales her aunt with her stories of Oz, Auntie Em thinks Dorothy has lost her mind. Eventually, she takes Dorothy to an ultra-creepy clinic where a psychiatrist is planning on giving her shock treatment to stop these delusions!! Just after Dorothy is strapped down and she's about to receive a bazillion volts of electricity, a little girl shows up and saves her--and whisks her magically back to Oz.

Oz has changed a lot since Dorothy left. The Nome King and Mombi (who are Oz incarnations of the evil psychiatrist and his nurse) have destroyed everything and the Emerald city is in ruins. So, it's up to Dorothy and some creepy new friends to right everything and make the kingdom a happy one once again.

If this doesn't sound like a good film for your kids, you are correct. It's a film I would never dream of showing to younger kids--this would be like child abuse. But, for older and more cynical folks, it's a neat re-imagining of the books. However, there IS one major problem regardless--and reason I disliked the film. Dorothy's companion from home is NOT Toto (who is a Border Terrier in this film instead of a Cairn) but a super-annoying chicken. The voice is just awful and the comments are very often obvious and banal. I truly hated everything about this character--even if she did, inexplicably, help to save the day. I'd have just roasted her!!

Also, because Kansas is so dull and awful, why in the heck did Dorothy want to return?! She MIGHT have gotten shock treatment or been lobotomized!!!

I honestly do think this is under-appreciated. I know it is more sombre in tone than the 1939 classic, but that's not a bad thing at all. The film does look beautiful, with lovely sets and costumes, and the special effects work is some of the best of its kind of any family film of the 80s or of any decade, Tick-Tock and the Nome King are brilliantly designed. Return to Oz, with its very imaginative storytelling- seen in memorable scenes like with the heads- and enchantingly dark atmosphere, also has enough magic to engage the viewer, well to me it does anyway. The climax is chillingly effective, though Nome King did seem to be defeated too easily. Fairuza Balk is excellent as Dorothy, charming, sincere and even adorable. Many have complained that Balk is too young for the character, but in the 1939 musical Judy Garland was nearly 17 when in the book Dorothy is about 12. I also loved the music score and the cinematography, which was both dreamlike and nightmarish. Another mention should go to Nicol Williamson in the duel roles of Dr Worley and the Nome King(who may be a bit too scary for young viewers, likewise with the character of Mombi),he did a truly wonderful job in both roles, particularly the latter where he was threatening in an understated way. Also to Pumpkinhead, who a number of times, came close to stealing the show, and Tick-Tock, whose personality is perhaps the most colourful of all. The only character I didn't care for was the chicken, who is annoying at times and not really that necessary. Overall, this is a truly excellent film, that I think deserves a lot more recognition. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

RETURN TO OZ, the sequel to the 1930s classic, was a massive flop when it was put out by Disney in 1985, which is why I doubt many people today know of its existence. Having just watched an excellent quality, high definition copy of it, I was surprised at how entertaining it is; it's no masterpiece for sure, but it has the edge on the recent OZ: THE GREAT AND THE POWERFUL put out by Sam Raimi.

Yes there are disparities when compared to the original film but this was intended to be more in line with the L. Frank Baum novels than the MGM classic. Fairuza Balk is an effective choice as a younger, wide-eyed Dorothy, carted off to a mental asylum and then transported back to Oz where she discovers a terrible tragedy has befallen the Emerald City. Soon she's hooked up with a new group of allies to go on a brand new adventure.

In my opinion, the 1980s was the pinnacle of the special effects film. Animatronics and prosthetics were the best they were going to get, and computer graphics were in but had not yet overwhelmed cinema. RETURN TO OZ is a great film for effects fans: all practical, all great looking, particularly Nicol Williamson's Nome King. I got a chuckle out of seeing Jack Pumpkinhead, a character that storyboard animator Henry Selick would later 'borrow' for THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE Christmas. Tik-Tok is another good creation, full of character, but my favourite is Billina.

RETURN TO OZ isn't a perfect film, as it does feel a bit uneven in terms of pacing and the opening sequences are perhaps a little too dark for kids. Jean Marsh is overwrought and ineffective in her role too, and should have toned things down a bit. However, the sheer effort that has gone into the world building, and the genuinely suspenseful extended climax, make this a fun movie. And it's impossible not to love the painstaking effects work - including Claymation - that's gone into the production.