Return to Oz

This was the first RANKIN/BASS TV Special, which originally aired on the NBC-TV GENERAL ELECTRIC FANTASY HOUR in February, 1964. It was the first also for writer ROMEO MULLER and I have his original type written script for this one! GENERAL ELECTRIC had a nice tie-in CHARM BRACELET from the special! If you bought an iron, you got the extra! The animation is derivitive of the GREAT UPA style that came out of the late 1950's and early 1960's and was designed by TONY PETERS out of the RANKIN/BASS New York offices. This is also the first time RANKIN/BASS Composer MAURY LAWS got involved with a RANKIN/BASS Project and became Musical Supervisor by doing the orchestrations. MAURY will be taking the RANKIN/BASS Music out on the road during CHRISTMAS 2007 and hitting all of the major symphonies! I will be CREATIVE DIRECTOR on this traveling RANKIN/BASS magical musical! Look for us at a venue near you!

This one hour, made for TV special is Dorothy's animated return to the land of OZ. Although now 40 years old, the film will delight young fans of OZ and bring back memories to those who remember this newly refound, classic animated story. Dorothy returns to Oz (via an fruit tree this time) and once again must battle the Witch of the West, once a puddle now a witch again, for the ownership of the Silver Slippers (no rubies here folks). The animation is typical of it's time; stylized and sparse with muted tones. Still, it's well done and features some great voice work on the part of the cast. Like it's more famous inspiration, the film features some well crafted music for Dorothy and company to sing. A definate treat for young audiences that deserves to be refound by adult fans of the legend of the Land of Oz.

I actually enjoyed the 1964 atmosphere of this sequel even more than the live action Disney movie made 21 years later. Videocraft (later known as Rankin Bass) have employed some excellent songs, and brought back several characters from "The Wizard of Oz" in a new adventure.Don't let the primitive animation put you off. It's truly part of the charm.This feature runs around 50 min and follows from Videocraft's "Tales of the Wizard of Oz" series. PLEASE FANS. GET A FORUM GOING TO REQUEST THAT "TALES OF THE WIZARD OF OZ" IS RELEASED ON DVD.And while we're at it, can we please have the 1987 CINAR Films Wizard of Oz series released in full, rather than the 4 feature cartoons which are just heavily cut versions of the series?Anyway, grab this DVD from "used and new" while you can,Peter

I love it it was I wach when I was a small kid

This was a movie I watched as a kid and loved it! I looked for it for several years, but either couldn't find it or it was on VHS only. I hope to share my love for this movie with my children in the future.

Ugly animation and bland character designs galore! The animation looks worse than even the worst Hanna Barbera Cartoons! The Story is just a rehash of the Wizard of Oz only less creative and unnecessary songs! The most aggravating aspect of this movie is that it is made by Rankin Bass, I would argue that this is the worst of their offerings. I loved their Christmas movies and specials. Just pretend this unimaginative dreck doesn't exist you'll thank yourself for it.

And after having seen it again, well, I finally remembered why. I would recommend this to a much younger crowd, but I dislike the animation and the story was rather flat. The Witch of the West returns and Dorothy must stop her again to save the Wizard and to help her friends who had been turned back to their former selves when the Witch destroyed the artifacts the wizard had given them. The Witch is after the silver slippers because her own magic was destroyed and she had to borrow some temporary magic that is due to run out soon. while this could been done a bit better, I could do without the shenanigans of the flying monkeys, and the Wizard's double speak. Give this one a skip. There are other ways Dorothy makes a return but this is not one of the better ones.

I saw some really great RETURN TO OZ cartoons on YouTube and fell in love with them. Quickly I looked up the DVD on Amazon and purchased it. However when it came in the mail I was surprised to find the same animation style, but instead of hilarious characters in short episodes, it was a whole movie.The animation and voices are good, but the whole sequel is a bit forced. I wasn't crazy about the songs either. Kids will probably like it, but what do they know.