The Corridor Crew comes together to praise a now-infamous 1985Wizard of Ozmovie for its combination of stop-motion and VFX work to bring one of its new creatures to life. L. Frank Baum’s fantasy novel was first brought to the screen in 1910, but it’s the pivotal 1939The Wizard of Ozwhich is most celebrated to this day.The Wizard of Ozstars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, a young girl who is transported to the magical world and tasked alongside three fantastical friends and her dog, Toto, to vanquish the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) in order to return home.
Ever since its release, there have been multiple retellings and reimaginings of Oz across television and film. These include features made to continue the story, like 1972’sJourney Back to Oz,to explorations of how the world became what it is, like 2013’sOz The Great and Powerful, which explores the origins of the Wizard. 2024 has seen the release ofWicked, a long-awaited adaptation of the stage showof the same name that tells a more sympathetic tale of how Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
Return To Oz Is A Creatively Dark Sequel
The 1985 Movie Highlights The Less Humanoid Residents Of Oz
AsWickedhits theaters,Corridor Crewshines a light on another visit to Oz with 1985’sReturn to Oz. Released by the Walt Disney Company, the movie is an unofficial sequel to the original movie that sees Dorothy (Fairuza Balk) return to an Oz in distress and under the subjugation of the Nomes and their king, forcing her to work with a new group of magical misfits to save Oz. With a conflicted reception,Return to Ozunderperformed upon release but has since gathered a cult following for its impact on young audiences.
First focusing on the introduction of the movie’s antagonists, the Nomes, Sam highlighted how the face materializes in a rock. The effect uses a unique form of stop-motion where individually-sculpted pieces were created as opposed to using a fully functioning puppet. This allowed for a a consistent look of stone while a projector was used to evoke firelight.
This is stop motion, in fact, you could this is called claymation, but this is this is actually claymation. When I was rewatching itm what struck me about this is that this is something unlike anything else. When you normally see these types of stop motion things normally you see like, hey, here’s a character we’re just seeing pieces moving and they’re animated like this, but this is like a completely different approach where it’s not just about taking a piece and moving it one frame.
We’re talking about like individual sculpts and additive and subtractive layers to create motion, you know, it’s not like they can just move the rock up and down yeah if you look at it the rock isn’t moving up and down, that’s not what they’re trying to show us. They’re showing the rock actually transforming every frame.
Sam would then highlight the complicated costumes of Tik-Tok (Sean Barrett), which required a performer to contort themself in a complicated ball shape to match his proportions, using levers to operate the arms.
There’s a dude he’s in there like this really, and he’s got two levers like this, and he does this and he’s like he’s like this. He’s like this in a ball with two levers and he walks around like this, and he squeezes the levers to move the arms no his head’s down… So, he has to basically do this the whole time with his head curled down in that position and you may see the little left- see those silver levers there, those articulate the arms, and then for the head is, it’s radio controlled.
Finally, Sam highlighted the process of bringing the headless Mombi (Jean Marsh, Sophie Ward, and Fiona Victory), which involved the actresses carefully acting out the motions of each head and body’s motions before carefully designed costumes and matting obscured their bodies.
Return To Oz Is A Reimagining Worth Revisiting
The Unofficial Sequel Is A Darker Take On The Lore
The world of Oz is one that has offered filmmakers and storytellers to addtheir own new takes onThe Wizard of Oz. From more sympathetic explorations of how the power players of the world became who they are, to sequels that explored differing alternate continuations, to even retellings featuring other pop-culture icons such asThe MuppetsandTom & Jerry. As such, each movie brings something unique and original to the mythos, even though the quality may differ.
Every Wizard Of Oz Movie, Ranked Worst To Best (Including Wicked)
L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz inspired many movie adaptations of the celebrated novel. But from animation to live-action, which one is the best?
Return to Ozis no exception to this, as, despite a mixed critical response condemning it to become a box-office bomb, its bleak, somewhat dystopian reimagining of the world has been celebrated as stylistically distinct and faithful to the tone of its source material. As such, thoughWickedmay be returning audiences to a brighter side of the Yellow Brick Road, audiences may be keen to see howReturn to Oz’spainstakingly dedicated effects add a darker layer upon hearing Corridor Crew’s praise.
Return to Oz
Cast
Return to Oz is a dark fantasy film directed by Walter Murch, serving as a sequel to the classic 1939 Wizard of Oz. Released in 1985, the story follows Dorothy, played by Fairuza Balk, who discovers the magical land of Oz is now in ruins and must save it from a new and sinister threat. The film mixes adventure with a haunting atmosphere, offering a unique twist on L. Frank Baum’s beloved series.
