Return to Oz
Directed by Walter Murch
- adventure
- family
- fantasy
The story
Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.
What it’s like
Its Kansas scenes are washed in cold, clinical light: fluorescent hospital corridors, pale tiled rooms, and a flat, grey sense of confinement that gives way to Oz, where the colours turn saturated and the sets feel handmade, full of practical puppetry, mechanical creatures, and crumbling, overgrown ruins. The camera tends to hold on strange, uneasy details, and the score leans on eerie, unsettled textures rather than bright melody. The vibe is somber and eerie with flickers of wonder, a dreamlike fairy tale that feels older and more haunted than its bright predecessor. Pacing is episodic and sometimes slow, with long stretches of wandering broken by sudden bursts of threat. Emotionally it follows a frightened girl learning to trust her own courage, with the friendships she finds carrying the warmth. Intensity is moderate: electroshock treatment in the opening, menacing villains, and frightening chases and creatures, but no gore and little explicit violence. Best for families with older children, or adults who want a darker, melancholy fantasy with a nostalgic edge, to watch on a quiet evening.
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