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…

 

Dream A Little Dream (1989) review

“They gave each other a smile with a future in it.” 
There are good films, bad films, strange films and challenging films.  Dream A Little Dream manages to be all of these. Released in 1989 it is a mixture of comedy, musical and fantasy it is almost impossible to bracket into a genre. It is a fascinating example of a late Eighties movie aimed at younger viewers yet unlikely to engage them due to narrative ambitions above its station. The film was essentially built for teen stars Corey Feldman and Corey Haim who’d already starred together in the actually rather good Licence to Drive and had also appeared in cult classic The Lost Boys. Their images were plastered across teen magazines in the US though in the UK they were virtually unknown. The film also tried to tap into the then weirdly prevalent trend for movies in which young and old swap bodies by way of some fantasy mumbo jumbo though even then it is an atypical example of this sub- genre.