![]() Fantasy or reality? The film lets us to decide. Dorothy narrowly escapes being ‘damaged’ by Worley’s therapy and, back in Oz, bravely overcomes her enemies, restoring her world to life. Em turns to Dr Worley, a self-proclaimed specialist, obsessed by the new world of electricity (Murch has observed that Nikola Tesla would have been a real wizard in Baum’s eyes). In that context, a fantasy like Oz might be a symptom of madness and malaise, and Aunt Em is determined to ‘cure’ Dorothy (ten-year-old Fairuza Balk, magnetic in the role). As articles in the Bugle discuss, the film bears the influence of Wisconsin Death Trip, a study of harsh rural life in America at the turn of the century, when a real Dorothy Gale would have lived. It may be Baum’s Oz, but it’s Murch’s Kansas. ![]() Autumn’s Baum Bugle features more from both Murch and Berry. Absurd though it is, the human element shines through.Ībove: Walter Murch discusses the making of Return to Oz with Howard Berry for his Elstree Project. ![]() For the Bugle, I wrote about Michael Sundin, former acrobat and later Blue Peter presenter, who sweated and contorted himself to bring Tik-Tok, a totally mechanical puppet, to life. Practical effects give it an enduring magic (there is no other word) but it was a tough, painstaking production. With puppeteers from Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop, not to mention Will Vinton’s patented Claymation, Murch brings alive Tik-Tok the robot, Jack Pumpkinhead, a legion of rocky Nomes, and the surreal, one-of-a-kind Gump. From the previously unseen concept art featured in the new Bugle, it’s clear the movie was meant to inspire awe. Melding the second and third books, Murch crafts a blockbuster adventure in keeping with Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and Star Wars (with which it shares several crewmembers). Neill, who infused those Ozian oddities with humanity and - I don’t think it’s just me - a strange beauty. Walter Murch’s movie very much returns to Baum’s Oz, and does so with the aesthetic of illustrator John R. Neill’s many depictions of Jack Pumpkinhead, a faintly ooky but utterly endearing character, primarily voiced and operated by Brian Henson in Return to Oz’ John R Neill illustration, subtitled ‘From 1913, one of John R. (A true renaissance man, Baum was the sort of dynamo who woke up and wrote new ideas on the wallpaper.) The Oz books typify and transcend their times: a matriarchal, socialist, pacifist utopia with a gender-changing ruler, inhabited by talking beasts, the first robot in literature, and a Patchwork Girl whose motto is, ‘I hate dignity!’ The Bugle looks at the history of Oz, as well as new projects, but not even in its pages has Return to Oz been embraced so wholeheartedly before. In its day, it was a Harry Potter-size phenomenon: a Broadway adaptation, silent movies, and even ‘Fairylogues’, a genre of Baum’s own invention. Nor that Baum wrote not one but thirteen sequels to his Wizard. Frank Baum: the man who invented Oz. Even fans of 1939’s Wizard of Oz movie and its subversive prequel Wicked aren’t aware it all started in 1900, with a book. Sarah is the current editor of The Baum Bugle, a journal exploring the work of L. This year, I’ve lived and breathed Walter Murch’s movie, ever since my friend Sarah Crotzer decided to mark Return to Oz’s anniversary with a new publication, in time for Halloween. Privately, test audiences showed that children delighted in the film, and after years of watching it on home video and other services, the kids are finally doing what we can to put things right with its legacy. Critics and audiences were confused and alarmed: what had happened to Judy Garland having a gay old time in a gingham dress and a pair of ruby slippers? Where were the songs? Why was there a new subplot about electroshock therapy? “This is the Oz you haven’t seen before,” promised the movie trailer, with its badge of suggested Parental Guidance. There was precious little celebrating in 1985, that’s for sure. It’s thirty-five years since Disney first released Return to Oz, and it’s well overdue for celebration. I think it could be the greatest children’s film ever.”Ī rarely-seen Drew Struzan movie poster, depicting the phenomenal Jean Marsh as deliciously evil, head-swapping Princess Mombi, and shows off the movie’s art nouveau aesthetic It is, though, a film firmly allied with children against well-intentioned adults. “Fantasy or reality? The film lets us to decide. ![]() ❉ Nick Campbell returns to Oz for a special celebration…
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