Return to Oz is nothing like the original. This film is dark from beginning to end. It starts out with Dorothy being sent to clinic, because of her obsession with Oz, but she escapes after they try to do an illegal experiment on her with shock treatment. She finds herself back in Oz, but everything is different the yellow brick road is destroyed, the emerald city is gone and in it's place are ruins and everyone (including the Tin Man and Lion) have been turned to stone and the Scarecrow is missing. Dorothy encounters more scares, including Wheelers (men with wheels for hands and feet), Princess Mombi who constantly changes her head (literally, she has a rooms with 30 talking heads) and the Nome King. Joining Dorothy on her quest this time is Jack Pumpkinhead, the Gump (a green deer-head with a couch for a body), Billina the talking chicken and a mechanical man called Tik-Tok (by far the best character).
Dorothy is more 3-dimensional than in the first film, she's feels more heroic and more developed. She is a lot more involved in the action, it is up to her to save her friends this time and coming up with plans. Here she is played by a young Fairuza Balk, who makes the role her own and is noticeably younger than Judy Garland was, which makes her more vulnerable but also stronger in her situation. The Nome King is a great villain, very threatening but makes out that he's reasonable. And his motive for stealing the emeralds and revelation of how he was able to do it is very clever.
It being a sequel to the 1939 film is debatable. It looks nothing like the original, the sets and character designs are completely different, Dorothy is clearly younger and she makes some references about her first journey that happens in the book, not in the film. This is also not a musical. It's considered more of a sequel to the book than the film. However there are nods to the 1939 film, the ruby slippers (they were silver in the books) and characters in Kansas mirroring characters in Oz.
This is an 80's film so no CGI, so instead clever use of stop-motion and mechanics. Seeing the post-apocalptic version of Oz is effective, the landmarks of Oz being destroyed. The background music is rich and more pleasant to listen to than all the musical numbers of the first film.
This film did badly on its release due to complaints of it being too dark and scary for children. Although there are a lot more scarier films targeted at children. I think a lot of children like being scared because it does get them invested. This is an underrated film, and it appears more people are starting to appreciate this film for what it is.
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