Return to Oz(1985)

PG
1h 53m

Release Date: Jun 21, 1985 | Wide

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Jun 21, 1985

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$2,844,895
Total US & Canada:
$11,137,801
Total Worldwide:
$11,137,801

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Walter Murch
Director

Fairuza Balk
Dorothy

Nicol Williamson
Dr. Worley

Jean Marsh
Nurse Wilson

Piper Laurie
Aunt Em

Matt Clark
Uncle Henry

Michael Sundin

Tik-Tok

Tim Rose

Tik-Tok

Sean Barrett

Tik-Tok

Mak Wilson

Billina

Denise Bryer

Billina

Brian Henson

Jack Pumpkinhead

Stewart Harvey-Wilson

Jack Pumpkinhead

Lyle Conway

Gump

Stephen Norrington

Gump

Justin Case

Scarecrow

John Alexander

Cowardly Lion

Deep Roy

Tin Man

Technical Specifications

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United Kingdom,United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

In autumn of 1899, Dorothy Gale's (Fairuza Balk) obsession with the Land of Oz troubles her Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark), who believe she is delusional. Dorothy finds a key in her barn, in the shape of OZ. But aunt Em thinks its an key to the old house from before the tornado.They take her to the sanitarium of Dr. Worley (Nicol Williamson) where, under the care of Nurse Wilson (Jean Marsh), Dorothy is about to receive Electrotherapy when lightning causes a power failure. Dorothy is freed by a mysterious girl (Emma Ridley) who tells her that Worley's machines damage patients and the two escape but are chased by Nurse Wilson into a river. Dorothy loses the other girl but gets away on board a floating chicken coop.Dorothy wakes up in Oz with her chicken Billina (Denise Bryer), who can now talk. They have landed in a pond at the edge of the deadly desert (anything living that touches it, turns to sand). They follow a damaged Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, now in ruins and its citizens (including the tin man and the lion) turned to stone. They are attacked by Wheelers (John Alexander, Rachael Ashton, Robbie Barnett, Ailsa Berk, Peter Elliott, Roger Ennals, Michele Hine, Mark Hopkins, Colin Skeaping, Ken Stevens, Philip Tan and Rob Thirtle), people with wheels instead of hands and feet, but are saved by a mechanical man, Tik-Tok (Sean Barrett). Tik-Tok is the royal army of Oz and was hidden in a secret chamber inside the city and was told to wait for Dorothy. Dorothy had the key to the chamber (from her barn) and found Tik-Tok there. The lead Wheeler tells them that King Scarecrow has been captured by the Nome King (Nicol Williamson), who is responsible for the Emerald City's destruction. Only Princess Mombi knows the location of King Scarecrow.Dorothy, Billina and Tik-Tok travel to the castle of Mombi (Jean Marsh), Princess of Oz, who intends to take Dorothy's head for her collection (she has a collection of heads in her closet that she changes from time to time on her body). Mombi says that King Nome took the Scarecrow to his mountain. She imprisons the group at the top of the castle with Jack Pumpkinhead (Brian Henson), who explains he was brought to life by Mombi's Powder of Life (he was created by a villager to scare Mombi, but she overcame her fear. The powder is kept in Cabinet 31, with Mombi's original head). The four construct a flying creature out of furniture with the head of the Gump (Lyle Conway), a moose-like animal, and Dorothy steals the powder from Mombi to bring it to life. The Gump flies them across the Deadly Desert, Mombi has the Wheelers take her in pursuit of Dorothy.After flying all night, The Gump crashes on the Nome King's Mountain, where Dorothy is reunited with Scarecrow (Justin Case), who is turned into an ornament by the Nome King. Nome King says that all emeralds are made by his Nomes and for him. And the emeralds were stolen from him, which is why he took them back and brought scarecrow with him. Dorothy pleads that scarecrow never stole anything and the emeralds were there when he came. He challenges the group to identify which one in a room full of ornaments, but if they fail after three attempts, they will become ornaments themselves, with each failure making him more human. Once The Gump, Jack and Tik-Tok all fail, The Nome King reveals to Dorothy he has her lost ruby slippers, which he had used to conquer Oz. He offers to use them to send her home instead, but Dorothy refuses and enters the ornament room just before Mombi arrives at the mountain. Nome King was told that Tik-Tok had stopped guessing and was standing still in the middle of the room. Name sent Dorothy in to wind him up. But Tik-Tok tells her it was a ruse, so that she could she what he turns into and that might give her a clue about scarecrow.With her last guess, Dorothy finds Scarecrow and realizes that people from Oz turn into green ornaments, proceeding to restore Jack and Gump. Enraged, the Nome King imprisons Mombi in a cage for allowing their escape, then grows to a gigantic size and prepares to eat Dorothy and her companions. Jack is about to be eaten when Billina, hiding in Jack's head, lays an egg that falls into the Nome King's mouth, fatally poisoning him (this is why chickens were banned in the Kingdom by Nome). The ornament room and all of his subterranean kingdom starts to collapse when Dorothy retrieves the ruby slippers. She quickly puts them on and wishes for the group to be returned to a restored Emerald City; there they notice a green medal on Gump's antler, Dorothy restores it into Tik-Tok.The people of Oz ask Dorothy to be their Queen, but she expresses her desire to return home. Princess Ozma (Beatrice Murch) (the same girl who helped Dorothy escape from the clinic. Ozma was brought up by Mombi, but she imprisoned her after Nome promised her 30 new heads), the rightful ruler of Oz, is then freed by Dorothy from the mirror she was imprisoned in by Mombi and ascends the throne. Dorothy hands over the ruby slippers to Ozma, who uses them to send Dorothy home, promising she can one day return, while Billina chooses to stay. Dorothy is spirited back to Kansas, where she is found on a riverbank by her family. Aunt Em tells her the clinic was struck by lightning and burned down, Worley died trying to save his machines and Nurse Wilson is arrested. When Dorothy returns home, she sees Billina and Ozma through her bedroom mirror, they signal for her to keep Oz a secret.

Storyline

Dorothy Gale has recently come home from the Land of Oz and is now almost back to perfect health since the incident of the tornado, but she can't get that wonderful place out of her head. She frequently talks about it and can't get any sleep at night. Aunt Em worries about her health/well-being. Thinking that she is suffering from delusional depression and acute insomnia, she decides to take her to see a special doctor in another town. While he tries to treat her with electroshock treatment and take those nasty dreams away from her head, she is rescued by a mysterious girl who leads her back to Oz for a new adventure. — Nichola McDougall It has been six months since Dorothy Gale has returned home from Oz and she still can't sleep. She has been going on about imaginary places and people so much that Aunt Em takes her to see a special doctor. She promptly escapes from the mental hospital and wakes up in Oz where her pet hen, Billina, can now talk. There she meets a whole new bunch of friends and they set off to rescue the Scarecrow from the evil Nome King who has found her ruby slippers and used them to lay waste to the Emerald City and take over Oz. — Shaun Ryan Dorothy Gale can't stop thinking about Oz, and even believes that her friends have sent her a key. Aunt Em, worried for her health, takes her to a famous doctor who works miracles with electricity. When she escapes from the treatment, she and her pet hen, Billina, find themselves in Oz. But when she tries to find her old friends in the Emerald City, she learns that they've all been transformed into stone by the Nome King. And the evil witch Mombie wants her head. It's up to her, Billina, and their new friends, the clockwork Tik-Tok (aka the royal army of Oz), Jack Pumpkinhead, and Gump, to defeat Mombie and the Nome King and restore the rightful ruler of Oz to her throne. — Kathy Li It has been six months since Dorothy Gale has returned home from Oz and she still can't sleep. She has been going on about imaginary places and people so much that Aunt Em takes her to see a special doctor. She promptly escapes from the mental hospital and wakes up in Oz where her pet he, Billina, can now talk. There she meets a whole new bunch of friends and they set off to rescue the Scarecrow from the evil Nome King who has found her ruby slippers and has used them to lay waste to the Emerald City and take over Oz. — Shaun Ryan