Well it managed to take only 46 years before any sort of sequel was released. With the rights of the Oz books now a Disney property, taking the helm was Walter Murch on his directorial debut. This is a man known for being one of the best editors and sound mixers in the industry. So opening your directing account with the first Oz film since the MGM musical classic is quite a daunting task. With Murch now in his late 70's, it is likely for this to be the only film he was a director for, which for fans of this film like me is mind-boggling.
It's 1985 release saw critics and audiences slamming this film for not being a musical, nothing like its predecessor and being too dark and scary for kids. It was also a financial flop as it didn't even make up half of its budget in the box office sales. Apparently, the film did well in Japan. My guess would be for its visual style.
So despite a decade that contained successful dark fantasy films such as Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story and The Dark Crystal, this one just didn't seem to sit well with the majority of cinema-goers.
With the studio even firing Murch during production due to the darker tone he decided to go for, there's plenty of evidence to suggest that this was not the right move. But there was definitely a demographic for it. We just didn't quite know it yet. Murch did get reinstated during production, as it took several of his colleagues including close friends George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola to convince the studio.
I think my first encounter with this film was when I was about 8 or 9 years old, and my child-minder had a recording of it. Even though I could tell it was strange, scary and totally different from the original. The magic of the story and its characters drew me in for a fantasy adventure that I couldn't get tired of watching. Also during this time, the BBC showed it once or twice a year. I wasn't aware that this film was hard to find on VHS for a period of time, the recording I did from one of the BBC showings had me watching it multiple times throughout my childhood.
Those showings on the BBC looks to have been the gateway for the cult following it now has. As well as the emergence of the internet, having that gateway of discovering this feature has given it a second life. That cult following has gradually grown more and more as the years go on. Several fan-made documentaries have been made about their love for the film including the perfectly titled 'The Joy That Got Away'. More fan-made documentaries are still being made.
So why would I and others consider this to be a masterpice?
Well, unlike the 1939 version where the studio changed a lot of what was in the books, this was more faithful. Murch and his team picked certain elements from two or three of L. Frank Baum's novels. The only thing that wasn't part of the books that Murch wanted to include in his story, was the ruby slippers. In the books, Dorothy had silver slippers. But to make the most of new Technicolor process, MGM thought ruby would give it a more striking look. So Disney paid a fee in order to use this for the 1985 sequel.
Speaking of Dorothy, the casting of this iconic character was given to a much younger actor than Judy Garland that was closer to the age of the Dorothy from the books. That introduces us to Fairuza Balk. Some of you may know that name from the late 90's fantasy horror The Craft. This was Balk's first ever role in a feature film and was only 10 years old during filming.
What's great about her performance is her level of maturity and sympathy that perfectly matches the tone. A lot of child actors can have come off as annoying, wooden or over-the-top. But Balk showed us all she has great range and had wisdom far beyond her years.
Other performances that are worth mentioning, are Jean Marsh and Nicol Williamson. Marsh shows her experience in this film and is wonderfully haunting and is the cause for a scene in the film that still terrifies me to this day.
As for Williamson, he gives us a villain that like Thanos you can definitely relate or understand his motives. Williamson managed to incorporate a certain type of sinister humor to the role whilst also having the ability to completely switching to being pure evil if he doesn't get his way.
I will say that the character of Bilina who is Dorothy's animal companion from the real world can be annoying sometimes and is one of the few downfalls for me. But the importance of her in the story somewhat makes up for it.
It's clear to see that it was most definitely a brave decision for Murch to go for a more serious and dystopian view to the world of Oz. But just because the tone to a kids film is dark and bleak doesn't mean its bad. It's easy to forget that kids have been scared by the Wicked Witch and the flying monkeys in The Wizard Of Oz for decades. One perfect companion piece to this film would be Coraline. Yes, it's pretty dark and twisted. But it is a rich story full of engaging characters and wonderful imagination. Also, another film that came out in the late 2000's that would be another strong companion piece is Pan's Labyrinth. It's dark fantasy nature along with the mature themes could make another workable double bill.
It plays out in similar ways to The Wizard Of Oz. The land of Oz reflects Dorothy's emotions and situation, there are characters or objects we see in the opening act that are somewhat mirrored in Oz and the adventure structure of the story is almost identical. Plus, the way they executed the connections between the real world and Oz are very clever. Some are so subtle that I continue to discover more on multiple viewings.
It covers themes of PTSD, recovery and the struggles of growing up in an incredibly relatable way. Those themes are also utilised in a way that leaves parts of the story open for debate that you can definitely find a plausible explanation for both sides of the argument.
The strongest of all the film positives for me is David Shire's score. The style really brings out the sadness as well as the happiness of Oz during the film. The heavy use of strings makes it stand out and has become one of my favourite scores of all-time. The piece of music used for the very end always makes me sad knowing that the film is over and I have to go back to the real world.
The practical effects such as the animatronics and claymation are of very high quality, impressive to see on screen and looks as real as any other living thing. It's a shame that the studio have never cleaned it up for a remastered bluray version as seeing this aspect of the film is worth watching with a sharper and cleaner look.
This is film made with passion, with a lot of heart as well as emotion that is helped by the score to give it some extra weight. For a directorial debut, Murch does a fantastic job of keeping it together and never going off the rails. Also, his production crew give us a wonderful and imaginative visual style of the land of Oz.
Yes it's very dark and scary. But it's magical touch, well paced story, exciting action and strong characters make it a highly memorable watch and has become one of my top 100 films of all-time. When parents are criticizing family films being scary, don't forget, kids like to be scared to a certain degree. It helps with them understanding emotions when growing up and there are those demographics at whatever age that get a real adrenaline rush of being scared or being in anticipation of seeing something scary. Plus I feel the film does a good job of balancing the scariness with humor quickly after each moment to soften the blow.
If you're reading this and are tempted to discover or re-discover this film and see what all the fuss is about, then I have to say that I'm not expecting you to instantly see it as I do. If you discover it for the first time as an adult and fall in love with it, that's fantastic. But I feel seeing it as a slightly older kid is probably the perfect time to be introduced to this.
It will be hard for some people to get into a film that is totally different from the 1939 original that practically everyone has grown up with. But I and a growing number of others strongly feel that Return To Oz deserves that second look.
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