Revisited: The Wizard of Oz

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Kansas farmgirl Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and farmhands Hunk, Zeke and Hickory, but gets little attention and is told to stay out of the way because the farm incubator has malfunctioned and some of the chickens are dying. Land owner Miss Gulch arrives at the farm demanding that Dorothy’s pet dog Toto be destroyed after he bit her. Miss Gulch then presents with a sheriff’s order that allows her to take Toto, threatening to take away the Gale farm if they don’t comply. Despite the Gales being forced to give him away, Toto escapes and flees back to Dorothy, who, fearing for Toto’s life, decides to run away from home with him. On the road, she meets Professor Marvel, a travelling showman who pretends to foresee Aunt Em falling deathly ill. Dorothy rushes home as a tornado forms nearby. Dorothy’s family take shelter in the storm cellar, but, unable to get inside, Dorothy and Toto run into the house. Dorothy is knocked unconscious by debris, and wakes up to find that the house has been swept up in the tornado and carried into the sky.

After the house lands, Dorothy finds herself in the colorful Land of Oz, meeting Glinda the Good Witch and the Munchkins, who were terrorized by the Wicked Witch of the East until Dorothy’s house crushed her. Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, appears looking for her sister’s Ruby Slippers, only for Glinda to enchant them onto Dorothy’s feet. After the Witch leaves vowing to get the shoes, Glinda suggests to Dorothy she go to the Emerald City and ask the Wizard of Oz to get back home. Dorothy and Toto follow the yellow brick road, meeting three companions on the way – the Scarecrow, Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion who seek a brain, a heart, and courage respectively and accompany Dorothy. They reach the Emerald City but learn the Wizard sees no visitors, but are eventually let in. The Wizard appears as a giant head made from smoke and fire, demanding that they kill the Wicked Witch and bring her broomstick to him in return for granting their wishes.

The group venture out into the haunted forest to get to the witches’ castle and kill the witch, but she sends her flying monkeys to capture Dorothy and Toto. At her castle, the Wicked Witch decides to kill Dorothy to get the slippers, since they couldn’t be removed while Dorothy is still alive. Toto escapes and brings the Scarecrow, Tinman and the Lion to save Dorothy. They are surrounded by the Wicked Witch’s forces. She sets the Scarecrow on fire, but Dorothy puts him out with a bucket of water, splashing the witch and causing her to melt and die, leaving her broomstick, and the Winkies are happy to be free of her cruelty. Dorothy and her friends return to the Emerald City but the Wizard puts off his end of the bargain. Toto pulls aside a curtain, revealing the Wizard to be nothing but a harmless elderly illusionist. However, he gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tinman a clockwork heart and gives the Lion a medal, proving that they had what they wanted all along. When it comes to Dorothy, the Wizard reveals he is also from Kansas himself and offers to take Dorothy home in his hot air balloon.

The Wizard and Dorothy prepare to depart, but Toto chases a cat, causing Dorothy to follow him. However, the Wizard’s balloon takes off, leaving Dorothy and Toto in Oz. Glinda arrives and reveals to Dorothy the Ruby Slippers can grant her the power to return home. After having an emotional farewell with her friends, Dorothy follows Glinda’s instructions, clicking her heels three times and repeating “There’s no place like home.” Dorothy awakens back in Kansas after being knocked out, with her family and Professor Marvel and Hunk, Zeke, and Hickory at her bedside, learning Oz may have been only a dream, but it taught her to value her home and her family

REVIEW:

Next weekend, The Wizard of Oz is being re-released in IMAX 3D in honor of the 75th anniversary of its release. Since I will have my hands tied next weekend and won’t have the chance to check it out, I figured what better time to watch it than now, right?

What is this about?

There’s no place like home for young Dorothy (Judy Garland), who’s been swept away from her farm in Kansas to a wonderland of munchkins, flying monkeys and different-colored horses. She must follow the Yellow Brick Road to the all-knowing Wizard of Oz to find her way home. Along the way, she meets the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley) and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), who help her fend off the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

What did I like?

Color. We start in sepia toned (not black & white) Kansas then are transported to the vibrant, beautiful, Technicolor Land of Oz. The contrast between the two worlds is as different as night and day and really emphasizes the differences between the two realms. This film was made in the year 1938, and 75 years later, the colors still stand out and don’t appear to be dated. That is a true testament to the legacy of this film.

Scope. We’ve all seen old films, right? Some of them look downright cheesy with their special effects, and yet, somehow the size and scope of tis film is almost epic. No wonder it stands as one of the greatest films of all time. Sure, there are places that look fake, but this is 1938, after all, what do you expect, seriously?

Multiple roles. Similar to the stage version of Peter Pan, this film allows for the character to portray more than one role (in the different worlds). The Wizard, Wicked Witch, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, and Tin Man all play dual roles, which I found to be quite intriguing, not to mention that they save on casting!

What didn’t I like?

Acting. I know I’m probably going to get crucified for saying this, but the acting in this is quite atrocious, excluding Margaret Hamilton’s Wicked Witch. The main culprit is a toss-up between Glinda and Dorothy, with the edge going to Dorothy because she’s the main character. Judy Garland has proven to be a capable actress before and definitely after this, but she is stiff and wooden here. The only time she seems to exude any kind of emotion is when she sings “Over the Rainbow” and cries for Auntie Em in the later parts of the film. The rest of the time, she might as well be reading ingredients on a cereal box.

Witches. So, we have two witches, but neither really used their powers. Glinda does a little with the poppies, but that’s about it. Why is it that we can’t get possibly a showdown between the two? Even in Oz: The Great and Powerful they didn’t get it on. Can we please get a witch battle in Oz?!?

The Wizard of Oz is one of those films that flopped when it was released, but went on to become one of the greatest films of all time. Sometimes a film is ahead of its time, and this is one of them. Having said that, there is very little to criticize about here. While it isn’t quite the perfect film, it is pretty close. If you haven’t seen it yet, what’s wrong with you?!? I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend it! This is the very definition of a film you must see before you die!!!

5 out of 5 stars

Return to Oz

PLOT:

The movie’s plot is a combination of L. Frank Baum’s novels Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz, sequels to the novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

It has been six months after the events of The Wizard of Oz and Journey Back to Oz, and Dorothy Gale (Fairuza Balk) cannot stop thinking about the experience and her friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. One night Dorothy sees a shooting star, and the next morning while checking for eggs from her hen Bellina, Dorothy comes across a key that she thinks was sent from Oz on that shooting star. Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) is concerned over Dorothy’s inability to sleep since her return and after talking over their money worries with Uncle Henry (Matt Clark) saying she’s got a loan from her sister, she sends Dorothy to stay overnight at Dr. Worley (Nicol Williamson)’s clinic in Cottonwood Falls to “cure” her by electro-shock therapy. When waiting in her assigned room that night, Dorothy is visited by a mysterious blonde girl (Emma Ridley) who later helps Dorothy escape from the clinic when she reveals that patients have been driven insane by Worley’s treatment. However, they are pursued by Nurse Wilson (Jean Marsh), and the two girls fall into the nearby river; Dorothy manages to climb aboard a chicken coop, but the other girl presumably drowns.

Dorothy awakens to find herself back in Oz with Bellina, who can now talk (Denise Bryer). The two venture across the Deadly Desert and upon entering the nearby forest, they discover a “Lunchpale tree” which confirms that they are in Oz. Exploring further, the pair find themselves at the site where Dorothy entered Oz the first time. She becomes suspicious when the Munchkins fail to appear to welcome her. She discovers that the yellow brick road is destroyed. Worried, Dorothy follows it all the way to the ruins of the Emerald City, which has been deprived of all its emeralds. All its civilians, including the Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion, have also been turned to stone. The Scarecrow, who was King of Oz, is missing. The city is policed with Wheelers, humanoids with wheels instead of hands and feet. They chase Dorothy and Bellina into a alleyway which seems to be a dead end, until Dorothy discovers a lock in one of the walls. Using the key obtained at the beginning of the film, Dorothy and Bellina open the wall and lock themselves into a small room, where they meet the Royal Army of Oz, Tik-Tok, a clockwork robotic man. After hearing his side of the story about what happened, the three come out of the room and make their way to explore, where they’re ambushed by Wheelers. Tik-tok takes care of the Wheelers and holds one of them hostage, allowing Dorothy to ask questions to the Wheeler about what happened. The Wheeler eventually leads them to Princess Mombi’s castle, who is now the ruler of the city. Mombi, who is a witch and has 31 interchangeable heads, explains that the Nome King was behind the destruction of the Emerald City and the kidnapping of the Scarecrow. She takes a liking to Dorothy’s head and plans to lock her in the attic “for a few years until her head is ready”. Dorothy snaps at her and refuses, an angered Mombie then takes Dorothy and Bellina to the attic, where they’re met with Tik-tok attempting to stop Mombi, but runs down at the wrong time.

When locked in the attic, they meet Jack Pumpkinhead, a friendly stick man with a pumpkin for a head. He explains that his “mom” created him to scare Mombi, he was to be destroyed when Mombi decided to experiment on him with her Powder of Life, which brought him to life. This gives Dorothy an idea to escape. Dorothy and Jack restore a wound-down Tik-Tok, who helps Jack build a flying machine using sofas, head of a Gump, a green moose-like animal and some broad leaves picked off a plant. Dorothy steals the Ruby key off Mombi’s torso to cabinet 31, the home of Mombi’s “original head” and the Powder of Life, but wakes up both Mombi’s head and her torso. Dorothy flees back into the attic, where they find the flying machine unfinished because of lack of communication from Tik-tok, whose brain ran down and started talking absolute gibberish. Dorothy brings the Gump to life and the group escapes on it. Mombi wakes up her army of Wheelers and they chase the group from the ground, only for some of them to stumble into the Deadly Desert and turn into sand. They give up the chase and return to Mombi.

After flying all night, the Gump begins to fall apart. Jack loses his head over the side and they later crash-land on the Nome King’s mountain, where they’re met with the Nome King himself. Dorothy is brought to the Nome King’s lair, slowly falling through the air, witnessing all the precious gems that the Nome King owns. He explains to Dorothy that the Scarecrow “stole” the emeralds of the Emerald City, and he only reacted accordingly.

The Nome King takes pity on Dorothy when she cries, with her defending the scarecrow by saying that the emeralds were already there when he became king, so he offers her a chance to set things right. One by one, Dorothy and her friends venture into the King’s ornament room, to search for an ornament that the Scarecrow has been transformed into. They each have three guesses, but if they fail, they themselves become transformed into ornaments, which he failed to mention because “they didn’t ask”. With each failed attempt, the Nome King increasingly becomes more human from his rock-like state. When it’s Tik-tok’s turn to guess, Dorothy and the Nome King begin to talk. He reveals that he is the owner of the Ruby Slippers and that it was them that made it possible for him to conquer the Emerald City. Suddenly, their conversation is interrupted by one of the Nome King servants, who says that Tik-tok has become immobile. Dorothy thinks it’s because his action’s run down. He allows Dorothy to go into the room to wind him up to take her turn as well as his. Before she goes, he leaves some words to tempt her to just leave and she’ll never have to think about Oz again (echoing the same mannerisms as Dr. Worley, earlier on in the story). When she walks in, she finds a room full of ornaments. Eventually, she finds Tik-Tok and goes to wind him up, but finds his action is fine. Tik-Tok reveals it was a cunning plan to lure Dorothy into the room by pretending to be immobile, so she can watch him turn into an ornament to give her some sort of a clue what type of ornament everyone is, but the plan fails.

Meanwhile, during the entire duration of the “game”, Mombi begins journeying to the Nome King’s mountain to inform him that Dorothy Gale has returned and was on her way to the mountain, albeit a bit too late.

Dorothy’s last guess frees the Scarecrow from his enchantment, realizing that all the ornaments that contain her friends are colored green, the colour of emeralds. Dorothy’s friends are restored one by one, except for Tik-Tok. The Nome King becoming less human with each correct guess and becomes more enraged. His anger eventually leaves him to trap Mombi in a jail cell and to take care of the group himself.

A giant Nome King attacks the group. He tries to eat the Gump, but they manage to save his head. Next, he tries to eat Jack, but Bellina, hidden inside Jack’s head, lays an egg which falls down the king’s throat, killing him. Before he dies, he explains that eggs are poisonous to Nomes (which explains why every antagonist in the film set Bellina as their first priority). As he dies, the entire building starts to collapse. After reclaiming the Ruby Slippers, Dorothy wishes for all her friends to escape the mountain and to restore the Emerald City and all its citizens.

They then find themselves in a peaceful field in the moonlight, accompanied by a trapped Mombi. Bellina discovers a medal on the Gump’s antler. Dorothy releases Tik-tok from the medal, stuck inside the ornament still.

The citizens of Oz celebrate Dorothy’s triumph and ask her to become the Queen of Oz, but she declines in favor of returning to Kansas. The blonde girl from the clinic, seemingly drowned earlier in the story, then appears in a mirror behind Dorothy. It is revealed that she is Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz and the mother of Jack, who was sealed away in a mirror by Mombi when the Nome King promised her 30 heads in return for Ozma’s imprisonment. Ozma ascends the throne of Oz and Dorothy is returned to her world, where she is found by Toto, Uncle Henry, Aunt Em and a small search party. Aunt Em reveals that Dr. Worley’s clinic burned down during the night and he died trying to save his machines. A jail cart travels by, with Nurse Wilson, looking suspiciously like Mombi, imprisoned inside.

The film concludes with Dorothy’s new house being finished. Ozma and Bellina appearing in her bedroom mirror, hinting that her adventures in Oz may not be just a dream.

REVIEW:

Most, if not all, of us are more than familiar with the story of The Wizard of Oz. I’m sure we’ve all see the movie with Judy Garland. Return to Oz is not an official sequel, but it does pick up a few years after the original. However, with the exception fo the ruby slippers, that’s where the continuity ends.

The good…this film was released in 1985, over 50 yrs after the original film, so a sequel at that time kind of defeats the purpose. I like that they didn’t just make this a sequel, but rather a whole different story with little hints at the story, but following more with the books. It makes the experience that much better. The Nome King sequences, as well as the appearance of his  right hand man, really are something to see, and rival that of effects you see today. I really liked that she’s more the right age, and that the characters look more ht way they are described in the book. It jsuts makes more sense.

The bad…let’s face it, this just isn’t that intersting of a picture. I didn’t fall asleep, but I did find myself looking at my watch more than a few times. I don’t know what it was, but something just made this thing not capture my interest. When I saw the name Henson attached to to film, I was expecting lots of fantastical creatures, unfortunately, I didn’t get that. The creatures, I think, would have made it, of course, there really aren’t any creatures in here to begin with, but I still expected something more fantastical. Maybe there’s something in the book that I haven’t read, but curiosity has the better of me, and I can’;t help but wonder how the Scarecrow became king of the Emerald City

A young Fairua Balk stars as Dorothy. If I wouldn’t have seen her name in the credits, I would not have known it. Wonder what happened to her? Actually, Tik Tok is the best character. I can’t help but wonder if Ke$ha used his name for her hit song, tor vice versa.

Sure I’d love to sit here and write a review that gushes about this picture, but I just can’t do that. Its not that this film is perfection, far from it, but its also not totally horrible. Just one of those pictures that doesn’t really do anything for me.

3 out of 5 stars