Films are something that we all look towards for escapism – the action, the humour, the romance, the animation. Sometimes these can hold so much more meaning then just an image on a screen and create narratives and memories in our own lives. Welcome to the sister article to Music Memories where we take a look at some of these personal stories attached to films.

Film: Return To Oz
Original Release Date: 1985

I am not a big fan of the Wizard of Oz world, I haven’t seen Wicked and have no intention to either. It just was a film I wasn’t the biggest fan or and then there is the film that scarred me for life as a kid. Return to Oz, it should never of been made as it is a truly horrendous film.

I was a kid, I was at my grandparents spare room in the nineties to watch the television and came across this film on BBC Two and decided to watch it.

It was horrendous – electrifying Dorothy because they feel she was lying, headless people, the ruin of Oz and just so negativity and awfulness – it is so dark.

I think this put me off the world of Dorothy it was so horrible and really impacted me as a young child. I have seen clips recently and it still brings me shivers and I still don’t understand why it was created.

Facts about Return To Oz

• The first film to use the Walt Disney Pictures logo with the rainbow going over the blue castle.
• Directorial debut of editor Walter Murch. It remains the only film he ever directed.
• The film introduces the character of Princess Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz. She was introduced in the novel “The Marvelous Land of Oz” (1904), and continued to play a major role throughout the novel series.
• Originally the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and Cowardly Lion were to have more prominent roles in this film; however, budget cuts forced their appearances to be reduced to mere cameos.

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