For other uses, see Return to Oz (disambiguation).
Return to Oz
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by
Walter Murch
Screenplay by
Walter Murch Gill Dennis
Based on
The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Produced by
Paul Maslansky
Starring
Nicol Williamson
Jean Marsh
Piper Laurie
Fairuza Balk
Cinematography
David Watkin Freddie Francis (uncredited)
Edited by
Leslie Hodgson
Music by
David Shire
Production companies
Walt Disney Pictures Silver Screen Partners
Distributed by
Buena Vista Distribution
Release date
June 21, 1985 (1985-06-21) (United States)
Running time
113 minutes
Countries
United States United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
$28 million[1]
Box office
$11.1 million (USA)
Return to Oz is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film is an unofficial sequel to the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz, and it is based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century Oz novels, mainly Ozma of Oz (1907). In the plot, an insomniac Dorothy returns to the Land of Oz to find it has been conquered by the wicked Nome King and his accomplice Princess Mombi. Dorothy must restore Oz with her new friends Billina, Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the Gump.
In 1954, Walt Disney Productions bought the film rights to Baum's remaining Oz books to use in the television series Disneyland; this led to the proposed live-action film The Rainbow Road to Oz, which was never completed. Murch suggested making another Oz film in 1980. Disney approved the project as they were due to lose the film rights to the series. Though MGM was not involved in the production, Disney had to pay a large fee to use the ruby slippers created for the 1939 film. Return to Oz fell behind schedule during production, and, following a change of Disney management, Murch was briefly fired.
Return to Oz was released in theaters on June 21, 1985. It performed poorly at the box office, grossing $11.1 million in the United States on a $28 million budget, and received mixed reviews, with critics praising the effects and performances but criticizing the dark content and twisted visuals. However, it performed well outside the US, and has since acquired a cult following from fans of the Oz books who regard it as more faithful to L. Frank Baum's works.[2] It received an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.
^"Disasters Outnumber Movie Hits". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 2013-06-16. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
^Geraghty, Lincoln (2011). American Hollywood. Intellect Books. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-84150-415-5.
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