The Wizard of Oz is considered one of the greatest movies ever made. It's a movie that just about everyone has seen, and it defined the concept of fantasy movies that followed, especially the whimsical and child-like approach to fantasy worlds and storytelling. With the lovely Judy Garland leading the fantastic cast, the catchy and memorable music, and the creative shift from black-and-white to color, The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic that is beloved to this day - it has even been called "the world's favorite movie". Many sequels and retellings have followed since its release in 1939 - there is even an upcoming remake.

But, one movie stands out more than any other in The Wizard of Oz franchise - and that is Return to Oz. Released in 1985 by Walt Disney Pictures, and starring a young, big-eyed Fairuza Balk in her first ever role, Return to Oz was the first live-action move to revisit the land of Oz since the original 1939 film, and it is by far the darkest and strangest of all the Oz movies before or since. Most of the Oz adaptations, such as Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful or the wildly successful Broadway play Wicked, have maintained the colorful and whimsical approach to the world of Oz that the original 1939 film established, even if they were aimed at adult audiences and got a bit darker in tone. But, Return to Oz explored a kind of subtle horror, especially meant for young audiences, that mirrored the tone of the original novels written by L. Frank Baum in a way that no other adaptation has done. And this faithfulness to the novels, as well as the nightmarish events on screen, is why this movie is still remembered and talked about to this day.

Walt Disney Studios had been wanting to revisit the land of Oz for a sequel movie for a while. By the 1980s they owned the rights to all 14 of the original books by Baum, so when they approached prolific film editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Godfather) about what he wanted to work on, and he said he wanted to make an Oz movie; they jumped at the chance. It was Murch's first and only directed movie, but with him at the helm and the untapped potential of dipping into the Oz world again, they were very confident that the movie would be a success, and extensively funded it. Like its 1939 predecessor, however, production problems plagued the filming process. It took the combined, titanic weight of Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg petitioning together for Disney to bring back Murch after he was fired, to finish the movie. Despite the passion and talent involved, the resulting movie was a critical failure, only gaining cult appreciation years later.

So why is Return to Oz the most faithful version of the beloved Oz books?

Dorothy and Tik-Tok
Buena Vista Distribution

Return to Oz is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. Baum originally did not want to write any sequels, and he eventually grew to resent the series. But, he ended up writing 17 total installments of the fantasy world of Oz, creating what was essentially the first American fantasy series. In a touching forward to the second novel, published in 1904, Baum explained that his reason for returning to the world of Oz after the first book was because a little girl, also named Dorothy, begged him to write more stories about the fantastical characters. And he promised her that if a thousand other little girls wrote him a thousand letters, he would make a sequel. As he says in the forward to the second book:

"Either little Dorothy was a fairy in disguise, and waved her magic wand, or the success of the stage production of 'The Wizard of Oz' made new friends for the story. For the thousand letters reached their destination long since - and many more followed them. And now, although pleading guilty to a long delay, I have kept my promise in this book."

And in subsequent novels, Baum would go on to tell fantastical stories that were both haunting and entertaining. The books evoke the sort of grim horror that other children's stories, like those by The Brothers Grimm or Hans Christen Anderson, shared. He would explore the dark nature of people, as well as interesting political and social structures. The complex ideas in these novels would evolve with the books and become more adult. And this is not a bad thing - children should read dark books. By allowing children to explore the darker sides of reality in the comfortable, fictional, safe experience of reading a book, they can grow and mature emotionally. And the movie Return to Oz pays tribute to honoring the ability of children to be able to handle such nightmarish stories, and still not only enjoy them, but grow and learn from them.

Exploring the Fears and Nightmares of Children

The Nome King
Buena Vista Distribution

Return to Oz is considered one of the most nightmare-fueled children's movies ever made - and that seems deliberate. In the 1980s, a scientific test was released called The Fear Survey Schedule for Children, and was used by psychiatrists to measure the phobias of young patients and provide treatment. There are five core tenets and 80 sub-categories of fears in the test, such as fear of the dark, spiders, or getting lost - and over half of them are present in this film.

The movie is, in a way, a psychological examination of Dorothy. It begins with Dorothy being sent to a psychiatric ward because her obsession with Oz has made her aunt and uncle think she is delusional. The mental ward is oppressive and terrifying, and the head doctor and nurse are about to administer electroshock therapy to Dorothy when the power goes out, and she escapes. There are enough traumas and fears in just this series of events alone that would even scare adults, and that is just the beginning.

By the time Dorothy gets back to the Land of Oz, it is clear that she has entered a different world than in the 1939 film. Everything that was warm, colorful, and kid-friendly about Oz is now gone - the yellow brick road is overgrown rubble; the Emerald City is crumbling and gray, and all the people have been turned to stone, including familiar characters like the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Woodman. Ominous graffiti warns about the Wheelers, a terrifying and misshapen new version of the flying monkeys, who appear soon after and chase Dorothy. Their disturbing movements are both highly impressive, from an acting standpoint, and unnerving. We soon learn that Oz has become a hostile, oppressive place, ruled by a brutal dictator known as the Nome King, who is responsible for all the destruction. There are spies around every corner, and nothing feels safe or familiar - even the music is gone.

The movie goes on to show Dorothy pursued by an evil head-swapping witch who wants to steal her head, the wonderfully disturbing claymation of the Nome King as he imprisons Dorothy's friends one by one, and at the end, the brutal realization that the mental hospital was intentionally and sadistically causing brain damage to patients.

This exploration of fear, through such things as the unfamiliar, the uncanny, and the outright terrifying, is part of what is so faithful to the novels. Many of the characters and events from the movie come straight from the novels, and many later books would even get darker and more adult. The books don't let up on the horror, and the movie honors that, giving children a chance to confront these fears and find a satisfying resolution to them at the end.

And while this movie definitely gave many kids from the '80s nightmares, it also allowed those same kids to explore the nature of horror safely, which is akin to the fear of riding up a rollercoaster or standing up in front of a classroom - it is both safe and scary at the same time. And this can be good. As an article from Book Riot explains it, "If kids are not allowed to read anything frightening or shocking, then they won’t be able to develop the coping skills they’ll need when scary situations arise in their lives." Which is perhaps why, nightmare fuel or not, Return to Oz is remembered with a sort of affectionate awe by the adults who watched it as children.

Related: Here Are 7 Unexpectedly Dark Children’s Movies

Complex Political and Social Situations

Princess Mombi removes her head
Buena Vista Distribution

L. Frank Baum was, at one time, a reporter during what was known as the Gilded Age, where wealthy tycoons lived lavishly while many people struggled to make ends meet, and the economy limped along until tanking in 1929. He was highly influenced by this, and much of the Land of Oz, especially in these novels, is reminiscent of the times. The Nome King, the main antagonist, tells Dorothy in a thought-provoking conversation that the emeralds he took from the Emerald City were his first anyway - they were mined in his underground kingdom, by his Nome people. He was merely taking back what originally belonged to him, and that even includes the famous ruby slippers he later shows her. He is courteous to Dorothy and her friends, and even kindly offers to send her home, saying that his quarrel is not with her. Dorothy, the great protagonist that she is, refuses the offer and goes on to figure out his puzzle and save her friends.

It is interesting to think about the idea of these emeralds, and who they belong to. Did the people of Oz steal them originally? Was the Nome King entitled to them himself? The answers are not so simple. Though it is clear that the Nome King is an antagonist, it is more complicated than him just being evil for the sake of evil. He talks about his Nome people, but doesn't seem to care about them beyond using them to mine these precious stones. He seems parallel to the infamously wealthy capitalist barons of the time, like the Rockefellers - Dr. J.B. Worley, the name of the Nome King's murderous real-world counterpart, even sounds a bit like J.P. Morgan.

So did the Nome King have the right to own the emeralds? Or was he hoarding his wealth away from the citizens of Oz unfairly? In the books, Baum mentions a few times that Oz has no money, and that people just help each other in an almost Marxist way - from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs. Oz is usually ruled by a benevolent monarch, and no one would ever want more than they needed anyway. So the Nome King, with his desire to hoard these emeralds, puts the Land of Oz off balance. And when Dorothy finally restores the Emerald City to its former glory, all the citizens benefit, not just a few. And of course, even if the Nome King did have the right to own the emeralds, that doesn't mean he also had the right to exact horrible revenge upon the people, turning them to stone and transforming the peaceful Land of Oz into a brutal dictatorship.

At the end of the movie, we learn that Dr. Worley dies in a fire at the mental ward, while trying to save his machines. His sadism and greed are his own undoing, much like the demise of the Nome King. And in the last scene, Dorothy looks into a mirror, seeing Oz and her friends. She is asked to keep this magical place a secret, so when her Aunt Em comes to check on her and asks what she's looking at, she replies, "It's only a reflection." Indeed, the Land of Oz and its horrific and beautiful stories are a reflection - of who we are, our society, and what we value.

Related: Best Children's Book Movie Adaptations, Ranked

There is More Evil Than Good - But Good Still Triumphs

A Wheeler chasing Dorothy
Buena Vista Distribution

The Wizard of Oz is a light-hearted film, full of magic and hope. But Baum's original novels, while they do retain hopeful messages of kindness and love, are more akin to a feverish nightmare, with bizarre characters and surreal situations that unnerved but also enticed their young audience. The land of Oz itself is a place where logic does not matter, and anything can happen - and much of what happens is bad. This is similar to other children's fantasy of the era, such as Alice in Wonderland, which also received a makeover to become more family friendly for its animated feature presentation in 1951.

The intention of the original novels was to not shy away from the truly horrific facts about the world, which made them more grounded and realistic, and therefore more appealing to their audience. While there is good in the world, the amount of bad that exists is never forgotten. Even in the original novel that The Wizard of Oz is based on, Dorothy wakes up one morning next to a pile of 40 dead wolves who had attacked them in the night - and were subsequently slayed, one at a time, by the Tin Woodman. And in the second Oz novel, the main character is sold into child slavery as a toddler, to prevent the witch Mombi from attacking a village.

In the midst of such brutality and horror, the message of kindness in the books, and in the movie Return to Oz, shines through even more brightly because of the contrast. The final scene of the movie, when The Emerald City is back in all its green and glittering glory, is a stunning feat of both creativity and wonder. Each character in the large crowd feels unique and original, and the diversity and color of the scene harkens back to the 1939 film with its celebration. The joy is even more palpable after coming through the other side of such a twisted nightmare. The movie is as intense as the books are, and the happy sigh of relief at the end is like waking up from a nightmare that, while putting us through a wild ride, ends on a high note, with a message of hope that is all the more powerful after the oppressive darkness.