Return to Oz

Return to Oz is an unofficial sequel to MGM's The Wizard of Oz and was produced by Disney.

## *Return to Oz*

### Produced by

Colin Michael Kitchens (associate producer)
Gary Kurtz (executive producer)
Paul Maslansky

## Development

Walter Murch began development on the film in 1980, during a brainstorming session with Walt Disney Productions production chief Tom Wilhite. "It was just a fishing expedition on both of our parts," Murch remembered. "But one of the questions he asked was, 'What are you interested in that you think we might also be interested in?,' and I said, 'Another Oz story.'...And Tom sort of straightened up in his chair because it turned out, unbeknownst to me, that Disney owned the rights to all of the Oz stories. And they were particularly interested in doing something with them because the copyright was going to run out in the next five years."

The film is based on the second and third Oz books, *The Marvelous Land of Oz* (1904) and *Ozma of Oz* (1907). The element about Tik-Tok being "The Royal Army of Oz" derives from *Tik-Tok of Oz* (1914), in which he is made the Royal Army of Oogaboo, and also makes frequent cries of "Pick me up!" That book was itself based on a dramatic production, *The Tik-Tok Man of Oz* (1913).

Murch took a decidedly darker take on Baum's source material than the 1939 film, which he knew starting out would be a gamble. Between the development period and actual shooting, there was a change of leadership at the Walt Disney Studios (with Wilhite being replaced by Richard Berger), and the film's budget increased. Once shooting began, Murch began to fall behind schedule, and there was further pressure from the studio, leading to Murch being fired as director for a short period. George Lucas and other high profile filmmakers including Francis Ford Coppola supported Murch in discussions with the studio, and Murch was reinstated and finished the film.

The film was developed and produced without the involvement of MGM, the studio behind the 1939 one. No approval was necessary, because by 1985, the Oz books it was based on were in the public domain, and the subsequent ones had been optioned to Disney many years earlier. A large fee was paid, however, to use the ruby slippers, which were still the intellectual property of MGM at the time (as they had been created specifically for the 1939 film to replace the silver ones of the original stories).

## Trivia

* The first film to use the Walt Disney Pictures logo with the rainbow going over the blue castle.
* The film received a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records as the sequel that was made the longest period of time after the original - it was released 46 years after The Wizard of Oz. Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest broke that record in 2006, releasing 64 years after the original Bambi.
* Disney acquired the rights to Oz in 1954 to use in the *Disneyland* series and the unfinished *Rainbow Road to Oz*.
* Tik-Tok was given to George Lucas as an after filming gift and is now on display at Skywalker Ranch. Coincidentally, small golden versions were given to crew members after the film's completion.
* When aired on the Disney Channel in the 1990s, all shots of the headless Mombi were cut for being too frightening for young children.
* To commemorate the film's release, a float was made for the Main Street Electrical Parade. It mimicked the hall of mirrors in Mombi's castle with live actors playing Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Jack Pumpkinhead and a marionette of Tik-Tok would walk with it. Unfortunately, the mirrors caused its undoing as it caught on fire one night and was never restored. The Tik-Tok marionette is now in the home of a private collector.
* Many of the people in the group present in the film's coronation scene were many characters who appeared in the Oz books. They include Glinda, some Munchkins, the Braided Man, the Shaggy Man, Button-Bright, Polychrome the Rainbow's Daughter, the Patchwork Girl, Cap'n Bill (holding the Magic Flower), Tommy Kwikstep, the Frogman, and Notta Bit More the Circus Clown.

## External Links

https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Return\_to\_Oz

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089908/?ref\_=nv\_sr\_srsg\_0

https://familyfilmsproductions.com/return-to-oz/