Read-Along with Return to Oz

We now come to the next section in seeing how "Return to Oz" is adapted from film (back) to book for merchandise tie-in.   Here we have a Read-Along, whether it was with records or tape cassettes.

This is not the only Read-Along treatment, however, considering the scarcity of that other one, I may devote a post to that.  But for for let's focus on this one.

Like many other books that told the film's story, these pages were a condensed version using photographs instead of making new illustrations - which isn't a bad thing because there are some rarely seen images here.

The books are both square shaped with the Tape Cassette being not as wide as the Record, allowing the pictures inside to have a bit more imagery shown and seen on the furthest edge of the pages.
And yes, it's possible the covers have a slightly different tint to their colouring, depending on how they were printed (or exposed to conditions on shelf).

The voices, including a Narrator, are performed by a small cast of British-sounding sound-alikes, the best being a girl who sounds a lot like Fairuza Balk!

This is actually a good and nice short adaptation of the film, but with subtle changes to the context that many people wouldn't notice:
* Billina is described as Dorothy's pet
* Aunt Em does mention taking Dorothy to see a doctor, but Doctor Worley is not mentioned by name or even actually acknowledged (but he is in a photo).  It is Nurse Wilson who gets the attention, who straps Dorothy to a table and "a huge electric machine" - the lightning allows a blonde girl to suddenly free Dorothy and escape with her into the storm.
* No mention of finding the old farmhouse (or a lunch-pail tree, but it its pick is seen in photo), just the broken yellow brick road which leads to the ruined Emerald City - there Dorothy encounters the Wheelers, the Head saying how "the Nome King rules now" and that they should take Dorothy to Mombi because "you know of the Scarecrow" - Dorothy escapes them.
* Tik-Tok is still under His Majesty the Scarecrow's instructions to wait for Dorothy, he somehow knows of Princess Mombi and takes Dorothy to her, without fighting the Wheelers (this moment uses an image of the two characters underground, not in the hidden chamber).  Tik-Tok also knows that the Nome King hates chickens and hides Billina in Jack's head when they arrive on the Mountain later.
* While it is established that the Nome King has the Ruby Slippers ("Things have changed since you were last here, Dorothy.  Did you know you left something behind?"), there is nothing about his transformation - he apparently only offers the game for DOROTHY to play, but if she guesses wrong then she and her friends will be turned into ornaments just like the Scarecrow.
Naturally, Dorothy makes a lucky guess "The pincushion! It's green - like the Emerald City!"
* Oddly, despite the image of a GIANT Mountainous Nome King, he is written to "burst angrily through the door" - there is no mention of Mombi following Dorothy to warn him, being caged or any of her demise/punishment being mentioned.  Only the King's demise is retained and Dorothy reclaiming the Ruby Slippers to make her wishes (which is returning to the Emerald City and "all life to be returned to this land" separately).
* Scarecrow suggests Dorothy to be Queen, which she wants to but can't and wishes, allowing the blonde girl to step out from the glass as Ozma, long lost queen of Oz (again, Tik-Tok knows!).
* Ozma is on the throne (only the image shows her wearing the Ruby Slippers - no confirmation in text) and that allows Dorothy to say good-bye promising to never forget her friends, as a mist carries her back to Aunt Em, worried that Dorothy had drowned but is glad to be safe and welcomes her back, saying she will "never worry about your dreams again!"

So here is an actually decent short retelling of the film, even if it loses some vital key details with some minor bad guys and gives Tik-Tok slightly more of a role.

As good as it is having a book that includes rare photographs from the film, I do now wonder what it would be like if it had been given nice new illustrated paintings, like the Disneyland Records?

Disney's "Return to Oz" Comic

Our next look into the adaptions of the 1985 film "Return to Oz" focuses on one of the more widely seen paperworks, the Comic (and how inferior it actually is).Naturally, it reuses the poster used for most of the advertising.  It is a nice poster, but seeing the same art too often can be tedious, even boring.

There are quite a few things wrong with this telling: there's the art, the printing, the text, the "adjustments" and the overall story.

The art isn't really that impressive, or easy on the eyes.  The most troublesome

thing is the alignment isn't exact or matching up, so different-coloured lines are next to eachother instead of neatly on top, which can cause a slight dizzying glare.  The text is clear and fine to read, but the visuals themselves need much to be desired (so many good characters look ugly or unattractive, especially Dorothy and the Lead Wheeler).

The art is also rather unoriginal, using a majority of stills and photos to be a "model" for the panels, instead of being completely new art with new positions and angles.  This can cause some major errors in timing and context or even story - such as the severe LACK of NOMES the King calls for (none ever appear) to stop Dorothy from finishing his game, most notably the various forms and shapes he goes through (human, then even face on wall).

Now there is nothing wrong with using stills and photographs to tell a story (the "Wonderful World of Reading" Random House book does and it used a few photos not seen anywhere else), but so many of these images are reworked differently to how or when they were originally taken and are out of order and show a severe lack of originality and imagination (Towards there end, there is a photo of Dorothy waving GOOD-BYE to her friends - in this comic, that pose, including her waving hand, is used for when Dorothy enters Mombi's chamber and sees the heads in cabinets).   Only a few panels are entirely newly drawn and actually look good on their own.

Uncle Henry's leg is not broken in this retelling

Because of the (somewhat limited) technology and time of that era, the colours were flat and couldn't be enhanced with lighting and shadow, so Dorothy's dress (and main outfit) is a strong pink, even her Kansas shoes are warm coloured and have little contrast to the Ruby Slippers seen later.  In fact, much of the colouring seems rushed.

Toto is white-haired, however.  And in one panel, Doctor Worley is completely green!  Ozma has blonde hair is Kansas, but as Queen in Oz she has gone brunette.

Each and every word balloon / speech bubble either ends with an exclamation point "!" or a question mark "?", with the exception of a few sentences finishing with triple dots "..." .

One of the strangest, most bizarre and inexplicable things is how, on the way to Dr Worley's clinic, Jack Pumpkinhead (or a strikingly similar figure) can be seen in Kansas.

Why is there a Jack Pumpkinhead in Kansas?
Aunt Em and Dorothy must be so nervous they keep changing places to stand ...

When they do arrive and wait at the door, Aunt Em and Dorothy keep changing which side they are standing (Dorothy mentions hearing a scream, but Aunt Em doesn't).

Upon leaving Dorothy, Aunt Em briefly hears a distant cry (which was one of the victim patients damaged from Dr Worley's "electrical healing"), but thinks she may have imagined it.

Sitting on the corner edge of a coop floating on water is not a good idea ...  

When the storm has caused the procedure to black out, there is an awkwardly placed drawing where it looks like a man is holding a shrunken doctor to access a small intricate system.

When Dorothy and Billina approach land by chicken coop, the edges are rocks and mountains, not sands or grass and trees.

Dorothy and Billina encounter the Wheelers - who taunt with jeers and "Oink! Oink! Oink!" - soon after picking from the lunchpail tree, escape by finding a door in a rock cavern and meeting Tik-Tok who battles the Wheelers and has the Leader guide them to the ruined Emerald City (so here's a good point: it refers slightly more closely to the "Ozma of Oz" book).

Jack repeatedly thinks a talking chicken and a "talking copper kettle" are wonders - "What will they think of next?"

Mombi sleeps without her head, as in the film ... YET, her body is able to talk regardless, calling her Wheelers.  Before that, Dorothy is in a rather dark and gruesome/gloomy panel that strongly resembles the MGM scene when the WWWitch got melted, complete with burning torch and arch wall.

Dorothy, the point of sneaking around is being QUIET.
And really, how is it possible to talk without a proper mouth

?

When the Gump falls apart, Dorothy is horribly drawn with her legs showing from her dress.  Upon landing on the Mountain, Billina has disappeared (Dorothy also asks why everything is upside down - ?)

What possible is there to see Dorothy's legs from under her dress?

It's indecent!

There is no transformation of the Nome King from rock to near-human as he already looks man-like, but he actually walks (showing his skinny little feet - he's not even wearing the Ruby Slippers!) with his visitors, talking about his ornaments, the game he proposes and directly approaches a caged Mombi.

In this comic treatment, Jack Pumpkinhead is the first to take a whack at the Nome King's Guessing Game in the Ornament Room

Apparently Scarecrow can also participate in the game, because he says "Oz" and restores a character.

It turns out that Billina had been in Jack's head and was taking a nap after laying an egg.  She may have fallen into his head when they landed, without him knowing and didn't say anything that whole time.

REALLY??

Anyway, Billina's simple laying of an egg makes the Nome King's mountain crumble (it doesn't poison him) which allows Dorothy to regain the Ruby Slippers and make her wish.

This is possibly the ONLY time a visual reference is made of the Nome King's mountain having a final explosion (it can be heard in the 2-disk Soundtrack from Intrada / Creature Features and is also read in the Novelization). 

Scarecrow found out from his imprisonment about Ozma (his discovery is interrupted briefly by Mombi who's "mind is gone" when the mountain fell) and Dorothy frees her from the mirror.  Another big problem is how Ozma says for Dorothy to click her heels three times and remember "there's no place like home".

It is not explained or even implied that the Ruby Slippers are given to Ozma, where they belong or even if Dorothy is granted the possibility of returning to Oz in the future.

Dorothy wakes up in her room (and their house has already been completely rebuilt by now), surrounded by her family, Aunt Em saying how they found out about the cellar full of past victims.

While I can understand a lot of people like this comic, it is actually not that good as it seems. It suffers from lacklaster quality in art, poor storytelling and abridgements that leave out vital information or expositions.

Fortunately this was not the only comic treatment the movie got ... from April 7 to July 14, it received a weekly Sunday strip printing the year it was released!

Now those pages has yet to be seen more commercially, but hopefully there will be future installments of the "Walt Disney Treasury of Classic Tales" (vols 1 - 3 already exist) that includes these strips.

If that day comes, you can be sure I'll review it!

Still, this good film could certainly do with a nice NEW comic retelling, though . . .

Adapting "Return to Oz": from Screen to Page (part 3)

Back in June I started making comparisons of some of the tie-in books for Disney's "Return to Oz", adapting the almost-two-hour long movie into shorter children's books and whether they work well or not.

"Return to Oz" is a very good and fine film (despite its problems), but some of the important and smaller aspects of it don't carry well in condensed form.

Here we are going to look at one of its shorter adaptations, the second Little Golden Book: "Escape from the Witch's Castle".

Dorothy's bad hair;  Billina looks hard;  2 sofas yet everyone crams onto one side ... and where are the safety walls to prevent falling off?!

In this book, the second installment of the four part series, Dorothy and Billina and Tik-Tok are looking "through Oz" for Scarecrow, who is missing.  The first change mentioned is that the Emerald City (no word of it being in ruins is mentioned) and where Princess Mombi lives are separate buildings.

When Mombi (who is already wearing the dark haired head from the film) captures Dorothy, Tik-Tok suddenly winds down, so Billina has to attack Mombi to allow Dorothy to escape, but iron bars block the door; and when Mombi threatens to cook Billina, that's when Dorothy kicks Mombi and is captures again, the girl and the hen taken to the tower.

Fortunately, Jack Pumpkinhead is also in the tower with them, who he mistakes Dorothy for his missing mum, before she sets him straight (he's described as a mess, but he doesn't really look that badly separated).  Jack's story of how he came to live with Mombi's Powder of Life gives Dorothy an idea of how to escape.

  "Soon" they get Tik-Tok upsatirs while Dorothy gets Mombi's (non-ruby) key and the Powder - accidentally waking Mombi's head up in the process!  The other heads wails, Dorothy dodges past Mombi's headless body and rejoins her friends in the Tower room who have finished assembling their flying Gump (Tik-Tok did not seem to wind down this time), which Dorothy sprinkles with the Powder and they "lift" off the floor and through the open window.   Each with their own hopes for the future, Dorothy rests as she and her friends soar off into the night sky.

The story itself is not so bad, but it's the illustrations that are lacking.  Part 1 ("Dorothy Returns to Oz") was painted (with oil?), while "Dorothy in the Ornament Rooms" had inked drawings with painted (watercolour?) illustrations and "Dorothy Saves the Emerald City" having soft airbrush paintings ... this book (which does not have "Dorothy" in the title) has pictures that are done in markers and the lines are thick, thicker than any of the other pictures in the other books.

Billina looks hard and too smooth, like a clay figure, instead of a living moving creature, while Tik-Tok looks ... well, it's hard to say.  He doesn't quite look as easily movable like the film, yet some pictures have him look and glance in a way not possible.   In some pictures Dorothy looks fine, but in others she looks more manly (once or twice she looks like Tobey Maguire in a dress; and another time she bares a strong resemblance to Bruce Timm's Superman).  Dorothy's black Kansas shoes have also acquired a strap, making the pair become "mary janes" (and her hair on the cover is just awful!)

.  Jack's pumpkin head is supposed to be round, yet his face looks flat.  

Possibly the worst change, visually, is the construction of the Gump: in the film the two sofas have backing, to prevent the riders from falling off the sides ... but here both sofas are open and have no walls, which was more a choice of showing the characters in illustrations than being practical storywise.  This presents the threat of the characters actually falling off the sides, especially Dorothy rolling over in her sleep!  And despite being brought to life, he doesn't say anything or really have any personality in the last three pages.

 

When you look at this book on its own and without the full context of the film, this short story makes absolutely no mention of the real threat to Oz, its people or its capital, the missing monarch or the usurpers and how and where the good characters need to go or what to do.  It is not mentioned HOW Mombi has the beautiful heads or why.  Just that she is "a terrible witch" who collects the heads of beautiful young ladies.  Her own ugly head is never shown (but it is mentioned in that certain scene).  Nor is the exact number of beautiful heads recounted.  And, again, Mombi seems to have no connection to the disappearance of Scarecrow and nowhere is the Nome King mentioned.  Also, no lunch-pail, or Wheelers, or even the "ghost in the mirror/palace".

While the other three Little Golden Books do end with a somewhat happy note of hope, this one doesn't seem as strong.

This book may be the weakest of the set, but it is not the worst adaptation of the movie ...

Adapting Return to Oz - Long Movie, Short Story Part 2

The next book I look at in reviewing how the 1985 Disney movie is adapted from long movie into short children's book is the Random House edition for "Disney's Wonderful World of Reading".

As described on the back, this series of books by Random House adapted many of the classic Disney films that we grew up with (with little changes - such as Princess Aurora NOT being raised up by the Fairies as a peasant girl in the woods, so she met Prince Phillip when he woke her), as well as adapting other stories that happened been done on films yet (e.g. Mickey was Aladdin with two book adventures with the Magic Lamp).  All the books had simple vocabulary and many lush illustrations, some of which were done by Sheilah Beckett and other artists.

"Return to Oz" may not have been an instant classic or entirely well received, but it was still selected to be amongst the many books helping children to read, along with all the other tie-in story telling books made as merchandise for the film.

Yes, the words are rather simple and so the sentences are rather short, but unlike all the other Random House books or the other Little Golden Books retelling the film, these pages did have new illustrations that looked like cartoon characters; rather, like many of the other bigger storybooks and novels, the pictures used were stills taken for the film, many photographs of which are shrunk, in poor quality and severely cropped.  Many of these pictures are shown only here and have not turned up in any other books or magazines.

In adapting the relatively long and detailed story of the film into a short book for children to read easily, many connections and important factors are left out, making the story seem too convenient and at other times with gaps or without any of the important little things, like emotion.

It briefly says how Dorothy lives on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry until "there was a big storm.  The wind carried Dorothy to the Land of Oz.  When Dorothy came back home, Aunt Em said she had been dreaming.  But Dorothy knew she had been in Oz.  She found a key on the floor.".

When Aunt Em takes Dorothy to Dr Worley's house, she leaves almost immediately with just a good-bye, before the nurse takes Dorothy to talk to the doctor.
(the actual names, Worley and Wilson, are not used here, so their titles are lower case, simple "nurse" and "doctor")

Dorothy is visited by the girl in her room, but there is no mention of the Electrical Healing machine, so the girls make their escape as soon the house is set on fire by lightning.  It is not implied in text or pictures that they are chased.

Dorothy wakes up with Billina "in a beautiful place", gets lunch pails from trees and finds the broken yellow brick road, without seeing or finding her old house.  She doesn't sound the least bit concerned why the road is broken up, just hoping she'll find her old friends in the Emerald City.

Upon entering the ruins and after (only) finding two of her friends in stone, it is just one Wheeler who chases Dorothy into the narrow street where she finds Tik-Topk behind a secret door in the wall.  Tik-Tok seems already wound up, talking to her and shows "another way out of the room" before he fights all the other Wheelers.

Notice how the space behind Dorothy's head is blacked out - usually one of Mombi's head is shown here;  Since the whole image is cropped, so too is the view of Mombi's hands holding her Head no. 4

While looking for Mombi, Tik-Tok says he will hit her with the lunch-pail if she isn't nice to them.

When they find her, she is wearing the same long-haired head as in the film, but the next two page have short black hair (Head no. 4), without explaining the change or even mentioning the Hall of Heads.  Tik-Tok is slow to save Dorothy from Mombi, leaving her and Billina locked up in the dusty tower room, where they find Jack Pumpkinhead.

After Dorothy outs Jack back together, he says how "the next room" has the Gump (which, on the next page, Dorothy expresses the pieces already put together) AND the Powder of Life, which she uses for their escape.

It is not explained or mentioned how Tik-Tok is reunited with them for their flying escape, nor is the scene back in the Palace and Mombi's screaming heads included (however she can be seen in the background as the Gump sets off through the balcony).

They arrive on the Nome King's mountain (no indication of falling or lucky landing), fall into the hole, meet the King (who seems nearly human) and play his guessing game.

The "small box" is actually the green ornament from the film, but is not Scarecrow's enchantment in this book (perhaps the editor didn't know this?)

Dorothy's choices are different from the film and do not reveal what her third guess was.  After the Scarecrow is restored, he actually manages to make a guess and restore the Gump.

  The Nome King is angry at Dorothy's success but does not get interrupted by Mombi, he doesn't disrupt the Game or try to devour Dorothy's friends, he has none of his Nomes to spy on or aid him, most of all Jack does not have Billina hiding in his egg to accidentally drop the egg into his throat and poison him ... yet, he crashes and becomes a rubble where Dorothy reclaims the Ruby Slippers, which have not been mentioned at all until now, which she uses to return herself and her friends to Oz.

  Tik-Tok, apparently has already been restored and he shows "where the Gump and Billina" are, while the Emerald City is "beautiful again".

This is also the first (and last) time the people are mentioned being turned to stone and back to life again during the "wonderful party".

When Scarecrow decides he doesn't want to rule and the people suggest Dorothy to be Queen, her wish to be in both places at once makes "a girl wearing the dress of a queen" stepping out of the mirror.  The girl is Ozma, who Dorothy last saw in the Kansas river.

Shown at left is the "shimmery paper" mirror wall Emma Ridley mentioned "headbut" stepping through as Ozma - the actual film has half the scene warped through special effects

Dorothy says her good-byes ... but there is no indication of what happens to the Ruby Slippers (which caused this mess in the first place), so it is not clarified that Ozma uses them instead of Dorothy ... and she is back in the muddy riverbank of Kansas.

Once clean and back in her bedroom, she sees Queen Ozma in her mirror briefly, wondering if she will go back again some day . . . 

So Random House's adaption of "Return to Oz" is a basic retelling, missing out on several moments that may have been deemed unsuitable or unsettling for children and families.
The most vital thing they leave out is how necessary Billina is to the story: not only is she the one who finds the Oz key in Kansas and guides Dorothy to the door with Tik-Tok, but she is the one who actually defeats the Nome King by laying her egg in his mouth which poisons him (and thereby saving Dorothy, her friends and all of Oz).   Bringing Billina into the story but not retaining her triumph over the Nome King removes her importance and makes her useless.  It's not enough to just be included, there needs to be a purpose (just as Jack's hollow head hides Billina from the Nome King).

Another aspect of the story that is unresolved is what happens to "Princess" Mombi after the Emerald City is restored - there is no indication that she was a witch, or imprisoned, or had anything to do with the Wheelers or the Nome King, or otherwise how she is "ruling" the ruined city in the first place.

While the pictures are lackluster and do not fit the usual approach taken with the other Random House books (having fresh new illustrations made, instead of cropping still photographs), it is still nice to see some unusual photos here that aren't included anywhere else - especially one that gives a hint at the behind-the-scenes mentioned later by Emma Ridley in her interview with Ryan Jay.

Adapting Return to Oz - Long Movie, Short Story Part 1

Whenever it's June I always consider it a time to really focus on Disney's "Return to Oz" film, which was released on June 21 back in 1985.

And as you may be aware, there was a massive selection of books to choose from and to collect with the merchandise made to promote the film.

Whether you see it or not, it is a somewhat complex and detailed film ... so I thought it was time to devote a post that focused on the few books that do not do a good job of adapting the story.

The BEST official full-length adaptation of the movie from screen (back, of sorts) to writing on paper was the Novelization by Joan D Vinge, which allowed an in-depth look at some of the characters' backstory, such as Aunt Em being a Christian woman who believed in GOD and whose father was a Preacher, but now struggles with a broken unfinished home, invalid hopeless husband and troubled sleepless niece and second mortgage, as winter approaches ... how the Wheelers were a free people before Mombi and the Nome King's offer to keep them alive as servants or be turned to stone ... these were a great companion to the film.  It even has a retelling of the story with the Wizard that feels in line with this follow-up.

There was another novel adaption of the movie, but this was a "Young Puffin" version by Alistair Hedley and the writing is not very sophisticated or enjoyable.  The introduction says this book "has been especially written for Puffin with younger readers in mind."
It also includes photo stills (in rather poor quality) and new illustrations by Jo Worth, but they are sketchy and rather off.

The illustrations show the characters the same height as Dorothy, including Dr Worley/Nome King.  Ozma, however, has a different look each time (she's in 3 pictures) and doesn't appear pretty or beautiful or consistent at all, aside from the first picture.  But the Ruby Slippers are drawn pretty nicely.

The one good thing I like is that it also includes a Map of Oz, which was featured in other books by Puffin.

These are just some examples of the writing from this book:

* Uncle Henry suggests Aunt Em taking Dorothy to the Doctor for healing, while she is a bit hesitant

* the "Electrical Marvel" machine is mentioned but not actually used or seen, but replaced by a simple hypnosis by pocket watch on a chain-string - a blackout still allows Kansas Ozma to rescue Dorothy from the clinic and into the storm to Oz ...

* When Dorothy finds Billina talking, the hen replies "Ten out of ten for observation"

* Before recognising her old farmhouse, Dorothy calls it "an old derelict building.  It's surprising the Scarecrow allows a broken-down old ruin like that to stand.  Let's go and look."

* When they meet Princess Mombi, she says "I am quite fatigued with playing.  It is the emotion.  I am so sensitive and my heart is not strong.  Help me to rise."

* Upon arriving at the Nome King's mountain, the landing is similar to the Joan D Vinge Novel which followed an earlier script, where Tik-Tok and the Gump were dangling on the edge of a cliff and were saved by their friends - this retelling is shorter and without any drama.  Moments later, Billina "crept inside Jack's head and went to sleep, while no one was looking" - how can she do that without even Jack saying something, or any of the others noticing her absence?
Later when Jack is about to guess his turn, Dorothy is aware that Billina is inside his head, but it is not specified how or when she found out.

* During this time, Mombi plays a note on her mandolin which threatens to shatter the glass in her Throne Room, which "was an unspeakable agony to the smoky indistinct spirit trapped in the mirrored door."

* The friends make their way along the mountain, the Gump being reassembled to walk on his own.  Later, Dorothy does not introduce the hen to the Nome King for fear she'll forget "her temper in the Royal presence."
When brought to attention Tik-Tok clicks his "copper heels" (that's not even physically possible!)

* When falling through the mountain, Dorothy experiences "in her body the stubborn hopelessness of rock, that holds so grimly to what it contains, yet in the end must yield it up.  And she felt behind her eyes the beauty of secret colours on which no light has ever shone; flesh, blood, muscle and bone of her was admitted to the intimate society of the earth's interior."

* When the Nome King offers a game to find and rescue the Scarecrow, Dorothy responds "That's worth any risk" (whereas before on screen, she is uncertain);
Later when he offers Dorothy the chance to go back home instead of risking transformation, he says "There's no hope.  Forget about them.  They're not even human.  You've got to look after yourself in this world.  I'll let you have the ruby slippers  and you can wish yourself back home and never think about Oz again."  To which Dorothy responds "Poor Nome King ... You don't even understand about friends."  And she leaves, leaving the Nome King "looking sadly at the ruby slippers".

* "You're too late, Mombi ... You're always too late.  You're incompetent.  A nincompoop.  An out-and-out failure.  Go and drown yourself in a bucket of lard."

* Upon being restored, the Gump describes being an ornament as "educational ... But I have to admit, a trifle lacking in variety, a trifle limiting, a trifle cramping.  In a word: dull."

* During the climactic finale, the Friends watch the Nome King swallow Mombi in her cage "down his great stone gullet, that was ribbed with layers of rock laid down through all the ages of the world" ... When he swallows Billina's egg and Dorothy wonders how that defeated him, he explains how "The egg is life, growth, change.  That egg is now in my heart.  And in the fires of my heart, the egg will develop, quicken into life.  The chicken will awake.  I feel it stir.  It begins to peck, peck, peck at the shell.  Strong is the shell, but the chicken is stronger.  It will shatter my heart.  You have won."  then there is a thunderclap "like the first bang that formed the world", a flash etc and blackness/silence.

* When Ozma is free, she reveals how her father King Pastoria was bewitched by Mombi and he promised to give her the first living thing that would greet him home, which he expected to be his dog ... but it was Ozma, so he exchanged her for a potion of eternal life, but even so he threw away the potion and killed himself.

* Back in Kansas, Aunt Em is relieved that Dr Worley and Nurse Wilson were killed by the lightning caught by the "infernal" machines ... not to mention that he "wasn't a real doctor at all!  He was an evil man"

So here we have an inferior retelling of the movie, with words poorly formatted and written in a boring manner with questionable changes, where what is supposed to sound poetic instead comes across as dreary and talking down to children instead of sounding informative, inspirational or even encourages an improvement in vocabulary and proper speaking in text.


I plan on reviewing other "lackluster" adaptations of Disney's film from film to book in the remaining month.

Returning to Oz documentary on Kickstarter

Aaron Pacentine is at it again with a Kickstarter for a documentary dedicated to Disney's Return to Oz. Involved will be director Walter Murch, producer Paul Maslansky, publicist Craig Miller, cast members Emma Ridley (Ozma), Pons Maar (Head Wheeler), Justin Case (Scarecrow), and Sophie Ward (Mombi II/Dancing girl). While I've reviewed productions by Aaron in the past with a rather critical eye, the fact remains that this documentary should provide some good insight into the film.

Now, I'm rather late on sharing this Kickstarter, as it only has less than a week left. (Look, if you've seen my personal Twitter, you know my mind has been in places other than Oz lately...) But they've only got less than a thousand to go before reaching their goal.

Aaron is offering a number of Return to Oz collectibles from custom-made replica OZ keys to DVDs of the documentary and other pieces of Return to Oz merchandise, both vintage and recent (including the Disney Movie Club exclusive Blu-Ray and the 2 CD soundtrack).

If you're so inclined to contribute, go to the Kickstarter to donate.

Return to Oz - in HD

In a couple of days, WB will release "Tom and Jerry Back to Oz" on DVD.

But Oz historians will know that this is not the first Oz-related film to be released on June 21st.  That honour goes to Disney's "Return to Oz" ... and I am glad to finally provide you with my review of the Blu-ray restoration (with comparisons to its DVD predecessor).

(Any errors or gaps in descriptions will be corrected upon more current viewing - and if there is a chance of my computer getting the treatment needed to screenshot Blu-rays, those pictures will also be updated)

COVER ART:  The front cover (nicely made and better than the previous Disney DVD cover art) uses the theme design of the characters near the top of the title with a rainbow above the Emerald City.
Note, however, that characters such as Dorothy and Scarecrow have been modified from their original photo sources - Scarecrow is no longer holding the green ornament that would be restored to the form of the Gump (who, unfortunately, is absent from the cover, despite being a key and important character) and Dorothy's face has been composited with one where she is actually smiling.

And the Emerald City model is actually from an existing poster, back in the day of its advertising.  Possibly inaccurate to the film's portrayal, ruin or restored, but a neat throwback anyway.  But the yellow brick road is too sharp and clear and vague by comparison.
Also unusual is the sunset sky.

Also note how there appears to be some form of grassy slope on the left side of the characters.
(I plan on doing a picture showing "annotations" of the character compilation)


MENU:   The Main (and only) Menu looks identical to the old Disney menu, but has subtle differences.  In another throwback, the Title box also uses the design from the DVD's cover art.

screenshot of the Disney DVD Menu

iPhone photo of Blu-Ray Menu

SCENE SELECTION:   The Blu-ray scene selection / chapter index is the same as the Disney DVD (12 chapters, as opposed to Anchor Bay's more specific 24 listing).
Oddly, the image used for "Three Chances" on the Blu-ray is different (and inaccurate) from what the DVD selection has.

VIDEO + AUDIO:   One of the most notable things about the past releases was how much the film needed cleaning:  There were scratches and dirt, spots and specks scattered throughout the picture, quite often more on shots with special effects than normal scenes.

Fortunately, the picture is much better. 
The scratches and dirt are gone,
you can see the slowly swirling green mist in the opening title more clearly,
the lines are crisp and the detail is more apparent.  It is amazing what you discover with this new transfer from the DVD upon a more HD viewing.
Moments where something was really bright, such as the candle in Aumt Em's lamp or the ceiling lightbulbs in Doctor Worley's treatment room, have better clarity and show detail without getting lost or vague in their brightness.  Even the sunlight on the broken yellow brick road has some definition.
Now of course the film isn't a very colourful one, but the colours are actually a bit more vibrant here:  Billina's feathers and some of the Wheelers' clothing is a bit more noticeable and colourful.
Not to mention the Ruby Slippers SPARKLE beautifully, as are the little gems on the bows more apparent. And Princess Mombi's gown looks even more gorgeous.
  The "DISNEY CASTLE" intro is smoother and the main title does not have any blotches or specks that plagued the past DVD/s, nor does that opening shot or the closing scene have any mild tremors or shakes.  There was a hair on the bottom of the screen as Dorothy nervously awaited the "treatment" to begin ... that flickering hair has been removed.
The film also gains a slightly different hue / hint:  By comparison, the old Anchor Bay / Disney DVDs looked slightly pink, but the Blu-ray gives it a slightly more earthy texture, which is fitting for the Kansas scenes and actually a bit more natural for the Oz scenes (especially the underground Nome Kingdom).

As is often the case with Blu-ray HD, it allows a better and improved viewing over the DVD.
Scenes that were dark have some more definition to see hidden details, the noisy soundtrack is now clearer and has more clarification - which it appropriately should because the Director, Walter Murch, was and is a Sound Editor himself (if you knew the story of how he got the sound effect of Jack falling through the air onto his body on the Mountain - it adds a whole new perspective), so the new sound is quite satisfactory (although the "caws" as Dorothy runs through the forest is not as loud or clear like the DVD).

The Kansas River scene, in which Dorothy and "Kansas Ozma" (Kozma, or K-Ozma, I call her) is less noisy but still loud, only this time with clarity where the music is not overwhelming or drowning out the sounds and dialogue.
Likewise the scenes where Dorothy eludes the headless Mombi and the attempt to escape from the Nomes are also benefited from this remaster.  Little background noises are made clearer and add depth to the scenes - you can hear footsteps, rustlings, breathing, the Nomes gasping when Billina peeks out of Jack's upside-down head, even the joyous ringing bells of the restored Emerald City are more prominent and noticeable; whereas before on DVD the sound was never loud or clear enough at all, no matter the volume.

Scenes where the brightness has been toned down is best shown when Dorothy is waving good-bye to her friends.   So that shot with Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead, along with the people of Oz, as they say good-bye to Dorothy looks different.
On DVD the scene starts to brighten after Dorothy turns to Ozma saying "I haven't even said good-bye yet!" and it gets to a point where Dorothy's close-up is almost completely whited out.

Screenshot of Dorothy's waving good-bye, on the Disney DVD

On Blu-ray the brightness doesn't start to take effect till after Dorothy cries out "I love you all!" and waves, where we can clearly see her emotional face and the blurrying background behind her.

Screenshot of Dorothy's waving good-bye, on the Blu-ray via VLC

One of the things I noticed on the DVDs was that some scenes, some specific shots, were missing a couple of frames mid-action.   These shots were Billina first seeing Tik-Tok, Dorothy's foot kicking Princess Mombi's shin and the Gump breaking apart amidst the clouds.
I had hoped that upon restoration those scenes would be COMPLETELY restored, allowing those few frames to make the shots flow more smoothly without jumps.
Unfortunately . . . no new frames have been added or put back in.  Although the Disney Castle does seem a bit less sudden.

Likewise, the scene where Tik-Tok's landing on the Nome King's Mountain, is still left untouched, imperfectly cut and rushed.   And you can still (or now more clearly?) see the wires attached to the Gump in the fogged scenes, or when the other items fall past / land onscreen.
Only the wires attached to "Dorothy" (or Fairuza's stunt double) as she lands mercifully on the sofa on the Mountain, have been removed.

See the BLANK SCRIBBLED area for the space Tik-Tok will fill in. 
Why couldn't they have captured a shot of the mountain WITHOUT Tik-Tok first, before his "landing"?

But I can say that some frames have been fixed for the better, thanks to this restoration.
In two particular scenes (if you watch them in slow-motion frame-by-frame), Dorothy's medium close-up after seeing her old wind-blown house from the back and Dorothy walking down the hall into the Ornament Room, had slightly wonky frames that quickly stretch or warp at the beginning of those shots.  On Blu-ray, they are cleaned and straightened and no longer faulty.

What's also interesting about this restoration is how it treats the Hall of Heads special effect scenes: both when Princess Mombi changes her head and when her headless body rises from the bed, walking zombie-like towards Dorothy:
The Blu-ray has some "blacking" in the area underneath the heads when they are lifted from their cabinets, while the area where Jean Marsh's head is absent has ... well, you can almost get the idea of how they altered it after filming.

 (LACK OF) SPECIAL FEATURES:
As has been stated before, this disk has no Special Features or Bonuses.

Therefore, the movie no longer has Fairuza Balk's Introduction, which actually replaced the Castle Logo on the even OLDer Anchor Bay DVD (but came before, without replacing, the Disney Logo on the Disney DVD).
No Trailers, No TV Spots, No Interviews.  Just the regular "Sneak Peaks" as the disk opens (unless you skip them).

  This is my first "Disney Exclusive" and I am not too bothered by it, as the film's presentation in video and sound is pleasant enough (yes, despite the points I revealed above).

So while it's not entirely perfect in complete restoration or bonus packaging, the Blu-ray for "Return to Oz" is still a must and an appreciated have.


Hope you enjoyed my review - I plan on doing one for the 2-disk "Definitive" Soundtrack too!

Return to Oz complete score CD review

Several years ago, I had a dream that the soundtrack for Return to Oz was reissued. I'd like to think that I dreamed of a 2-disc set, but the main thing I remember is that it featured a photo of Ozma in her royal dress from the end of the movie, holding her OZ scepter... under a lunch pail tree.

While I don't believe any photo like that exists (though if any artists who read this blog want to take a shot, be my guest!), my dreams surprisingly came true with Intrada's new release of the complete score of Disney's Return to Oz, which I finally got my copy of today.

Spread across two discs, the entire score of the film is represented. Often soundtrack albums only include major moments of the score and sometimes, they don't feature the music as heard in the film at all, but new arrangements by the composer, who redesigned the score for an album issue. (And sometimes, their involvement isn't there.) In this case, you hear every bit of music you heard in the film and then some as some music bits were cut, but have now been restored. (So if you were wanting to match this up to the film to create an isolated score version—Sam—it might not work.)

The original CD release cover art

Return to Oz did get a soundtrack album in 1985, which I own on vinyl. It was reissued four years later on CD by Bay Cities, but it quickly went out of print. This led to it becoming a popular bootlegged item online. However, Intrada has you covered now. To fill up otherwise empty space on Disc 2, after a handful of tracks featuring alternate cues, the original soundtrack album's tracks are presented.*

One may well argue that Return to Oz features one of the best scores an Oz film has enjoyed. The truth is that Oz in film has enjoyed a rich musical history from Nathaniel P. Mann's scores for The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays to Louis P. Gottschalk's score for The Patchwork Girl of Oz to MGM's The Wizard of Oz to Journey Back to Oz to The Wiz and even up to Danny Elfman's score for Oz the Great and Powerful. But one must admit that David Shire's score for Return to Oz is certainly a milestone. (Unless you have no ear for great film music.)

Shire's music is certainly magical. Instead of going for a sound you'd hear in music from the beginning of the 20th century—when the story takes place—or music to draw in contemporary audiences, he instead created a score that feels timeless. This is because he based it on the characters instead of periods. Creating themes for each character and the situations in the film, Shire composed an excellent, multi-layered score to go along with the film's visuals, sound effects and dialogue. This makes the music quite inseparable from the film, from the stirring opening, to the escape in the storm, to Tik-Tok's heavy marching theme, to Jack Pumpkinhead's hollow-sounding music, to the Nome King's growing anger theme, to the lively Rag March and of course, the beautiful closing credits.

Some might argue that the film score should be enjoyed with the film, and that's certainly a good point, but there is no reason why a soundtrack album cannot present the music to be enjoyed separately and Intrada definitely produced a perfect presentation right here.

In addition to the great music you'll hear on the CDs, there's a nice 28-page booklet that features Drew Struzan's classic "Escape From The Emerald City" poster art and on the other side, his pretty scary "Mombi" poster. (One can switch the booklet around to show either one.) Inside the booklet is a nice rundown of the production and release of the movie, illustrated with movie stills, set photos, behind the scenes photos, and two pieces of concept art by Mike Ploog. Also there is a cue assembly list for the tracks and a little afterword about the creation of this album.

This isn't just a great release of the score of the movie, this is a definite Return to Oz collector's item!

The CD can be ordered directly from Intrada and Amazon. Creature Features was offering a limited number of copies autographed by David Shire, but they have already sold out. However, check out their podcast section as their fourth episode interviews Walter Murch, and they discuss—you guessed it—Return to Oz.

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* Just about the only thing not carried over from the original soundtrack CD is the original liner notes. While some may pass and others seek it out for completion, there is a complete set of scans for viewing and downloading here.

Oz news!

Some new announcements have come up we can't wait on...

Intrada Records (specializing in film/TV score releases on CD) released a 2-disc soundtrack for Disney's Return to Oz, "including alternate takes, bonus cues, and the original 1985 album presentation." The official track list is shown below.

The title can be ordered from their website, and it can be ordered from Creature Features, who is offering an autographed version. The official release date is the 12th.

(Intrada also released the score CD for Oz the Great and Powerful. Most of their releases eventually pop up at Amazon.)

Creature Features also offers a podcast, and the latest episode interviews Walter Murch, discussing Return to Oz, offering his look at the movie's conception, production, and legacy. If you wanted a director's audio commentary for the movie, this might just be the next-best thing.

Some updates were revealed about NBC's upcoming live production of The Wiz, to air December 3rd. The first bit of promotional artwork was released (above), seemingly promising a lively interpretation of the musical.

Also, the first cast member was announced.

Stephanie Mills, the original Dorothy in the Broadway production, will appear as Aunt Em in the television event, meaning that the show will open with her singing the ballad "The Feeling That We Once Had" to the new Dorothy, seemingly handing over the role 40 years after she first performed "Home" onstage.

They have announced they are seeking a "fresh face" for Dorothy. Hopefully with Stephanie onboard, she really can hand over the role. NBC's official synopsis says that Dorothy is a young woman from Kansas, confirming that they will be sticking with the original play, and not going after the take attempted in the 1978 film version.

Several news articles wind up using pictures from the movie, speculation articles have popped up suggesting how they can work in the movie's ideas, and the public in general is not as familiar with the play as they are with the movie. This is why NBC is doing these plays, people. If you want the movie, you can have it: it's on home video. This is something else.

No other cast members have been announced, but fans are expecting NBC to cast Audra McDonald as Glinda. She played the Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music Live two years ago, knocking out "Climb Ev'ry Mountain," so she can probably handle "A Rested Body Is A Rested Mind" and "Believe In Yourself" quite well.

I'm so excited about this, I've actually written Universal Studios Home Entertainment about getting the recording of the live event released on Blu-Ray. (The Sound of Music and Peter Pan were only released on DVD and digital video, and following their format, we should also be getting a new cast album on CD and digital.) If you'd like to write in yourself, here is the link for where to contact them. (Well, follow the appropriate link under "other inquiries.")

Few tips: Say the title you're writing about is "The Wiz Live" and select "Blu-Ray" when selecting which format. Be respectful and write in a way that lets them know you're excited about the production and would love to buy the recording on Blu-Ray. And please be prepared to do exactly that. (I tweeted Disney Movie Club about wanting Return to Oz on Blu-Ray, and we got it! So who knows what a few e-mails might do?)

Finally, Amazon has another Oz-based kids series with a pilot coming soon for free viewing. Titled Lost in Oz (not to be confused with any other project with that title ever), the description is thus:

The show is an animated, action-adventure comedy set in a modern, metropolitan Emerald City. Stranded in this spectacular world, 12-year-old Dorothy Gale befriends West, a young, street-smart witch grappling with dark temptations, and Ojo, a giant munchkin. With Dorothy’s dog Toto, this unlikely crew embarks on an journey, seeking out the magic Dorothy needs to get back to Kansas.

Developed and produced by Bureau of Magic’s Darin Mark, Jared Mark, Abram Makowka, and Mark Warshaw (East Los High, Smallville), this contemporary re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s universe is designed by Flaunt Productions (Under Siege, Project Spark), animated by Arc Productions (9, Gnomeo & Juliet), scored by Adam Berry (The Penguins of Madagascar) with theme music by Mark Mothersbaugh (The Lego Movie).

Sounds interesting, and a lot more family-friendly than NBC's Emerald City which was recently revived and expected to air either during the winter break or as a midseason replacement during the 2015/2016 season.

A lot of Oz news, people! What a time to be a fan!

The Characters You Didn't Get In Return to Oz

So, Return to Oz is pretty popular for being a faithful representation of the Oz books. This may be a matter of debate, but it's generally considered a well-done film. However, there's some characters who didn't make the final cut...

The Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion and the Army of Oz
"Wait!" I hear you say, "The Tin Woodman and Cowardly Lion were in the movie!" And yes, they were. But an earlier draft of the story had them having a much larger role. Either they hadn't been turned to stone and escaped with Dorothy, or were at the Nome King's Mountain with the Scarecrow and not transformed with him, and later got to try their hand in the ornament rooms.

Also in an earlier draft was a scene that was actually storyboarded (seen in the Winter 2010 Baum Bugle) in which Tik-Tok and Jack's head did not land on the Nome King's Mountain, but Dorothy finds a sandboat being rowed across the deadly desert by deserters of Tik-Tok's army. As they talk with Dorothy, Tik-Tok arrives, carrying Jack's head.

Personally, I think it was a better decision for the movie to cut these characters. As it was, the production had gone overbudget, and having these characters at the Nome King's mountain would have made for a much longer sequence and a more frantic restoration.

Those who have read Ozma of Oz will remember that Dorothy and Billina and even the Nome King are unable to locate the transformed Tin Woodman, which is referenced by Tik-Tok not being restored before they leave the Nome King's Mountain in the final cut. This let them pay tribute to the original text and also let them not have to handle the Tik-Tok puppet during the chase scene. Now imagine if two more complicated characters were added to the mix. (They already had Jack and the Gump.) If they'd gone the "We didn't find them, oh look, here they are!" route with them, doing it more than once would strain credibility.

As for the army, more characters would have crowded the chase scene, so it seems that this is a "less is more" situation. Less characters was more tension and suspense as well as focus.

The Sawhorse, the Woggle-Bug and the Hungry Tiger
Return to Oz drew most of its plot from Ozma of Oz with The Marvelous Land of Oz being close behind it. Those books had a few more featured characters who don't seem to appear in the film. Well, the Sawhorse does appear. As an illustration in a book a woman in the Emerald City was reading. It might have been nice if he'd been included in the return to the Emerald City sequence in the finale, but that would have required them to build another creature that would barely have any screentime.

Many of the above arguments about the Cowardly Lion and the Sawhorse also apply to the Hungry Tiger. Baum did little with the character in Ozma of Oz and it's hard to see how he'd uniquely figure into the plot in Return to Oz. Again, while a finale cameo would have been nice, it would also require another expensive creature to be created.

Perhaps the one character who might have been an interesting addition to the movie is the Woggle-Bug. Imagine if he'd met Dorothy near her old house and began warning her that things weren't right in Oz in an overly pompous and dignified manner. Imagine if he'd tried to distract Mombi and had Dorothy and her friends leave on the Gump without him and Mombi pushes him out of the broken open window where he uses his wings to glide back to the ground to hide and finally reappear in the finale sequence. Perhaps he might have added some much-needed levity to the movie. But then, the Henson Company would have had to figure out how to make that work, further straining the already stretched budget.

Tip
In The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma had been raised by Mombi (who was an old sorceress in Baum's world; Return to Oz mixed her with Princess Langwidere, creating a character that was a little of both but ultimately neither), but she was transformed into a boy named Tip.  Return to Oz had Emma Ridley (who played Ozma) appear in Kansas as a mysterious, anonymous girl who rescues Dorothy from the clinic. It's suggested by dialogue at the end ("I was afraid you'd drowned," Dorothy says, to which Ozma nods knowingly) that she is Ozma.

I have a theory about this: a dancing girl says that Ozma was enchanted into a mirror. As such, until Dorothy frees her at the end, Ozma only appears as a shadowy form in mirrors. If Oz is a mirror version of Dorothy's world, then wouldn't it make sense that Ozma is suddenly able to cross over to Kansas while she's under this enchantment? Or, considering Ozma appears in Dorothy's mirror at the end, maybe this is just something she can do and Mombi's enchantment let her project her entire body into Kansas.

So, if they'd used Tip, would a boy have rescued Dorothy and adventured with her to Oz? Perhaps. But unless they'd come up with a good dynamic for him and Dorothy, then we'd run into the "too many characters" problem again. And how could they pull off the restoration?

Glinda
Okay, seriously, though, where was Glinda during the events of Return to Oz? She doesn't even get a name drop. Now, possibly she was the one who helped send the key to Oz, but you'd think that even with her usual hands-off rule, she might make a concession when the fate of the entire Land of Oz is at stake.

In Sam's Return to Oz comic adaptation, Glinda makes an unannounced appearance and declares who Ozma is. My only theory is that she was attempting to get Dorothy to Oz and help free Ozma just as everyone was turned to stone, deciding that if she was successful, Dorothy and Ozma would restore her along with everyone else.

So, who knows how Return to Oz might have been if they'd added more characters to the plot? But I think it works well as it is in its final cut.