6. Return To Oz
In the month where we have been given a cinematic return to Oz, it seems like an opportune moment to look at the first movie to do this, the accurately titled Return to Oz. Any chance of the film being a commercial success was more or less sabotaged by the studio, who, for reasons known only to them, promoted it as a light hearted return of Dorothy and co to the Emerald City. It was anything but. A dark fantasy positing the idea that Dorothys family wouldnt have believed her version of events from the first movie and therefore decide to place her in a creepy gothic mental institution where she is subjected to electric shock thearpy. The opening scenes make clear all is not well in the world of Dorothy and she will certainly not be singing and skipping down the yellow brick road anytime soon. Those cinema goers who brought along their own kids, trying to relive some of their childhood memories of Oz, were left bemused, their children destined for terrifying nightmares, as scenes involving wheelers and head changing witches called Mombi played out upon the screen. For those familiar with the books this adaptation is probably more faithful than the original film but the critics and movie goers, based on the studios promotional campaign, were expecting a colourful MGM extravaganza. There are some familiar traits this movie shares with the original; scarecrow does eventually appear and the device of having the same actors appear as different characters in both Kansas and Oz is repeated with the hospital porters transforming into the wheelers and the terrific Jean Marsh playing Nurse Wilson and Mombi. This movie really plays with the concept of what is real and what is not - is all this the mad ramblings of a disturbed child or a genuine magical kingdom? Are we supposed to take the whole thing as an allegory for lost childhood or just a very dark kids film? Either way it is an enchanting film, for its oddness and for its defying of expectations. It also features some great effects and a talking chicken, whats not to love?