Return to Oz (1985)

 

Just before the big screen Wicked opens, here’s something else from the land of Oz…

Released in 1985, Return to Oz is presented as a sequel to The Wizard of Oz and is adapted from two of the original novels; `Ozma of Oz` and `The Land of Oz`. While two of the characters in our world and in Oz are portrayed by the same actors there isn’t the same duality as in the 1939 film where everyone was mirrored. So it seems to suggest that Dorothy really does travel to this place whereas some interpretations suggest it’s all an imaginative dream. The film has a darker edge, especially early on, far from the sunny, almost goofy disposition manifested on the promotional posters and crucially there are no songs. Though there is a chattering chicken…

 

The movie leans in far more to the unusual elements of the story realising them in bold form that resembles a child's eye view. Experts say this is closer to Frank Baum’s intent than the far better known 1939 classic. There’s no songs for one thing, Dorothy is younger so more credibly able to see with a child’s imagination and there are some memorable visual moments. The ratings warn that the film contains no more than “mild peril” yet I would say for some children (and perhaps some adults) there is more than mild horror which director Walter Murch seems to delight in maximising. A room full of heads, that helmet the Wheelers wear and the early asylum scenes could easily scare a less robust child. There does seem to have been a conflicting promotion for the film when it came out- the poster gives the impression of a sunny movie rather than the unsettling reality of the early parts and the more sinister second half. 

As the film opens its six months since Dorothy returned from Oz -or as far as her parents are concerned since the tornado- and she’s not been able to sleep properly, haunted by memories of her adventure. Her insistence on relating these as if true has caused her well- meaning Aunt Em to call in the services of a pioneering therapist Doctor Worley. It makes Em seem incredibly naïve not to realise that Worley essentially runs an asylum where they try to correct people using an early version of what we would now call electro shock therapy. This is given an eerie twist in the film as the machine that will conduct the treatment looks like a giant face while the place is all cold corridors and big switches, clearly something of an homage to earlier cinematic  Frankenstein.

Dorothy is in what seems considerably more than mild peril, strapped to a table when the power cuts out however she is rescued by a spectral girl. They escape to a river and Dorothy wakes up in a wooden container alongside a chicken called Billina. This chicken by the way can talk and is actually an important character. Animatronic when speaking, though a real bird is sometimes used, its one of several special effects that work extremely well eschewing the Muppet like `soft` puppets in vogue at the time for something more realistic though Jim Henson and co were involved . Denise Bryer who provides the bird’s voice incorporates appropriate poultry noises into the dialogue which works really well.

Dorothy and her feathered friend find Emerald City a ruin, its populace turned to stone. The abandoned streets are run by vandals called Wheelers who skate about in what looks like the most uncomfortable position possible leaning over using elongated arm attachments so they roll about on four wheels. Despite the impracticalities it is a very striking image as they are decked out in colourful clothes and sporting terrifying masks. Possibly inspired by Starlight Express, they are somewhat underutilised in the end. Once inside the palace Dorothy’s journey becomes more contained as she meets the duplicitous Mombi who has different heads she keeps swapping round- as well as a rotund metal robot called Tik Tok who has different functions that require frequent re-winds to keep him going, plus there’s Jack Pumpkinhead whose name sums up his appearance accurately. They also have help from a Gump, a sort of moose whose decapitated head is attached to a sled and ultimately he flies them out using palms as wings. 

Each of these characters come to life with vigour despite their appearances thanks both to the voice and movement artists. Tik Tok is especially endearing as it sways from side to side when walking and resembles a large copper pot. Like the characters in The Wizard of Oz film each represents some personality though this aspect isn't as strongly defined here. This unlikely group eventually find the domain of the Nome King, one of those powerful beings who nonetheless likes to set tasks to give heroes a chance. Here the narrative gets bogged down a bit with the film’s climactic scene possessing none of the tension evident earlier. Try as they might the film makers cannot make what amounts to Dorothy walking round looking at antiques seem as significant as it is.

It is a weird film in its composition. I deliberately didn’t check the date it was made before watching and found myself at first imagining it was from the Sixties or even earlier. The way Dorothy’s farmyard home is presented, the period costumes, even the sound mix evoke those Westerns of old. Yet the special effects are clearly more recent. There is no transformation from colour to black and white this time but what we do have is a grim real world painted in greys and steely skies which could almost be monochrome. The sequences where Dorothy is dropped off at what is clearly an asylum to cure her insomnia and dreams of Oz seem even more contemporary than the Eighties with flexible camera work really exploiting the menacing location.

I suppose how effective you find Dorothy's companions this time depend on suspension of disbelief, though it is often the voice artists who breathe character into what are static masks and heads, especially  Jack. Many of the visuals though take their cue from advancements in the art. The Nome King and his stone minions are presented mostly in Claymation, the technique used similarly in part of the iconic `Sledgehammer` video from around this time. It is impressive how it is mixed with the shots of rocks. The King himself eventually morphs into an actor- Nicol Williamson- plastered in grey make up that is really good even if the transition from computer to costume is jarring.

Making her movie debut as Dorothy, aged nine, is Fairuza Balk and she is very good given a lot of reaction shots.  Jean Marsh perhaps gives it too much gusto while Nicol Williamson is restrained by his standards in dual roles as the Nome king and the Doctor. I find it hard it imagine that such a kindly aunt as portrayed here by Piper Laurie would really hand over her daughter to an institution as she does especially when Dorothy does not seem unhinged. Or for that matter Dorothy being quite so forgiving of that action.

Return to Oz is the only film Walter Murch directed though he was involved in both sound mixing and editing on a number of prestigious productions including  The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and The Unbearable Lightness of Being  and won three Oscars. He seems adept at working the differing tones of Return to Oz but he was almost fired during production until George Lucas (with whom Murch co-wrote THX 1138) intervened. However ultimately the film’s poor public reception at the time discouraged him from any further directing projects. 

The frenetic childishness of the film probably seems awkward forty years on in a tv age where people demand realism  and I'm sure if this was made now the Oz characters would be digitally created. However Return to Oz is inventive, often bizarre, occasionally striking and a curio that is full of ideas.