response 57 of 58:

Sep 10 14:02 UTC 2007

Re-watched "Return to Oz" the other night on DVD.  It was better than I
remembered - visually dazzling, with mood very close to Baum's writing
and a look that closely mimics John R. Neill's illustrations for the
series.  (Neill didn't illustrate "The Wizard of Oz" but did all the
sequels from the early 1900s into the 1940s.)

The story re-arranges plot details from a couple of Baum's Oz books and
throws in some new material.  Basically, Dorothy - home in Kansas after
her first visit to Oz - is swept away in a flash flood and finds herself
back in Oz.  The yellow brick road has crumbled and the Emerald City is
in ruins, its inhabitants turned to stone.  The story describes how
Dorothy and various friends she picks up along the way solve the mystery
of how this happened and restore Oz to its former glory.   

The film features a number of Baum's characters - Dorothy's Aunt Em
(played by Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry, Jack Pumpkinhead, Belina the
talking hen, the Tik Tok Man, Mombi the witch, Princess Ozma, the Nome
King (Nicole Williamson), and the Gump (a flying sofa with a moose
head).  Some very cool claymation special effects.  Quite a tour de
force and a lot of fun, although it's probably too intense and scary for
very young children.