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Written by: Walter Murch & Gill Dennis (screenplay), L. Frank Baum (novels "Ozma of Oz" and "The Land of Oz")
Directed by: Walter Murch
Starring: Fairuza Balk, Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.
Verdict
It's a fantasy horror movie for kids. The connection to the original The Wizard of Oz hurts more than helps as the movies are in very different genres. Dorothy returns to Oz, must battle many strange creatures, and conquers the antagonist with help from her friends. It's weird more than anything. This clearly is aimed at kids, and it lacks depth as a result. The problem is that a horror movie toned down for kids is still going to be too frightening for most of them. That or this just wanted to give kids more nightmares.
It depends.
Review
An unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz (1939), while it's a darker story this is more faithful to the books.
Precocious Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) finds a key she claims her friends from Oz sent her via a shooting star. Her Aunt reminds her not to talk about Oz as it's all in her imagination. To cure her, Dorothy's aunt wants to submit her for shock therapy treatment to help with her dreams and delusions. Just ten minutes in this is already darker than everything in the original movie.
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| Fairuza Balk plays Dorothy Gale |
It feels like a horror movie for kids. I can't imagine being excited for this, expecting something like that 1939 film, and sitting down to this. It would be a shock at the least, and it's likely the reason this did so poorly at the box office.
Dorothy gets help in the psychiatric facility, and that seems like a delusion. How does this other kid have free reign in the facility? Dorothy leaves Kansas via river, waking up with her chicken who can now talk. She soon finds her old house and the yellow brick road, both having deteriorated in her absence. I have to admit, the chicken is putting in some work as a supporting character.
Upon entering the remains of Emerald City, Dorothy befriends Tik-tok and we're introduced to the enemy wheelers, and they are something else. It's another example of how wild this movie is. It's incredibly dark for a kid's movie. If I watched this as a young child, I'm sure the hall of heads would have haunted me, likely the wheelers too.
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| The Gump, Tik-Tok, Dorothy, Jack Pumpkinhead |
Dorothy finds Princess Mombi and is in turn imprisoned. The Princess wants Dorothy's head. She and Tik-tok ally with Jack Pumpkinhead to escape. She briefly reunites with the Scarecrow before the Nome King appears to make their plight more difficult. He gives them a rigged trial to leave Oz, but it's really a ploy to steal their life force. He reveals he has the ruby slippers, and they allowed him to conquer Emerald City.
I'm not sure I've ever seen a deus egg machina, but Dorothy's chicken defeats the Nome King because he's allergic to eggs and the chicken lays an egg at the exact perfect moment. It feels like a cop out because this doesn't build up to the moment or provide any groundwork. It drops that bomb to end the movie.
The production design looks really good, and that aids in how frightening this appears. I doubt many people watched The Wizard of Oz and thought it's okay but it needs to be darker. This is the result, but it's ultimately shallow; a movie that wants to scare children or at least give them a nightmare or two.
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