Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Osmosis Iron This trip back to Oz is great, but it's not as "happy go lucky" you might expect... The older Dorothy has been through some bad times and so is Oz. The creatures, environments and overall vibe is noticeably darker. It's a cool contrast and works well, the new characters both good and evil look great and have interesting personalities. A great fantasy story for sure, just maybe not for the really tiny kids!

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.

lcopela1 I recall seeing this in 1985 and, thankfully, forgot it. Not only was it beneath Disney's standards but it, also, made hash out of the L. Frank Baum books. They saw fit to combine two OZ books namely The Marvelous Land of OZ and Ozma of Oz and did justice to neither.The characters of Mombi, Jack Pumpkinhead, the Gump and the Wheelers are found in the Marvelous Land of Oz. In this book Tip is the male protagonist. Mombi is an evil sorceress who indeed uses the Powder of Life to animate Jack. AS the book unfolds, it is revealed that Tip is actually Princess Ozma whose throne the Wonderful Wizard usurped transformed as a babe by Mombi.The character of Tik-Tok is first introduced in the book Ozma of OZ. Later, he is included in Tik-Tok of Oz which features, as well, the Nome King. I will let the readers of this review peruse those for themselves.Needless to say, the combining of the multiple stories is reflected in the final outcome. It does neither justice to L. Frank Baum's works nor to the prowess of the Disney studios of the time. I've read that the movie is dark. No, it isn't. It is laughable.

MartinHafer "Return to Oz" is not the sort of film I'd normally watch. However, my daughter insisted I needed to see it simply because the movie was so incredibly dark and child-unfriendly. This had my curiosity piqued--and I finally got around to seeing this film.Soon after the film started, I saw just how dark it was. In this semi- sequel to "The Wizard of Oz", it picks up several weeks or months after the previous film. However, continuity and realism is the key--the Gale family home is NOT magically restored like in the previous movie but WAS destroyed in the storm. As a result, Dorothy's uncle has PTSD! But even worse, when Dorothy regales her aunt with her stories of Oz, Auntie Em thinks Dorothy has lost her mind. Eventually, she takes Dorothy to an ultra-creepy clinic where a psychiatrist is planning on giving her shock treatment to stop these delusions!! Just after Dorothy is strapped down and she's about to receive a bazillion volts of electricity, a little girl shows up and saves her--and whisks her magically back to Oz.Oz has changed a lot since Dorothy left. The Nome King and Mombi (who are Oz incarnations of the evil psychiatrist and his nurse) have destroyed everything and the Emerald city is in ruins. So, it's up to Dorothy and some creepy new friends to right everything and make the kingdom a happy one once again.If this doesn't sound like a good film for your kids, you are correct. It's a film I would never dream of showing to younger kids--this would be like child abuse. But, for older and more cynical folks, it's a neat re-imagining of the books. However, there IS one major problem regardless--and reason I disliked the film. Dorothy's companion from home is NOT Toto (who is a Border Terrier in this film instead of a Cairn) but a super-annoying chicken. The voice is just awful and the comments are very often obvious and banal. I truly hated everything about this character--even if she did, inexplicably, help to save the day. I'd have just roasted her!!Also, because Kansas is so dull and awful, why in the heck did Dorothy want to return?! She MIGHT have gotten shock treatment or been lobotomized!!!