.

Custom Nome King

2012-01-30T21:31:00.000-08:00

Here are some great shots of a custom Nome King sculpture. He is based on the final stage of the Nome King. He measures about 14 inches tall.

Stay tuned for more....

Anther Nicol Article....

2012-01-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

Below article written by Tim Walker.

Barely three months after Inadmissible Evidence, the John Osborne play that made his name, was revived in London, Nicol Williamson has died, aged 73, in Holland.

The colourful Scot – who was described by Osborne as the greatest actor since Marlon Brando, and, by Samuel Beckett, as “touched by genius” – had not made a film since 1997’s superhero picture Spawn. He had, in recent years, been concentrating on music.

His son, Luke, by his former wife Jill Townsend, tells Mandrake that he died just before Christmas after a two-year fight with oesophageal cancer and was eager that no fuss should be made about his passing. To modern filmgoers, he is probably best known for The Exorcist III and for playing Merlin in Excalibur.

John Boorman, the director, cast him in the latter film opposite his former lover Helen Mirren, to the dismay of both actors. The pair had previously appeared together, disastrously, in Macbeth.

Williamson’s rise and fall had been startling. His performance in Inadmissible Evidence in 1964 won him superb reviews in London, and, later, a Tony award on Broadway. Playing the title role in Hamlet for Tony Richardson, he won an unlikely fan in Harold Wilson. Richard Nixon, as president, invited him to the White House on Wilson’s recommendation.

His son says he preferred the company of musicians in his later years after he moved to Amsterdam to escape media attention in the late Seventies. He says he was hoping to put up his father's new album - which may be called "Nine Slices" or "Kismet Once Again", but was undecided - on the website they had set up together. He adds that a cause that was particularly close to his father's heart was the Regional Youth Shakespeare Company of which he was the patron.

Another cherished project in his later years was narrating an audio version of J R R Tolkien's The Hobbit.

Ultimately, acting didn’t seem to mean all that much to Williamson, who died in relative poverty. As he once observed: “Actors act too much.”

Long goodbye

Just as football managers become anxious when their boards pass resolutions of confidence, so a BBC director-general can be forgiven for sweating when he learns that his chairman has headhunters working on a “succession plan”.

Mark Thompson, the current D-G, normally responds to my questions in person. When I ask him what he thinks about what Lord Patten has done, he does not reply, but, chillingly, a BBC press officer responds on his behalf: “As has been made clear, this is sensible succession planning, which Mark fully supports. It does not mean there is a vacancy.”

Nicol Williamson dies at 75...

2012-01-25T14:36:00.000-08:00

Its sad news to find out about someone's passing. Nicol Williamson was a brilliant actor and will always be remembered for his role as Merlin in Excalibur. But to me I will always remember Nicol as the brilliant Dr. Worley and Nome King. Above I have made a desktop background in his memory.

He will me missed and remembered. I have the pipe he used in Return to Oz, as the Nome King, I will cherish it always.

Rest in peace my freind....

Below is an article publised today by Brent Lang

Stage and film star Nicol Williamson has died after a two-year battle with esophageal cancer. He was 75.

The unpredictable English actor earned raves for the intensity he brought to his roles, but his erratic behavior scared off many film and theater producers.

He is best known for his wild-eyed portrayal of Merlin in John Boorman's 1981 film "Excalibur."
Other roles of note include a Tony-winning role in John Osborne's "Inadmissible Evidence" and a highly acclaimed title role performance in "Hamlet" for director Tony Richardson.
Williamson also played Sherlock Holmes in Herbert Ross' "The Seven-Percent-Solution" (1976) and Little John in Richard Lester's "Robin and Marian" (1976).

Williamson came of age in the 1960s, when a group of mostly working class group of English actors like Peter O'Toole and Albert Finney ushered in a new and more rough-hewn style of acting. This style was at odds with the more florid performances of actors such as Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud.

Indeed Osborne, author of the signature kitchen-sink drama "Look Back in Anger," hailed Williamson as the best of that crop, calling him "the greatest actor since Marlon Brando."
Yet he never achieved the international stardom of Finney, O'Toole, Alan Bates and others. Part of the reason was that his boozing and off-stage carousing often spilled over into his work, leading to on-stage tantrums and blow-ups.

Among Williamson's more colorful antics: He hit producer David Merrick during a performance of "Inadmissible Evidence"; stormed off the stage and announced his retirement during a performance of "Hamlet"; and he hit his "I Hate Hamlet" co-star Evan Handler with a sword, creating a tabloid frenzy.

The latter was hilariously documented by Paul Rudnick in a 2007 piece for the New Yorker entitled "I Hit Hamlet." Rudnick said that Williamson was brilliant when sober, but as soon as he began drinking, he threw the entire production into chaos.

"After the final performance, I had no intention of talking to Nicol," Rudnick writes. "I was still too angry. As I was heading upstairs, to bid farewell to the more lucid actors, the door to Nicol’s dressing room swung open. He stood there, a soused, lunatic, fifty-two-year-old Hamlet. We stared at each other. Nicol finally spoke, and his tone was both kind and accusing. He said, 'You knew this was going to happen.' And then he smiled and shut the door."

Custom Tik-Tok doll

2012-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

Here are some great photos of a custom sculpted Tik-Tok we have in the museum. He measures about 12 inches tall.

Jean Marsh

2011-09-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

Here is a great updated photo of Jean Marsh, who played Princess Mombi in the film.

She must still have her magical powers, has not aged!!!

Return to Oz on Showtime!

2011-09-05T17:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our friends at the Return to Oz Archive, We got wind on the film playing on Showtime!

Here are the listings:

Tue 09/06 4:45 PM SHO BEYOND
Sun 09/11 6:05 PM SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE
Mon 09/12 1:00 PM SHO BEYOND
Thu 09/15 6:00 AM SHO BEYOND
Thu 09/15 3:35 PM SHO BEYOND
Fri 09/16 6:00 AM FLiX
Sat 09/17 12:55 PM SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE
Sun 09/18 4:30 PM SHO BEYOND
Wed 09/21 7:10 AM SHO BEYOND
Wed 09/21 1:45 PM SHO BEYOND

You can also visit Showtime's original site here:

http://www.sho.com/site/movies/movie.do?seriesid=0&seasonid=0&episodeid=137841

Its great that Return to Oz is finally getting some time of Television! The next step? Blu-Ray~!

Lunch Pails!

2011-09-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here is another little look inside our Oz museum, Today we are looking at Lunch Pails. These pails hold delicious lunches for Dorothy and Billina. They grow on the Lunch Pail trees, and are used as weapons against wheelers & Evil Princesses.

These Pails are the are the actual props used in the film. We have a total of 4 of them, 1 is made of hard plastic, while the others are made of a few materials, Rubber, resin & Metal. These are a true rare find, the only others that exist are stored at the Disney Archives.

One of them is made of small hard plastic while the other 3 are made of rubber and metal. A great addition to the Museum!

Legend ~ Darkness & Blix

2011-08-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this has nothing to do with Return to Oz today, but I may sway off a bit now and again. When I started this blog in 2008 I wrote a whole review on the 1986 film Legend.

Legend was an amazing fantasy film by Director Ridley Scott. And it recently came out on Blu-Ray with amazing results. I only hope, wish, and pray this can happen to Return to Oz some day...

Well one of the cool things I wanted to share is this Premium Sideshow Figure of the Lord of Darkness from the film. This is a statue is molded after the character played by Tim Curry. It measures about 2 feet tall and looks massive. The detail in this figure is amazing.

And to the left you will see the figure of Blix. He was a Goblin in the film. He was never mass-produced. This is a one of a kind doll made to go with this Sideshow statue. He measures about 14 inches tall.

So although we have a RTO museum tour going on I wanted to share the other little bits of Movie Memorabilia hanging around.

More to come soon,

Large Stuffed Tik-Tok

2011-08-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here is another little glimpse inside the Return to Oz Museum... Today I would like to talk about this extremely rare toy from Return to Oz.

The Tik-Tok stuffed toy was manufactured by a Japanese company Heart & Heart and these toys were ONLY sold in Japan. Tik-Tok came in 2 stuffed sizes.

The small Tik-Tok measures 9 inches tall, while this Tik-Tok measures about 17 inches tall. What makes this toy so special is that this was the exact doll given to Fairuza Balk when the movie premiered in Japan!

Making this toy a truly rare piece of RTO history. Please stay tuned, more inside the RTO museum to come....

My Replica Slippers...

2011-08-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to share some photos of the Replica Slippers I made a few years ago. You can also see a video of them on a previous blog, the video really shows how well they shine.

More Replica Ruby Slippers!

2011-08-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not blogging in a while. But just wanted to share something pretty cool, here are another Replica pair of the Ruby Slippers from Return to Oz!

Thanks Freddy for the Photos ;)

Please note these are not the pair in my collection, but another pair. It is exciting to see how many talented people there are out there!

More updates to come stay tuned....

Return to Oz Figures for sale!

2011-08-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to let you guys know that there are 2 rare return to Oz figures for sale on eBay right now.

These are the small figures produced by Heart & Heart of Japan.

Click on a photo below to go to the auctions:

Memorabilia Added...

2011-06-15T14:54:00.001-07:00

Sorry this has taken a while but as promised updates were made! We just added a bunch of memorabilia to the Audio & Video Page. Each page now has the back cover available to view.

You can see the updates by clicking the following link....

More Memorabilia updates to come, we are working on updatig the entire list. So check back often.

New Main Page

2011-06-09T05:30:00.001-07:00

UPDATES:

We have updated our Main Page image, I hope you like this one....

We also updated our memorabilia pages, you can now view them in thumbnails. More items to be added to these pages so stay tuned....

Updates....

2011-05-13T13:55:00.000-07:00

We Just added some great Desktop Backgrounds to our Interactive page. :)

Also the Cast & character logo has now changed for the better.

Stay tuned more updates to come!

Photos Galore...

2011-05-06T16:54:00.001-07:00

We have slowly been re-vamping the site. Sorry but it is taking a bit longer than we expected. But don't worry, it will pay off. We have much more material in our archive to add to the new site.

And as far updates from the Archive,

we just uploaded over 100 NEW photos of Return to Oz...

We are also currently working on some great desktop backgrounds to add to our desktop gallery.

Stay tuned for more....

Behind the Scenes Photos....

2011-03-04T11:37:00.001-08:00

As promised, I have uploaded over 30 behind the Scenes photos to our photo gallary. You can view the new photos by clicking the link below:

Stay tuned for more updates :)

Return to Oz Museum Tour.... Part 2

2011-02-27T18:35:00.000-08:00

As promised here is another little glimpse inside the museum....

This is a One of a kind Dorothy Doll that a friend of mine made for me. I have never shown any photos of this doll before. She stands about 12 inches tall and comes with Billina and a Lunch pale.

I have a few more Return to oz dolls that are much smaller than this one. They can be viewed in this video:

Quick Little Update...

2011-02-23T16:47:00.000-08:00

So many changes to the site, where to start. We have now completed everything up to the Interactive Oz page. Many new things were added, including more videos, so check them all out again. Here is a list of what has been updated so far:

Articles & Interviews

Behind the Scenes

Cast & Characters ( Main page only )

Fan Art

Interactive Oz

That may not sound like much but there are many sub-pages within them. We do still need to get Marketing, Memorabilia, Promotional Material, Set & costume, Surviving Props, Links, and our Contact Page updated... Well it is a work in progress and I would say we are half way through. Stay tuned for the entire site re-mastered!

The Memorabilia will take a while, but we are planning to add a bunch of memorabilia to the pages too so it will be worth the wait.

Return to Oz Museum Tour.... Part 1

2011-02-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

Over the Next few weeks, while updating our entire website, we will also let you in on our private Return to Oz museum / Archive. This will entail showing photos and talking about the collection. And then we will end the series with a special video of the museum.

As for today I decided to start with this Stone Lion. As some of you may know, I am lucky enough to own a few original Return to Oz props. One of which is this Stone Lion. He is made out of actual concrete and stands about 2 feet tall. He was imported to the Us from the Uk.

This lion was casted into about 10 replicas which were sold on ebay and various other places. But the original resides here in our museum...

New Website!

2011-02-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say we now have a new look!

Over the next few weeks we are transferring the entire site over to a new format.

Our Blog has a new look too, and there are much more updates to come. But for the next few weeks check back often, all pages will be changed. Click on the link below to view the new site but remember it is under construction...

Archive Update

2011-02-02T10:03:00.000-08:00

After some more research it turns out that the Disney Archive has a few more props that are not on Display. Here is what the Archive department said about Return to Oz:

"Yes, we are very proud to have a very comprehensive representation of artifacts from Return to Oz, including Dorothy's costume, complete with her ruby slippers, and her lunch pails. We also have the Tin Woodsman, Jack Pumpkinhead and even the Gnome King's ruby slippers. Tik Tok was on display for many years at Disney's Hollywood Studios; A Disney archivist is currently restoring him as there are plans to use him in an upcoming Archives exhibit."

How cool is that? I would LOVE to see some of these props on Display... Or even for sale... ( one can dream... )

And here is a little bonus, I found another photo of the props.

These photos have been updated on the Surviving Prop pages....

Stay Tuned for more on Return to oz.

Return to Oz Props on Display!

2011-01-30T20:11:00.000-08:00

For those of you that don't know. The Disney company hung on to some major props from Return to Oz. They even have them on display in their Archive department in California. Here are some photos taken from the web of the props on display...

Fan Art Updated

2011-01-23T17:55:00.000-08:00

Just got done updating a bunch of fan art.... sorry it took me so long to update.. :) It is a little revamped too, hope you like it. ( Click on the link below to view )

New Photograph

2011-01-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

Just got in this photograph from Germany, going to add it to the archive. But I wanted to share it with you first. I don't know why, but I have always loved the Cowardly lion from this movie...

Baum Bugle

2011-01-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Everyone should check out this new issue of the Baum Bugle. Winter 2010 Volume 54

There is much to do about Return to Oz!

There are interviews with Oz collectors Willard Carol, Freddy Fogarty, and Yours truly.

Also included is an updated checklist.. some of which items are not even on the site yet..

There is also storyboards of a deleted scene from Return to Oz.

To top it all off the back cover shows a wonderful painting of Tik-Tok.

Thank you Baum Bugle for remembering Return to Oz on its Anniversary year.

For more information visit their website:http://www.ozclub.org/

Memorabilia update

2010-12-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

We have added some great Return to Oz books to the memorabilia page. This is an ongoing process, there are many more items that need to be added so please stay tuned for more updates. As for now here are the books updated today...

New Photo Galleries!!

2010-12-05T19:02:00.000-08:00

So I have be getting a lot of requests of new photo galleries. And I did one better, I uploaded a ton of photos for you guys.

These can also be found on the Interactive page, or by clicking the link below.

I decided for your connivance I would upload them all on Flicker that way it is easier for you guys to view them all.

Check back too, this is just the beginning of my massive Return to Oz photo collection.

Please leave comments if you like :)

Return to Oz Screening Photos...

2010-12-01T07:43:00.001-08:00

As promised here are some photos from the Return to Oz Screening in Santa Monica. Thanks Freddy for the photos ;)

Return to Oz Screening!

2010-11-29T19:55:00.000-08:00

Last week there was a screening of Return to Oz at the Aero Theater. But this screeing had a Q & A with Walter Murch & Fairuza Balk! Many fans went, and many did not know it was going on... Here is a review by an audience member...

"This screening was a very pleasant surprise, especially the discussion with the director and star. I enjoyed their insight into the process and conception. The film was very interesting and entertaining. I appreciated the inspiration from the books and did not mind that it was not a musical. I believe its shortcoming had to do with the lack of human-ness in Dorothy's new friends. The audience needs to be drawn to them and love them as much as the heroine to feel engaged. I had thought their coldness was due to the technically dominated special effects utilized to create these fantastical characters. Later, after George Lucas' name was brought into the discussion, I came to a realization that StarWars had tremendous success with two mechanical onscreen characters who were both very endearing and human-like, R2-D2 and C3PO. Little Miss Balk was a very sweet and intelligent Dorothy." - Lawrence

http://www.goldstar.com/events/santa-monica-ca/return-to-oz.html

The screening is now over, but stay tuned for photos from that night....

Chocolate Milk

2010-10-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have always loved this add from Japan. It is some sort of OZ chocolate milk. It clearly has the characters from Return to Oz to promote it. But no one seems to even remember what it was. If anyone out there knows give us a little light here in the dark. But it is a very interesting add to say the least...

Behind the Scenes Photo

2010-10-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a great Behind the Scenes Photo of Jack in the workshop!

We are working on getting a photo gallery of all the Behind the Scenes Photos on the website..... So stay tuned.....

Return to Oz Dolls for sale!

2010-10-18T19:05:00.001-07:00

You have seen our custom dolls on the website and now is your chance to own one! Princess Mombi & the Nome King are for sale right now on ebay. And the bidding is starting very low....

Click on one of their photos to view the auction.

Fairuza.com

2010-10-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know yet Fairza Balk has been very busy recently. She has taken over Fairuza.com. It is a great place to go and view what is going on in her career. She even response back to fans!

In latest News Fairuza has a new single that you can download on itunes & Amazon! Here are the following links to do so:

Buy on AMAZON

Buy on iTUNES

Or if you are a hardcore fan you can get the single on CD signed for by Fairuza herself. If you are interested you can purchase on her website.

Stay tuned to this blog for More on Fairuza.

New Video Documentary!

2010-09-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hello all...

I am proud to announce that our Ninth Episode of our online Series : Return to Oz: Stories behind the story - is now available online. This episode focuses on the Casting of Dorothy and on Fairuza Balk herself, I hope you enjoy it.

Character Updates!!

2010-09-15T20:34:00.001-07:00

There are a few updates going on on the site... The first is the Cast & Character Page. We have now added Uncle Henry & Aunt Em...

Also we have been adding in some great memorabilia so check out those pages... The memorabilia is an ongoing project so please check those pages often, you will never know what you find.

More updates to come soon....

Return to Oz Comic Complete!

2010-08-07T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am proud to say the Return to Oz online comic is now complete. You can view the entire story by clicking on the link below, or by going to our interactive page. Stay tuned for more updates!

25th Anniversary

2010-06-23T17:55:00.000-07:00

Happy 25th Anniversary Return to Oz! Well I am a few days late... It was actually on June 21st.

And speaking of 25th Anniversaries, another Disney classic shares the same year ( July 24th )

The Black Cauldron

The film is based on books by Lloyd Alexander called the Prydain Chronicles. But the disney movie is based mostly on the first and second book. It is however an entirely differant story than the books. But I do recomend reading the books for anyone who likes fantasy.

Disney has actually honored this classic with a special 25th Anniversary release. It will mainly be the same as the earlier release but will finally be in full Widescreen! And they have created a new game, which really is kind of stupid. The reports say there will be a deleted scene but not the controversial scene of the Cauldron Born, but I guess an extended fairy folk scene. Another downside to this is that Disney will not be putting this on Blu-Ray, only DVD. They seem to be very very picky on what goes on Blu-Ray for some reason. The DVD will be available on September 14th.

For those of you not familiar with this movie you can view its 25th Anniversary trailer here:

Well Disney at least honored this film here's hoping ( but not holding my breath ) that Return to Oz will get the some sort of honor, even if it is just new box art. But a Blu-Ray of Return to Oz would be a dream come true. Disney sure did make some great films in 1985!

Stange Photo Art

2010-06-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

I made this the other day. It is quite strange I know, but so was Return to Oz. ( In a good way ) This photo was taken to capture the 4 figures made for Return to Oz in Japan back in 1985.... Hope you like the photo....
( You can Click on the photo to view it larger )

Return to Oz Comic!

2010-06-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

There has been quite a few updates here at WaltDisneysReturntoOz.com and one of the more predominant updates is our expanded Comic Section. You can check out many of the pages here...

More to come soon....

Return to Oz Dolls

2010-05-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give you guys a peek at some custom Return to Oz dolls! Their pictures are already in our One of a Kind pages, but I thought it would give you a better look with a video. So here they are, hope you like them.....

Updates! Emma Ridley!

2010-04-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

We have been busy, there are quite a few updates going on. First an Emma Ridley Update, check out her Cast & Character page:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Emma.htm

Next we have uploaded a video of Emma on our Interactive Page which has had a make-over, so check our our new interactive page with lots of new additions....

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Interactive.htm

We have updated the Surviving prop list too can you find any new ones...

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Props.htm

More updates to come soon, but until then, watch this cool Reality show pilot on Emma Ridley...

Desktop Backgrounds

2010-04-14T15:33:00.000-07:00

We have uploaded some new and very cool desktop backgrounds. They are located on the Interactive Oz page:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Interactive.htm

Here are just a few.....

Go to the Interactive page to check them all out. And stay glued, more updates soon!

Return to Oz Review from 1985!

2010-04-11T19:30:00.000-07:00

Just found a video review from 1985 with Jeffery Lyons & Neal Gabler on Return to Oz. Very interesting.... Not really the most positive review in fact they were kind of down right rude about it. Oh well I am a little bias. :)

More updates to the site soon, so stay tuned!

David Shire Interview!!

2010-03-09T19:25:00.000-08:00

We have a new audio Interview with David Shire, the writer and composer of the score for Return to Oz!

Sorry about the recording, it has a little bit of flaws in it. Not really sure what happened, and since it was live, that is all we have. But the interview with Mr Shire was a dream come true. I hope you all enjoy it....

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Art.htm

Night of the Nick~Nacks

2010-02-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Just got word that there is to be a Return to Oz art show!

When: Saturday, February 27, 2010 6:00 PM - 10:00 PM PST

Where: Gallery Meltdown 7522 W. Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039

Opening Reception: February 27, 2010, 6-10pm

Exhibition runs through March 23, 2010

Featuring work by:Douglas Alvarez, Dan Barry, Nicole Bruckman, Cambria, Jehan Choo, Edward Robin Coronel, Delphia, Cyrus Fire, Sara Haase, Kirsten Huntley Gabbe, Leslie Levings, Jason Rudolph Pena, Richard Sala, Chris Stangl, Jennifer Tong, Christopher Umana, Kelly Vivanco, Steven Weissman, Alex Willan, Azikwe Andrews, Shahid Brown, Elizabeth Caffey, Jose Carrabes, Anna Chung, Joel Daavid, Bob Dornberger, Sarah Freeman, Walt Hall, Matt Key, Jennifer Lewis, Michael Pukac, Danni Shinya Lou, Julianna Swaney, Randy Ulrey, Jessica Van Hulle, Ted Von Heiland, Nick Wildermuth, N.C. Winters

Anyone who attends please send us photos so we can share!

New Fairuza Interviews

2009-12-03T15:24:00.000-08:00

We found some great recent interviews with Ms. Balk! These talk about her most recent film, Bad Lieutenant. Great to see Fairuza in new roles, the DVD is projected for Feb/March.

Bonus, here is the trailer for her new movie....

New Interview!

2009-11-07T19:15:00.000-08:00

We have just completed a new interview with Paul Maslansky the Producer of Return to Oz!

You can download it free on our Interview page:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Art.htm

Many thanks to Aaron at thewizardofozfilm.com, as well as Celia Foster!

Return to Oz Site Updates!

2009-11-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

Just got done making quite a few updates, but my favorite is the NEW Ruby Slipper HOME logo. See the way they sparkle???

Fairuza at Bad Lieutenant screening!

2009-11-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent photos of Fairuza Balk at the screening of her new movie "Bad Lieutenant". And yep she's still got it! So for all you Fairuza fans here are some great pics!

Victoria Wood Single

2009-11-04T11:10:00.000-08:00

We now have the Victoria wood single available for download on our Soundtrack Page! This single was only available on LP in the UK. Thanks to our friend over at thewizardofozfilm.com you can now hear and download this song! I am kind of glad that it never made it to the film though, since it is very 80s feel to it. It would have ruined the overall "feel" of the film. In my opinion anyway.

You can download the song here as well:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/ST_Wood.mp3

Ruby Slippers Completed!

2009-09-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well as promised, the are now done, here is the video of them, I hope you enjoy it.

P.S. I will also be posting this in our One of a Kind page :)

Ruby Slipper Update...

2009-09-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a pair of Replica Slippers, on and off for over 2 years! Wow that is a long time, but I am happy to say they are almost done. I had re-do the bows again, these will look as close as exact as possible, only my replica pair will have quite a few more rhinestones, to give it a very beautiful look. So stay tuned, I will upload a video so you all can see how they will look finished, quite a bit different than they did before in which I had a video of those too, if you search hard enough, you can find it here....

Return to Oz figures on eBay

2009-08-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

I am here to say we are now selling some of the rare Return to Oz action figures from Japan on eBay. We are sellign a scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and a Tik-Tok! The bidding is staring low, so dont let these guys get away....

http://cgi.ebay.com/Return-to-Oz-Heart-Heart-Scarecrow-Figure-Japan-RARE_W0QQitemZ150368667484QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2302abc75c&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.com/Return-to-Oz-Tin-Woodman-Wizard-of-Oz-Figure-Japan-RARE_W0QQitemZ150368668997QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2302abcd45&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Return-to-Oz-Tik-Tok-Figure-L-Frank-Baum-Wizard_W0QQitemZ150368670017QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2302abd141&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Return to Oz - Stories Behind the Story -Episode 6

2009-07-10T07:50:00.001-07:00

Finally, We have another episode in our Documentary series; Return to Oz - Stories behind the Story. This Episode is based on the burning question everyone seems to ask, "Is Return to Oz a Sequel?" So please enjoy this episode, a lot of sweat and tears was poured into it....

Dorothy & Paul McCartney

2009-07-07T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here is a really cool photo I had someone on the message board ask about. It was taken during filming of Return to Oz, it is Dorothy ( Fairuza Balk ) with Paul McCartney! The photo I had was very small so the pic is not so clear, but you can tell who it is. It makes me happy they put Tik-Tok and the Tin Woodman in there aswell.

New Store Inventory

2009-06-29T12:21:00.000-07:00

We got some new Store Inventory for everyone. We don't have the cool replicas yet :( , but more books and DVDs, and some other Oz thrown in. Check it out here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Store.htm

Interactive Oz

2009-06-27T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hello All, Well we got 2 great desktop backgrounds thanks to our friend Jeff :) These will be loaded to the Interactive Page for you all to enjoy on your computer screen.

We also have some new fan trailers and a newly remastered version of the Return to Oz TV spots. Thanks to Sam for all the hard work on those, it really payed off!

The rest of the trailers can be viewed from our Interactive Page, or by clicking here:
http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Inter_Trailer.htm

Stay tuned, we have some great things in store this Summer! And lets get back on the discussion board.. :)

Desktop Background contest

2009-06-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

We are going to have a Desktop background contest! Well maybe not a contest, but we need more desktop backgrounds on the INTERACTIVE page. We now only have two. :(

So any of you fans, grab your favorite Return to Oz photos and your paint shop and enter in a desktop background. All of them will be uploaded to the site, the deadline is the end of next weekend, ending on Fathers Day...... I would love to add a lot more backgrounds for people to enjoy... :) You can email the Here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Contact.htm

Twitter!

2009-06-12T12:35:00.001-07:00

We now have a Twitter Account! So you can follow us on either Myspace or Twitter now!

Here is our new Twitter Account,

http://twitter.com/Returnto0z

We have also changed our main photo on the website, these will periodically change to keep the main page fresh. If you have a request on what character or prop you would like to see on the next one, send us an email.

Hope everyone is well and don't forget to follow us on Twitter!

Return to Oz Memorabilia

2009-05-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to write a quick note to let you all know that we have updated some Memorabilia on the website. The main updates are 3 of the plush toys from Japan. These are so rare and now we have great photos of 3 of them on the website.

The Dolls updated were Jack, Tik-Tok, & The Cowardly Lion.

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Mem_Dolls.htm

We also updated the Dorothy Doll....

We also added a One of a Kind Necklace...

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/OOAK_Misc.htm

A UK coloring Book:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Mem_Act_ColorUK.htm

Some great crew exclusives:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Mem_Crew.htm

And a Magic slate pad:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Mem_Misc.htm

We have a lot of other memorabilia we will be updating in the near future... so stay tuned!

Fairuza Films

2009-05-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today is Fairuza's Birthday! Happy Birthday Ms. Balk! And for that I am going to talk a bit about her recent movies. In case any of you want to see them.

And for those of you that dont know Humboldt County is a new (newer) movie starring Fairuza Balk. And it is a fantastic film! Fairuza is only in the first 20 minutes or so, but she does an outstanding job. She even sings in the film! So for all you Fairuza Fans, check this one out. And for you Six Feet Under Lovers it also stars Frances Conroy (Ruth) & Chris Messina (Ted). :)

The plot of the movie is as follows:

Peter is a medical student about to graduate and begin his residency. When his professor fails him, he winds up in bed with an actress and singer named Bogart (Fairuza Balk) rolling through Los Angeles. He accompanies her to the redwoods of northern California, where he encounters her eccentric family of pot farmers. But when Bogart runs away without a word, Peter is thrust into the picturesque and bizarre world that is Humboldt County.

You can purchase Humboldt county here:

Another recent movie Fairuza stars in is Grindstone Road. This film was not the greatest I had ever seen, but Fairuza's performance was dead on, as usual. She plays the main character in the film so this makes it very fun as she is in the whole movie. The plot is simple:

A woman (Fairuza Balk) along with her husband moves into an old house where strange phenomena ocurs right after her son fall s into a comma.

And at a 9.99 price point, you cant go wrong! You can purchase Grindstone Road Here:

Well there are quite a few other Fairuza Movies, but we will review those soon for everyone. In the meantime, if any of you watch these films let us know what you think! We are also working on getting more titles in our Store so please check that out too.

New Fan Art

2009-05-16T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well Guys I updated the fan art page. I had gotten a few submissions recently. They can be found here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Fan_Draw.htm

If anyone has any more or are inspired by this post please email them and I will upload them to the fan art pages.

There is a slight delay on the Return to Oz documentaries, I am in the process of moving, so it may be a little while before the docs are back on track. But I assure you I got so great things in store. But they may have to wait to late summer :(

But in beween time I will do my best to make updates often to the site.

Just a little post to let you know things are still going forward here at waltdisneysreturntooz.com

Talk to you all soon.....

Deleted Scenes

2009-03-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to share with you all very rare Deleted Scenes from Return to Oz! And this time in video! You can see them all in the next 2 episodes of our Return to Oz video series:

I have also broken them all up and added them to our Deleted Scenes page here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Del.htm

It took a long time to get these out to you so I really hope you guys enjoy them!!

Return to Oz Parade

2009-03-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

I wanted to write to let you know that I updated the Return to Oz Electrical Parade Page. There are some really cool photos I thought you might enjoy...

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Float.htm

Also we are a little behind on the next video episode (these things take forever to produce!) But hang in there, and new one is coming. :)

I have decided since the message board is well, dead, I am going to put updates on the Return to Oz Blog.

And just for tuning in here is a cool Myspace graphic I found online: Not sure of the artist, but feel free to use it.

Well that is it for now.... I am curious though, is anyone listening?

New RTO Store

2009-02-19T09:35:00.000-08:00

First I wanted to let everyone know that I may be a little behind on the new Oz video. BUt please be patient, a new episode is comming soon.

Also, we are in the works to actually carry some metal replicas of some movie props, which were given out to cast and crew members at the end of filming. These will be golden Tik-Toks, Tik-Tok’s badge, and Winding instructions plate, Golden Oz Keys, and even some new metal figures to go with the golden Tik-Tok. )Ie DOrothy, Jack Gump, etc) So look out for them in the next few months here:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Store.htm

What do you guys think?

New Return to Oz Review

2009-01-27T13:58:00.001-08:00

So this one is not as bad as the the Siskel & Ebert review but not as accurate as possible either. But it is nice to have Return to Oz reviewed again. They did claim that the Oz movie rights were in public domain when Return to Oz was filmed, which was not true. They also really tied it to the Wizard of Oz, but that was inevitable. I thought it was interesting however,

Follow the link below to see the video on spike.com;

Return to Oz Stories behind the story

2009-01-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

Episodes 2 & 3 are now up! These include the making of documentary that was on British television. Stay tuned for episode 4!

Return to Oz - Stories behind the story

2009-01-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

As I promised, we have finished our first Online episode in our new documentary series. The series is titled:

Return to Oz - Stories behind the story

This episode is just one of many that are to come. So enjoy and please send us a comment to let us know you are viewing the blogs ok?

Ruby Slipper replicas

2008-12-20T11:36:00.000-08:00

So I have been working on some Ruby Slipper replicas for what feels like forever. Many of you already know this but, I actually started this whole project about 2 years ago....

Yeah I know, I did not think it would take this long either. The reason it is taking so long was that I had to place each little rhinestone on to them one by one. On top of that each shoe had to be re-upholstered. Many of you have seen one of these shoes on our Q & A we did back in May. But since then I have re-done the bows, as to they were all wrong, come to find out. And I have added many more rhinestones. But with all of this time I still can not say they are "DONE". But, I am about 80% done with the whole project. Which I never even thought I would make it this far. I thought it would be a neat gift to you all to show you these slippers, or at least what I have done so far. I even put them on video so you can get the full effect of the rhinestones. Let me know how you like them.

Return to Oz DVD Art

2008-12-17T09:30:00.000-08:00

As many of you have heard me said, I am really quite annoyed with the DVD cover art Disney has created. They really did not spend much time on the construction.

They must not have found a great quality picture of Dorothy, to where they had to airbrush her, which made her look like a Muppet. And they colored her dress in Pink, like in one of those old black and white films, you know when they would try to colorize it. The colors never seem to mesh correctly.

So, after pondering these and looking through old posters, I came across an old promotional sketch. This was to be considered as a theatrical poster. I really liked the art on this one, why couldn’t Disney just hire an (gasp) animator to draw up some new artwork. Well, apparently they do not even care enough to give the film proper box art. Hopefully with 2010, and the films 25th anniversary coming up, they will re-release a special edition. But I won’t hold my breath….

2009 Return to Oz Site

2008-12-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to give you guys a little heads up for 2009. We are actually going to be doing a video series on Return to Oz. Here is how it will work:
At least once a month, we will put together a Documentary somehow relating to Return to Oz. This can be on behind the scenes stories, to memorabilia info, it will very from month to month. We will also be doing some fun participation for these too.
So be on the watch, The videos will be posted exclusively here, in our Blog of Oz.

If you have anything you would like to see, or see more of, please send us an email.

So tune in after the Holiday and Merry Christmas to you all!

Aaron

Return to Oz and children...

2008-07-25T17:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not blogging in so long. I promise I will try to get a message in here more often.

Now that aside, how has everyone been? Well the RTO message board has been dead, so I am guessing you are all out having lives. Hopefully it will pick back up. We are a community people! Just kidding, but I have been a little weary about making updates. Does anyone even see them? Well if you have not read lately we did an interview with Mak Wilson, who was the puppeteer for Billina. He told us a very interesting story about a scene that was cut. You should read the interview:

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Art_Mak.htm

We have also uploaded some new documentaries, as well as.....tuda...a Return to Oz Store! I get a lot of emails asking about where to buy Return to Oz stuff. And mostly the books are hard to find....but since I have been collecting (for what seems like forever), I sort of have become an expert. So I will do all the work for you and all you will have to do is just buy.

http://www.waltdisneysreturntooz.com/Store.htm

I apologize the beginning of this post has been mostly about updates... but it helps me feel you guys are caught up.

About the Movie:

Has anyone watched Return to Oz lately? Well I did with my best friend's children. They are 3, 5, & 6. So...I skipped the beginning....I know...but the shock thing. I thought they were too young. So we started when Dorothy wakes up in the coop with Billina. So we were all sitting on my couch and I was catching them up. "How did they get to Oz?" one asked. I simply said, "A storm blew Dorothy there in a chicken coop." "A chicken coop?" She giggled. So everything is going good until the 3 year old sees the rocks. His eyes got all big and he said "him scary...he's a bad guy!" "He is a bad guy." I said. So far no one was scared. The 3 year old's eyes would always get huge any time the Nome King's messenger would come on the screen. So we get to the Emerald City..and I am afraid that when they see the wheelers they are just going to scream! But no....it was fine. The oldest looked up at me in amazement and pointed to my (wheeler) tattoo, and said " A Wheeler...." Then the kids really stated to realize that there was Return to Oz stuff all over my house. They kept asking questions like "How much was that?" "Too much" I usually answered. So I tried to keep there minds on track, they were happy to see Tik-Tok beat up the evil wheelers. And then Mombi came. They were very confused by her. I had to explain about her switching heads. They would ask "Did she cut off those Lady's heads?" Or "Why does she have them all locked up in boxes to their necks?" After the Mombi explain, they liked Jack, and when Mombi was screaming with hout her head... that was enough for the middle child. She said "Can we watch a different movie?" I wanted to say "no we can not watch a different movie, is is the best there is." But I only pretended to ignore her. And she calmed down as soon as the gump flew away. During the flight the same girl said "They should have just walked across the rocks to the nome King's mountain" I had never thought of that... I said, "well maybe there weren't enough rocks" And when the Gump was falling apart she said, the heavy one should just jump off!" I quickly retaliated, "But they he would be turned to sand." "Well," she explained, "he could have saved his friends." Good point. So they got a kick out of the chicken being in Jacks head. And surprisingly the Nomes and the Nome King did not scare them one bit. And in the end they just loved the coronation scene. The oldest said "Is there a sequel? I want to see more like the end of the movie... the rest was kind of scary." I asked "Did you like it?" They all said "Yeah". And we all had a really good time.

I think that if parents back in the 80s would let there kids watch this film, they would realize it was scary. But it still entertains children. I encourage you to watch the film again with a child or children who have not seen it before. It is a real riot. And please share it with us! Either on a comment or on our RTO message board. You will be glad you did.

Legend Rant

2008-04-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know this is kind of off the RTO topic, but from time to time, this blog will be. However almost everything I write about will have some kind of tie in.Today I am going to talk about the movie Legend. It débuted in June of 1985 just like Return to Oz! It was also written and a children’s story, and was very frightening to many people and kids. I could not even watch this movie until I was much older, due to Tim Curry over there… He scared the crap out of me!

But I revisited this film again this weekend, and I watched the Directors cut DVD, (If you want to buy a copy, get the Ultimate Edition). This Edition was everything a fan could want, commentary, deleted scenes, behind the scenes, etc, etc, etc….It was wonderful! So I decided to watch the film with the Directors commentary. And I just loved it! Like Return to Oz, it too was HIGHLY underrated. It was a wonderful fantasy! And I found a wonderful website dedicated to the film, It is located Here:

http://www.figmentfly.com/legend/index.shtml

The Production for Legend was around the same cost of Return to Oz ($30 Million) and was also in the day where CGI did not exist. Which made things more difficult. But that is the point my rant is trying to make today.
How CGI killed the industry.

It seems that in the Day when CGI did not exist, movies just looked more real, because what is shot, is essentially real. There was nothing added in later, it all needed to be done with other techniques.

Ridley Scott, in his commentary, said that the Oona character was just a light on the end of a fishing string, bouncing around to look like a fairy. I found this fascinating, and I wondered how they must have done that as a kid. And if that same effect were done with CGI, it would cost around $200,000, and this only cost them some fishing wire and a light. So around $20. Ridley went on to say; "You can never get a better looking shot than what is done in real life, so if you can shoot it real, do it." Why don’t other film makers feel this way too? I mean, the movie Eragon cost over $100 million because of all the CGI, and Legend cost around $30 Million, and it looks and feels more real, to me anyway. I feel movie producers really need to revisit some of these age old techniques of prosthetics and puppets, it makes for a more fun, and often more cost effective movie.

Also with the day of CGI, it seemed to have also killed 2D animation. 3D Pixar movies are Ok, but I miss the 2D animation, call it nostalgia. A good example would be also from 1985, Disney's Black Cauldron. It was a fun Fantasy movie (totally awful compared to the books, but as a separate entity, very fun). It involved a prophetic pig and a Horned King, you can’t get any better than that! It was also the only Disney classic to ever receive a PG rating. It was received as just too scary.

Whether it’s Return to Oz, Legend or the Black Cauldron, Fantasy films have always had a draw on me. And although to movie studios 1985 fantasy movies were not so successful, in my mind they won’t get any better!

Garnet

2008-03-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

There is something I have been thinking about for some time. Who exactly is Garnet? Do you remember her character in RTO? Well hardcore fans will remember that is Aunt Em's sister. She only mentions her briefly in the start of the film, where she says;

Em - "Garnet says she'll loan it to us."
Henry- "That's Charity Em'"
Em- "She my sister, its family, not charity."

That line is the very line that got me thinking. Who is Garnet? Where did she come from? Why would she have the money for Dorothy's treatment and Aunt Em does not?

So It was time to do some research.

I know that Walter Murch was a huge fan of the book. Most everything in the film had a book reference.
But what I found was, Garnet was not mentioned in any of the Oz books....hmmm....

So she must have been created by Return to Oz Directer Walter Murch. When he and Gill Dennis created the draft of the film.

So I found her origin, (kind of) Now the question that can't be answered for sure is:
Where did she come from?

But I do have a theory on this one. I do know an interesting story as a gag Walter Murch named Doctor Worley and Nurse Wilson after two crew members. So I think they may have done the same with Em's sister Garnet. But there is only one problem to this theory... There's no Garnet in the credits. But on the other side, I could not find a Worley in the credits either, and I know he was named after a crew member. So I think it is safe to say this could be what happened.

Now so far we know that Garnet is Emily's (Aunt Em's) Sister. But we are not clear on her last name or origin in the story. We do know that Emily's last name is Blue, but that can't be her maiden name since she is married to Henry Blue. We also know that Garnet can't be Dorothy's mother, because in the books, Dorothy is an orphan. So she must just be a random sister of Emilys.

And the last question;

Why would she have the money and Aunt Em does not?

I think since the tornado, the Blue family now have a mortgage on the house, which they can barely afford. Before the storm they must not have owned any money to the bank. Farm country is like that, some people back then would never borrow from a bank, and their land and houses would be paid in full. And you have to remember there was not home owners insurance then, so a wreckage would be devastating! Not to mention the entire house was blown away. So that means all of their stuff, gone! Garnet must live somewhere not close to the Blue farm, or did not have as much damage as they did. And because of that, could apparently afford Dorothy's treatment.

In conclusion there was not much to find out about Garnet, and still some pondering questions about her. She is a part of the Return to Oz world, and it would be interesting to see some more info on her. But that is probably not going to happen. But it is good to know that Aunt Em had family she can count on in a crisis. Maybe Garnet was never meant to be discovered, and I tend to look way to far into things, besides, Return to Oz is just a movie after all.

Return to Oz Welcome!

2008-03-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

Welcome! I have decided to add a blog to our RTO website, since there is much out there I want to say, this seems the easiest way to converse with you all. Most of my Blogs will be on RTO, but some will stray a bit. If you have any questions or want me to write about anything, please email me. As for that, this is my first one..... more to come soon!