Journey Back to Oz (1974)

I'd wanted to see this for years because I heard it was the official sequel to Wizard and finally got my chance the other day. It did not meet my already low expectations.Ignoring the poor quality of the animation (which actually was better than expected from Filmation), the story flat-out fails. The only reason this manages to be feature-length is because of the repetitive sequences of Dorothy and co. going to characters from the first film for help, but being told the character is either unwilling or unable to do so. Admittedly, this does give rise to a funny moment from the new character Woodenhead Stallion III who comments, "Ah, great. I wonder who he's gonna send us to." The songs range from awful to fun, if not that clever. The best songs are, of course, the ones sung by Ethel Merman (surely the reason she was cast). All the others are completely forgettable. I only remember the songs by Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion because they, like their first film counterparts, were all built around the respective character's trait they had been seeking previously (and are now demonstrated to not truly have).The voice acting is all right. Liza Minelli sounds exactly like her mother at that age, which neatly helps bridge the films. The only other returning actor is Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch) now playing Auntie Em of all people! She does okay, but she doesn't capture the spirit of the character; most notably she overdoes a thick Southern accent which is distracting, since they're in Kansas.To top it off, the moral is contrived and forced. I won't give spoilers, but they fall prey to a common kid's film problem by just sweeping any and all dilemmas the characters may suffer as a result of doing the right thing under the rug in a deus ex machina. And that's to say nothing of the song which just out-of-the-blue starts talking about God, despite nothing being about him up until that point or afterward.If you're still curious to see the official sequel or just want something colorful to keep your kids occupied for a while, watch it. If not, a much better treatment of a very similar story is Return to Oz. Thank you.

I don't think it is quite as good as the 1939 classic, which was and still is my childhood favourite, but it is an enjoyable underrated film, that is nowhere near as bad as some people say it is. The animation while simple, is colourful and adds to the charm of the film. The songs, while not as fabulous as the 1939 film, are still very nice and quite charming, even "Carousel". Liza Minelli does an excellent job as Dorothy, and I think her singing voice here was beautiful, and here she sounds like her mother, the wonderful Judy Garland. I loved the characters Pumpkinhead, Glinda (voiced by beautiful opera singer Rise Steevens) and the Horse, but the biggest surprise was Ethel Merman as the witch Mombi. This is still the same person who has the big, brassy voice from films like Call Me Madam, yet she does this film, and manages to do a truly excellent voice over, that is both sinister and fun. Even Margaret Hamilton, the wicked Witch in the 1939 film, voices Aunt Em here The story is like the animation, cute and charming, not the best story line in the world, but stays fairly true to the film it obviously drew its inspiration from. All in all, an enjoyable, charming film. It's not perfect, but I've honestly seen worse. 8/10 Bethany Cox.

I haven't seen this film for years, but I remember loving it when I was about six years old - the main thing I remember about it was the song 'an elephant never forgets' which I thought was amazing and went around singing for weeks which drove my parents mad because they didn't like the movie very much. I'm glad Liza played Dorothy - it's only right that Judy Garland's daughter played her character in this cartoon sequel. *goes to dig out the video* I know it's the same character, and played by Judy's daughter who looks and sounds a lot like her, but No comparison can really be drawn from Journey Back to Oz and The Wizard of Oz as they are two completely different things - each with their merits and their weaknesses - but both (in my opinion) are brilliant and well worth a watch!

This movie is excellent! Liza sounds just like her mother when she did the film that it gives me chills every time! I love the new songs and the wonderful plotline which is mesh of "The Marvelous Land of Oz" and "Ozma of Oz". A fantastic sequel =)