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Return to Oz

Play trailer Poster for Return to Oz PG Released Jun 21, 1985 1h 50m Kids & Family Fantasy Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
58% Tomatometer 38 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Dorothy discovers she is back in the land of Oz, and finds the yellow brick road is now a pile of rubble, and the Emerald City is in ruins. Discovering that the magical land is now under the control of an evil empire, she sets off to rescue the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion with the help of her new friends.
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Return to Oz

Return to Oz

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Critics Consensus

Return to Oz taps into the darker side of L. Frank Baum's book series with an intermittently dazzling adventure that never quite recaptures the magic of its classic predecessor.

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Critics Reviews

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Roxana Hadadi Crooked Marquee Taken altogether, the experience of watching Return to Oz, with its myriad nightmarish offerings, almost feels like thumbing one's nose at the prudish Disney of today. Jul 1, 2020 Full Review Sheila Benson Los Angeles Times Return to Oz doesn't soar when it so clearly should. Dec 13, 2018 Full Review Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel The basic problem with Return to Oz is its unrelieved oppressiveness, an atmosphere resulting mainly from our sense of Dorothy's constant plight. Dec 13, 2018 Full Review Joseph Robinson Fish Jelly Films (YouTube) Return to Oz is a slightly disappointing effort that occupies a space far from the 1939 classic Wizard of Oz while not being close enough to the more grim source material. Rated: 2.5/5 Aug 5, 2023 Full Review Richard Schertzer ScreenAnarchy The look of Oz is very dreary and depressing when compared to the 1939 film, but it certainly makes up for it with its sense of adventure and fun. ... a nostalgia ride into a blissful time of innocence and care-free wonder. Jun 22, 2023 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault Entrancing in a very different way from its bright Technicolor ancestor. Rated: A Dec 2, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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P F The comparisons to the 1939 original were always going to be there. They knew that before they began production. Perhaps the comparison is unfair but when The Wizard of Oz is such an enduring classic comparing both was inevitable. Walter Murch’s sequel is therefore a victim of its previous success. What should we expect to be optimistic is dark, what should be a musical is replaced with a bittersweet score full of melancholy. It raises the question was the director at fault for making a sequel he knew would be compared to a classic or was the audience at fault here for making the comparisons rather than letting the film stand on its own? The film’s strengths and there are many end up being its failures because it’s so different to what came before. Under Murch’s direction, the film tries at times to embrace what made people like the original with specific call-backs to characters or events yet it contributes to a tonally off movie. It’s an infuriating film to review as I can defend the design decisions made with the script yet can completely understand the obvious criticisms of this sequel. After forty years and the degenerating quality of cinema, I think it’s finally time to embrace Return to Oz. Expectations were too high; our bar for quality raised too high. Creativity should be praised and the fond memories of it people have grown up with are a testament to how special it managed to be: with modern movies being nothing more than ‘content’ for social media-addicted younger generations Walter Murch’s sequel shows a filmmaking competence regrettably not seen today. Let’s just hope they don’t keep waiting 46 years between adapting the books otherwise, I’ll wear down like Tik-Tok. Return to Oz isn’t the 1939 movie and that’s fine. The film still does a commendable job of teaching us through Dorothy how important imagination is. I guess both films are more similar than we thought... Rated 4 out of 5 stars 05/05/25 Full Review Audience Member A real creepypasta like Oz film. The fact that this dark, twisted take on the world of Oz was made by Disney is almost as bizarre as the film itself! This being the most disturbing film in the loose Oz franchise is an impressive feat, considering on of the later Oz films was directed by iconic horror director, Sam Rami. Its utilization of a wide variety of practical effects like puppetry, stop-motion and using contortionists adds to the film’s timeliness as well as to its creepiness. While it appears to run on dream logic at times, it also includes a high amount of nightmarish moments for a children’s movie. A flop turned cult classic, this film is an interesting surprise for viewers diving into the trenches of Oz. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 04/29/25 Full Review Micslinger T Been watching this off and on since the movie first came out. Never really paid that much attention to it, except for the visuals. Finally sitting down for the first time and really taking in what is being portrayed, and I'm a little more than surprised. Give it a REAL chance.... I wish I had before now. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/16/25 Full Review Jake P Basically the better sequel to the wizard of oz. I don't get why this movie gets so much hate. Great for a movie night! 🍿 Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 04/06/25 Full Review Garrett B A solid adaptation with great visual effects Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/11/25 Full Review Teddy B Despite the darkness, 'Return to Oz' retains the folksy fantastical charm of L Frank Baum's original writing in a surprisingly hyper-faithful adaptation of 'Ozma of Oz'. The effects-work and lead child performance echo these praises. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Return to Oz

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Movie Info

Synopsis Dorothy discovers she is back in the land of Oz, and finds the yellow brick road is now a pile of rubble, and the Emerald City is in ruins. Discovering that the magical land is now under the control of an evil empire, she sets off to rescue the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion with the help of her new friends.
Director
Walter Murch
Producer
Paul Maslansky
Screenwriter
Walter Murch, Gill Dennis
Distributor
Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co
Oz Productions Ltd., Silver Screen Partners II
Rating
PG
Genre
Kids & Family, Fantasy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 21, 1985, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jan 1, 2014
Runtime
1h 50m
Sound Mix
Surround
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