Maidexpl Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Blueghost I remember Siskel and Ebert trashing this movie, saying how dark it was and all that. After seeing it for the first time I'm not really sure what to say about it.It's certainly not the same kind of Oz film with Garland, Bolger and gang, and there certainly aren't any musical numbers is in it. The characters look like those from the old classic Oz book covers, and that's about all can be said in terms of characters.Technically it was well shot. There's a kind of seasonal or Fall visual look to it, lots of overcast and diffused lighting, even at the end. The little girl that plays Dorothy certainly doesn't look like Garland, but seems to do a pretty good job with her role.I think the director wanted this film to appeal to both boy's and girls, and so he made a film that put Dorothy in a lot of dangerous situations with potentially scary adversaries. Did he succeed? I don't know, you'd have to ask anyone who was a pre-teen male at the time. All in all it's an interesting effort. I think there's a more uplifting film to be made. One without all the hints at electroshock therapy in the beginning, and perhaps something a little more grand in scope, and again, perhaps a little lighter in tone in terms of both visuals and story execution. If you have any concerns about your kids seeing it, watch it first while they're at school, and then decide for yourself. I think they'll be fine with it, but again I think it could have been a better film.Just me.

Jackson Booth-Millard Forty six years had passed since the classic musical The Wizard of Oz was released, and Disney decided it was time for there to be a sequel, since there were the books to base a story on, but with some rather significant differences. Basically it has been six months since Dorothy Gale (introducing The Craft's Fairuza Balk) and her dog Toto were transported from Kansas to the magical land of Oz somewhere over the rainbow, and she cannot sleep thinking about it, and this is worrying Auntie Em (Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark). Since they are concerned for her, talking about imaginary places and people so much she is taken to a mental hospital for electro-shock treatment, but with another mysterious girl she manages to escape going down river in a chicken coup. After surviving some rough waters Dorothy wakes up in the land of Oz, and the chicken Billina (Mak Wilson, voiced by Denise Bryer) is talking, but the land has been destroyed, including the Yellow Brick Road, Munchkin City and the Emerald City, and she finds her friends the Cowardly Lion (John Alexander) and the Tin Man (Deep Roy) have turned to stone. Exploring the ruins she finds a clockwork mechanical man named Tik-Tok (Tim Rose and Michael Sundin, voiced by Sean Barrett), who tells her that the king of Oz, her friend the Scarecrow (Justin Case) has been captured by The Nome King (Nicol Williamson), who destroyed the land. Dorothy, Billina, Tik-Tok and new friends Jack Pumpkinhead (Stewart Larange, voiced by Brian Henson) and Gump (Stephen 'Steve' Norrington, voiced by Lyle Conway) are now on a journey to try and save the land and the people turned to stone. As they journey, avoiding the Deadly Desert and heading for the Nome King's mountain and domain, The Nome King himself, a rock creature, appears and explains that he kidnapped the Scarecrow as he stole emeralds from him to build the Emerald City. He has turned the Scarecrow into an ornament, and the Nome King, who has also taken the Ruby Slippers, gives each of them the opportunity to guess which of the hundreds in a room it is, Dorothy correctly guesses after spotting a green ornament. The Nome King in anger tries to eat the friends, and in panic Billina lays an egg which is thrown into the monster's mouth, eggs are poisonous to Nomes and he crumbles, the Ruby Slippers are returned, the land is restored and everyone turned to stone are freed. In the end the girl from the mental hospital appears, it is actually Princess Ozma (Emma Ridley), Jack's creator and the true ruler of Oz, Dorothy is sent home but is promised to return whenever she wishes, and she is asked to keep the existence of the magical land a secret. Also starring Jean Marsh as Nurse Wilson and Mombi the Witch, Sophie Ward as Mombi II and Fiona Victory as Mombi III. Balk is likable as the little and younger Dorothy, certainly not as memorable as Judy Garland but not bad, and the new characters introduced as her companions are sweet, I certainly see that this film has a darker side, and this is not a musical like previously, I agree the animation for faces in rocks and Claymation is impressive, this is easy to digest entertainment, a fun family fantasy film. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Effects, Visual Effects. Worth watching!

Hollywood_Yoda "Return to Oz" was the Disney Company's first attempt at a sequel or prequel to the classic 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz." It resembles nothing of the MGM classic and is almost no comparison in regards to achievement or style. Nonetheless the film has been endured as a family-friendly version of Oz and has achieved cult status. "Return to Oz" is the black sheep of the Oz film family in this writer's eyes.In honor of Roger Ebert, who passed earlier this week, I would give this film one thumbs up, as it sparked my interest enough to watch it, but not enough to take it seriously after seeing the 1939 classic it is a sequel of. It has a hint of Disney magic, but nothing full flair like many Disney adaptations today, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" or the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. However, "Return to Oz" does build on a classic and that is why it is still remembered today.I was only glad to hear that Disney Corp had decided to make "Oz the Great and Powerful" as a prequel to the 1939 classic. May it stand the test of time like "The Wizard of Oz" has for many generations to come.

Gavin Cresswell (gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297) After having watched the 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz", I heard that Hollywood made a sequel a few years later in the 80s and unlike the original, which was owned by MGM, this was owned by Disney. I first watched it when I was 14 years old and I seemed to be a bit impressed by it. OK, it's not as strong as the original due to it's flaws, but it's a very good sequel and a very underrated one at that.First of all, I like how the story doesn't repeat the original and it's darker tone is represented well throughout the film, but aside from it's decent character development, it does derive itself from two books of the Oz series "Land of Oz" and "Ozma of Oz". The script does have it's problems with several scenes that were completely cut.Flaws aside, everything is done perfectly. The cinematography is brilliant, the stop motion effects on the Nomes, although dated back then, are splendid, the scenery is beautiful, the costumes and make-up on the new characters including the villain Mombi, the Nome King, Jack the Pumpkinhead, and others are perfect. The direction from editor Walter Murch is solid and builds a lot of tense and atmosphere to the darker tone of the film; the music from David Shire is pretty good too. The best part goes to the cast of actors. Fairuza Balk did a fantastic job portraying a much younger Dorothy (don't get me wrong. Judy Garland's role as Dorothy was timeless), Jean Marsh is a menacing Mombi, Brian Henson is a wonderful sidekick Jack the Pumpkinhead and Nicol Williamson is a frightening Nome King.Overall, Return to Oz isn't as excellent as "The Wizard of Oz", but I can see why this got a cult following over the past few years and I would recommend this to those who haven't seen it.