Return to Oz is an extremely weird film, the atmosphere is so bleak I'm surprised it even tries to link to the original movie, and many of the themes on show are very adult and not for children. I'm confused to think why Disney studios thought this would have an audience!
Where the film excels the most is the almost post apocalyptic feel I get from it. The Emerald City is in ruins and its residents are either dead or turned to stone. The visuals are fantastic, gothic, and dark for a lot of the film, which I absolutely love, although the plot sometimes doesn't match the darkness of the tone and visuals and often tries to insert childish humour or silly jokes in an otherwise extremely serious film; like it's trying to appeal to both adults and children and sort of reaches a weird middle point where it's not able to decide which direction it fully wants to go in.
The plot is fine, the music is decent and the costumes are actually quite great, but there are some elements that drag out too long or are not explained well enough.
Fairuza Balk's Dorothy is very solid and another standout actor is Nicol Williamson, who plays the evil "Nome King" to perfection. As well as his other role as the villainous Doctor in Dorothy's real world.
6/10: An extremely weird film, with some excellent visuals that deserve praise. But a plot that (whilst average and not bad) drags, and an uneven pace with an annoying sidekick (why pick an irritating chicken over Tonto?!) All in all, a good film.
Where the film excels the most is the almost post apocalyptic feel I get from it. The Emerald City is in ruins and its residents are either dead or turned to stone. The visuals are fantastic, gothic, and dark for a lot of the film, which I absolutely love, although the plot sometimes doesn't match the darkness of the tone and visuals and often tries to insert childish humour or silly jokes in an otherwise extremely serious film; like it's trying to appeal to both adults and children and sort of reaches a weird middle point where it's not able to decide which direction it fully wants to go in.
The plot is fine, the music is decent and the costumes are actually quite great, but there are some elements that drag out too long or are not explained well enough.
Fairuza Balk's Dorothy is very solid and another standout actor is Nicol Williamson, who plays the evil "Nome King" to perfection. As well as his other role as the villainous Doctor in Dorothy's real world.
6/10: An extremely weird film, with some excellent visuals that deserve praise. But a plot that (whilst average and not bad) drags, and an uneven pace with an annoying sidekick (why pick an irritating chicken over Tonto?!) All in all, a good film.
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