by Judson Cade Pedigo

We all have our favorite scene from the classic Technicolor marvel that is The Wizard of Oz. There are so many iconic moments to choose from. Going over the rainbow! The entrance to Munchkin land! Following the yellow brick road! Getting electro shock therapy! Wait…WHAT? That’s not from the Wizard of Oz but it is in the often over looked sequel Return to Oz released by Disney in 1985. Children’s films from that period weren’t afraid to go into some dark territory (Mola Ram ripping out hearts in Temple of Doom, Phoebe Cates’ Santa speech from Gremlins, Large Freaking Marge!) but this movie goes into full on nightmare mode for much of it’s two hour runtime. It’s like the producers sat down and went, “You know all the songs and things that people love about the first one? Let’s throw all that out and try to scare the shit out of everyone instead!” For a sequel to one of the most popular movies of all time it’s so much weirder than it needs to be, which is great. Return to Oz is a dark children’s fantasy that is up there with Labyrinth, The NeverEnding Story, and The Dark Crystal.