A lot of films receive criticism for either not living up to the trailer, not containing elements in the finished product that show up in the trailer, or having a trailer that doesn't represent the actual story contained in the film.

I really liked Return to Oz. But based on the trailer, the movie I saw was definitely not what I was expecting when I walked into the theatre. When this came out in 1985, Disney tried to play up the fantasy elements of this film, without indicating just how dark the movie's tone actually was. Here's the original theatrical trailer...



And now take a look at this fan made trailer. This isn't the usual re-edit of a children's film that makes it out to be something it's not (there's an extremely funny Mary Poppins re-edit that turns that film into a thriller). Rather, this is a trailer by someone who truly admires the film, and honestly depicts its unsettling tone. The film most likely would not have grossed dollar one if this trailer was used to promote it, but I wonder if there would have been as much criticism leveled at the film had this trailer been used. This trailer almost makes the film seem like something that came out of the mind of Guillermo Del Toro.

I did not see this film when released, nor ever. The first trailer made me feel like this was a turd well worth avoiding, while the second seems to play a lot better today.

But that said, is it safe to assume that Return to Oz is true to the vision of Frank L. Baum's sequels?

And if so, is it safe to assume that C.S. Lewis "borrowed" from Baum when writing Prince Caspian?

Still nice to see a young Faruza Balk, years before "The Craft" and "Almost Famous" typecasted her.

I never knew an Oz sequel of any kind existed...in spite of myself, I kind of want to see it.

That pumpkin head guy is pretty cool!

(Edit: I know this has nothing to do with film trailers. Couldn't help myself.)

I saw this film when I was about five.

I remember it absolutely terrifying me. From the Wheelers, to the faces of the witch...

Man. I've told so many people how much this movie scared me and so few of them believed that it even existed. It must have been that overlooked.

And http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Return_to_Oz .

Apparently, it's two books combined. I remember reading The Marvelous Land of Oz when I was about nine.

And the second trailer almost makes me want to watch the movie again anyway.

I remember almost nothing about this film (which I did see when it premiered in '85; I was 14 at the time), except that many people thought Tick-Tock was a rip-off of R2-D2, and that the movie was huge, huge news in Vancouver because the star, Fairuza Balk, was from our fair city.

These days, of course, she'd be playing the witch and not Dorothy.

The wheelers are a terrifying childhood memory.



I remember feeling tricked, that they would use Oz as a ploy to make me watch this scary film.