I grew up watching Return to Oz, but aside from the special effects being a little apparently outdated, I find it still a lovely film to watch. One of my sisters had all of the books that Frank L. Baum had wrote in the "Oz" series, and she would explain what was going on and so forth and so on. It is actually a rather remarkable and complex world that the author weaved together. Despite there being no "big names" attached to the film, I think they did a rather excellent job with casting. I love the characters, with Tick-Tock and Jack Pumpkinhead being some of my most favorite, although Belina the chicken is quite hilarious as well. If you haven't seen the film or haven't a clue what it is about, think of it as a bit of time after The Wizard of Oz for Dorothy, and a long time for the people in Oz. She comes back to discover everything has been destroyed and all of the people in Oz turned to stone by the Gnome King, who has taken captive the Scarecrow in his mountain. Along the way Dorothy makes new friends and comes across some oddities. I don't know about the rest of you, but there was something about fantasy films made in the 80's that really made them seem like genuine fantasy films. Now everything is either so....tame or so violently extreme; for some reason adults/studio owners believe that all family films have to be "Dinseyfied" that there can be no sense of darkness to them like several 80's fantasy films had (Krull, The Black Hole, & Something Wicked This Way Comes to name a few). The latest Disney made "Oz" film has moments of darkness, but is replete with so much gooey goodness that it takes away from the real danger of what is going on. I liked that film, but there was something really missing. Guillermo del Toro is truly a man who understands fantasy film making, and I wish Disney or someone who has the ability would let him sink his teeth into the Oz world. So I'm getting better thank goodness, or rather I think that I am. I have so much going on though right now between the job, writing, graduate school, personal life stuff, and whatever else comes my way. It's irritating to not be able to find the time to do everything that I want to do. That's all for now I think. Editing takes up so much time, that I was able to do much of else tonight besides the film. That will soon be done with though. Good night and good luck everyone; the weekend is almost here!Return to Oz trailer (not the best depiction of the film, but there you have it)
Saving Mr. Banks trailer (this film looks incredible!)
