7 years late or so but it gets 99% of it wrong, the part it got right is that a nome king existed. everything else just made me angry eggs are poison but not deadly etc. etc. like how the fuck is jack there and if the nome king dies then is the royal family saved etc. etc.
Um, no it doesn't get 99% of it wrong. It's like 90% right. It combines both of the books Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. It's mostly accurate plotwise. There's minor differences but, overall, it's very close. The only real difference is that the Nome king looks different. Pretty much everyone else looks like the drawings in the book. That's why I love it. These were my favorite books as a child.
@@Mintbeef What do you mean, "How is Jack there?" Also, there was no royal family in this movie. Seriously, if you're going to get this angry about an amalgamation of elements from two of the Oz books, then never watch a silent film called _His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz,_ which blended elements from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and "The Scarecrow of Oz," and also combined two witches (the Wicked Witch of the West and Mombi) into one character. You would also no doubt get angry at that film's creator, whose name, by the way, was L. Frank Baum.
@@MaskedMan66 Yeah, I know... But the only really major addition was the whole "electrotherapy" thing. Everything else was drawn from the books and the look and feel was more faithful to the books than the original film. Of course, both are masterpieces imo
You'd get about 30 Oscars for this now and everyone else could go home, It's so underrated, but appreciated by many many people. The clay animation is mind blowing.
At least the Nome King's weakness was set up all throughout the film, with multiple mentions of chickens being banned from Oz, and at the climax we find out why. There was no setup for the Witch's weakness, Dorothy just throws water at her accidentally and oops, she's dead.
@@SprightlyValentino Read the book (as people in 1939 had done, so they knew already); the WWW carries an umbrella with her at all times, and while Dorothy is a slave in her castle, Baum says that that the only times Dorothy takes off the silver shoes are when she goes to bed-- and the Witch is too afraid of the dark to try and snatch them then-- and and when she takes a bath-- and of course the Witch stays far away from that.
@@MaskedMan66 Buddy, that is a bad argument. An adaptation shouldn't require you to read the source material for you to understand it. Their criticism is valid.
@@TheMellowFilmmaker It didn't "require" anyone to have read the book. Most people just had. What isn't necessary is to know every minute detail about every character in a movie. Some things are allowed to come as a shock.
Fun Fact 1: The stop-motion work done for the Nomes and the Nome King was animated by the late Will Vinton, the guy who animated the California Raisins and The Noid. Fun Fact 2: Henry Selick, who later on went on to do stop-motion of his own (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, etc.), was a storyboarder on this movie. The level of the stop-motion talent present in the making of this movie is through the roof.
Yes! And actually, the lead lead animator for the Nome King sequences was Doug Aberle (Vinton just owned the studio). I’m sure there were many other talented animators that I’d have to dig into the credits for
I gotta admit, this movie has MUCH cooler villains than the Wizard of Oz. (No disrespect.) Mombi, the Wheelers and the Gnome King are all pretty freaky antagonists. And I find the animation on the Gnome King's minion both cute and creepy at the same time.
Believe it or not all three are actual characters from the Oz books... The princess Mombi is more of a composite of two Oz characters: The name and the witch elements from Princess Mombi and the head collection elements from Princess Langwidere.
Original OZ movie was great but 'Return to Oz' is better, far more entertaining and imaginative. The cool animations and all the creatures were just pure art. You can't just remake this movie today with those lame ass CGI.
@duraznoches She's taking the good with the bad, the joys with the terrors, and realizes that in order to have a really good flavor, a story must contain all manner of seasonings. That makes a story more like real life.
I love how condescendingly polite the gnome king is, by the third act his plan was like 99% complete and he was positive that there was nothing the heroes could do to stop him, it’s astonishing how many bones the story threw at Dorothy and her friends to make this work.
@Alan Bourbeau I agree, that was funny. That was the reason the Nome King banned from having chickens in Oz and the Wheelers did everything they could to get rid of that chicken especially they told Dorothy that they will tear her in pieces and throw her in the deadly desert just for having a chicken in Oz and holding a stolen lunch pail in her hand.
@@afriendofbean Of course, having no hands, the Wheelers could never have made good on that threat, even if they had meant it. But as they were ultimately cowards, there was really nothing to worry about.
@@MaskedMan66 I guess that one Wheeler only said that to Dorothy just to scare her and if they did mean what they said, the only thing they could do is bite to tear Dorothy to pieces and each of them would carry her in their mouths to throw her into the deadly desert.
The actor who voices the Nome King's spy also plays the head Wheeler. Even as a kid, I knew that he was playing a dual role because the voices sounded exactly alike.
I honestly didnt find out that tidbit of info until 2012. And I also believe he was the stunt coordinator and orderly with squeaky cart in the mental institution
Laurie Faith Prescott He was wheeling the cart with Mombi and in Oz, the wheelers work for Mombi. The wheeling of the cart also links to them being wheelers in Oz.
The style of those stop motion faces were ahead of their time in style. They are wild and free flowing in design. The later and more detailed stop motion at the end looks more "80's" in style, but is still beautifully crafted. Great stuff. PS. F**K the AVGN for bringing me here!
Makes sense. This movie went through a lot in order to get released. And when it did, all that hard work was driven to the ground by biased critics who unfairly panned it.
"So if someone steals something, you think the right thing is for them to give it back." "Yes, your majesty." "And what if they don't want to give it back?" I find that exchange so very... chilling.
Exactly! That's an aspect to his character that comes straight from the books. When he first appears in "Ozma of Oz," he seems very jolly and benevolent, and that, combined with his round belly and white beard, prompts Dorothy to declare, "Why, he looks just like Santa Claus--only he isn't the same color!"
Me and brother loved this film as kids. Everytime we saw an egg in the kitchen, we'd point at it in mock horror and say "poiiiison" in that creepy voice. Lol.
Nome. Tons of villains appeared in the Oz books, and they were all defeated by various means, usually magic ones. In the second book, Mombi was stripped of her powers (at least for a time) by Glinda while General Jinjur reformed and settled down on a farm. In the fourth, the Mangaboo Sorcerer was sliced in half by the Wizard (he was a vegetable, so no blood was shed). In the fifth, the Scoodlers threw their heads at the Shaggy Man, who collected them all in a sack and pitched them down a deep pit. In the sixth, the Nomes, the Whimsies, the Growleywogs, and the Phanfasms were all made thirsty by magically kicked up dust and drank the Water of Oblivion, which made them forget everything they had ever known. And so on Anne Soforth.
Oh man, great stuff! I LOVE the Gnome King. One of the best villains ever. Incredibly powerful, short-tempered, cruel, arrogant, manipulative - wonderful!
@O Mundo do Vini I guess not even the ruby slippers were powerful enough to protect the Nome King since Glinda the Good Witch of the North told Dorothy to never take off the ruby slippers or she'll be at the mercy of the Witch of the West which means they'll protect her. Plus, they protected and prevented the Witch from taking them off of Dorothy's feet when Dorothy gave permission to take them and when the Witch tried taking them, she got an electric shock.
I love the devious smirk the messenger makes when the Nome King says they won’t get past Mombi. Also love the messenger’s face when he says there’s no sign of the chicken. The way his bottom lip makes the biggest frown.
These scenes are also very creepy and sinister. The fiery red glow and the menacing voice of the Gnome King makes it seems like his minion is talking to Satan himself.
Christopher Lloyd was the first person considered to play the Nome King. Louise Fletcher and Mary Steenburgen were considered to play Princess Mombi. Personally I think Nurse Ratchet would of been a good choice between the two.
It's interesting, then, to note that Christopher Lloyd went on to play the Wizard of Oz in a movie called "Witches of Oz." Having seen Jean Marsh as "Princess" Mombi, I can't picture anyone else in the part in this movie, especially since she's darn good at playing evil witches; she was Queen Bavmorda in "Willow" and has played two different versions of Morgan LeFay (one of them on "Doctor Who"). Mark you, the best screen Mombi ever was Agnes Moorehead in a 1960 T.V. version of "The Land of Oz" with Shirley Temple as Ozma.
@@MaskedMan66 Another excellent villain turn from Jean Marsh was in the Nickelodeon show 'The Tomorrow People.' She played Dr. Culex, a mosquito- obsessed mad scientist who was the Big Bad in one of that show's seasons. She was probably my favorite villain from that entire series.
The stop motion for the Gnomes always stood out to me, I pair them with The Helpful Hands from Labyrinth on creative forms of animation (I know the hands aren't animated, but the use of human hands to create faces is so cooool)
What is this trilogy you speak of? There's like dozens of Oz books and films, and I can't recall any that ever had the same creative minds making a trilogy.
People know the Witch better because the first Oz book is the one everyone knows. The rest of the series hasn't really stayed in the mind of pop culture to the same extent.
Ahh... my nightmares have been reawakened. I'm glad I found this video. Genuinely; the gnomes in this film are so coolly and creatively designed and animated.
Haha, some of you are real sissies, saying that this isn't for children!!! It was watching these movies with creepy elements as children that hardened us up & prepared us for adulthood. Life isn't all roses; it's about going through trouble & strife before finding the answers. Walt Disney himself said that there were reasons he included horror elements in his movies (such as Snow White).
@@baracksays9401 No, he's absolutely right. Children's literature is full of horrific elements, as anyone can read in the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. And children have always thrilled to them. Baum was in fact against "nightmares and heartaches" in children's stories, but he still infused his books with more than a few thrills and chills.
I have to find a way to watch this movie, it's probably Disney's darkest, along with The Black Cauldron. But while being creeped out at those Nomes, you can't help but laugh at the "She has...a CHICKEN with her!" -"WHAT?! A CHICKEN?!!"
@@MaskedMan66 It's got some fairly spooky moments, and it can get pretty intense for a kid's movie. I'd say it's dark like Dark Crystal, probably up there with some of Don Bluth's work.
@@Gigas0101 And by and large, children can handle that sort of thing; many even enjoy it, because they know things will all turn out right in the end. 🙂
It's such a classic that many of us grew up with... so it was terrifyingly JARRING when some parents would come home with this movie, or in my case, caught it on TV on some boring saturday afternoon. You get used to something as cheerful as the original and then you see this and think W....T....F...!?
to Me, Return to Oz makes a great Sequel to the Classic 1939 MGM film: the Wizard of Oz, and I love the Wizard of Oz Itself too! But I also love the Film Prequel, which is Oz the Great & Powerful!
I will admit, the Nome King is pretty scary, but the way he's portrayed in the film comes as a big surprise. As each person/thing guesses and is turned into an ornament, he becomes more human...and stranger. Does anyone get a weird feeling that he found the ruby slippers and wore them? Or is it just me? Kudos anyway to Will Vinton for creating the true villain of Return to Oz, even though this is the only Disney film which he has claymation work.
+demon0981 Yes, it was mentioned here on the movie that the Nome King found the ruby slippers explaining that they fell out of the sky one day as Dorothy was very excited to get home and he mentioned that he used their power to take over the Emerald City while in the book, Dorothy mentioned that she arrived to Oz with silver shoes. Also in the book, the Nome King didn't have the ruby slippers but instead had a magic belt.
@@afriendofbean That's correct, and at Billina's insistence, Dorothy stole the belt and gave it to Ozma, who has had it ever since. Ruggedo (the Nome King's name) has often tried to get it back and/or conquer Oz, but has been defeated every time.
It's really a shame movies like this, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth etc would never get made now. Everything is just CGI and kids movies are not allowed to be at all scary or challenging for children.
I for one was glad to see this movie made. Critics panned it, and it took me about 2 decades to finally see it, but from what I saw, I enjoyed the entire film. Goes to show critics don't always get it right.
Someone said that the egg allergy has to do with the symbolism os motherhood. They said since all the Nomes were male they had never been able to digest the idea or something like that
More with life than with motherhood (not that the two aren't linked). The Nomes live underground and seldom see the sun or growing things-- except for the living gems they cultivate.
I loved this movie as a kid, but looking back I'm like welp this is the movie that fucked me up for the rest of my life. Out of all the scary things, it was the Gnome Minions that scared me. Their dumb faces in the rocks scared me.
A small army? It's 3 people (though i hesitate to use that word), maybe 3 and a half since the gump can barely move, and maybe two of them are capable of fighting, that being Tick Tock and Jack. Small is quite the exaggeration. Especially when it seems that he can cause avalanches by laughing
The problem is a loss of translation, in actuality the small army was of 27 soldiers, ozma, the cowardly lion, the hungry tiger, the scarecrow, and the tin man. Dorothy was by herself with tik-tok at the time. this movies tries to make the 2nd and 3rd book fuck and it doesn't work. glump is dissembled by the third book and jack pumpkinhead is not on this adventure, nor was the nome king ever killed and JESUS CHRIST this has so many errors because some fuckwitt couldn't decide which book they were writing. eggs aren't even lethal in the books they just cause great harm but fuck it. They tried to display things as though it was the third book while only working with the 2nd books material, dorothy was shipwrecked there with her chicken bill. As someone who read the books this movie makes my brain hurt and angers me at every turn.
They are very intimidated by Dorothy though. They believe her to be a powerful and worthy advisory, not just an innocent little girl (from their point of view, she is a powerful villain). So even though WE know they are just a little girl and some nice natured friends, to them they are intimidated and describe it as a small army. Also TikTok is literally "The Army of Oz" so that also goes some way towards being described as a small army.
Stefan Kienzle Nonsense, all you have to do is read them and you'll know what I'm talking about. Elitist? No. As for pointless, you are mistaken. The point is that Oz and its surrounding environs could be a very scary place. I'm talking dragonettes who would eat you if their mother hadn't tied all their tails to a stalagmite in the back of their cave ("Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz"). I'm talking Scoodlers who want to make soup out of you and will throw their heads at you ("The Road to Oz"). I'm talking Giant Yoop, who would squash you just for the fun of it and eat you with orange marmalade ("The Patchwork Girl of Oz"). And I'm talking Phanfasms, evil shapeshifting monsters whose only aim is death, destruction, and slavery ("The Emerald City of Oz"). And let's not forget the Tin Woodman chopping up forty marauding wolves and the Scarecrow breaking the necks of forty evil crows in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." "Return to Oz" is the closet thing to the literary Oz that's ever been put on a movie screen.
MaskedMan66 Sorry for the initial aggression. People that post that kind of shit are a dime a dozen. As for reading Frank Baum's work, it's one of those things that's on a very long list of things I want to do when I have the time, so I'll get to it when I'm in my 60s.
@captaintaco2345 Because eggs are poisonous to gnomes as the henchman gnomes said from 4:14-4:22 and the Nome King mentioned from 4:38-4:52 that eggs are poisonous to gnomes which is why the whole time the Nome King hates having chickens in Oz as one of the Wheelers mentioned earlier in the movie.
Excellent depiction of gnomes, even if only a L Frank Baum creation. If u give them qualities like the weeping angels, you got a real addition to old school fantasy!
I Love Return to Oz!!!😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I Really love the Gnome King, I love him as much as I love my other top favorite Disney Villains, Like Captain Hook, Jafar, Hades, Judge Claude Frollo, Gaston, Scar, the Horned King, Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella De Vil, the Queen of Hearts, Mother Gothel and the Evil Queen/Witch with the Poisoned Apple From Snow White. I just really Love Characters who can be Evil, as the opposite of good!!!🔥👹🔥😈👹🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Knew Fairuza growing up in Vancouver! She encouraged me to be an actor! Very Güüd! PS - KNOME is totally spelled with a “k”…. Sorry, not sorry, I’m super Spelling-B Canadian!
The facial expressions on the messenger are absolutely brilliant!
agreed
Amazingly cunning lol.
I can't believe Return to Oz doesn't get as much respect it deserves, it captures the spirit of the original Oz books perfectly!
7 years late or so but it gets 99% of it wrong, the part it got right is that a nome king existed. everything else just made me angry eggs are poison but not deadly etc. etc. like how the fuck is jack there and if the nome king dies then is the royal family saved etc. etc.
Um, no it doesn't get 99% of it wrong. It's like 90% right. It combines both of the books Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. It's mostly accurate plotwise. There's minor differences but, overall, it's very close. The only real difference is that the Nome king looks different. Pretty much everyone else looks like the drawings in the book. That's why I love it. These were my favorite books as a child.
@@Mintbeef What do you mean, "How is Jack there?" Also, there was no royal family in this movie. Seriously, if you're going to get this angry about an amalgamation of elements from two of the Oz books, then never watch a silent film called _His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz,_ which blended elements from "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and "The Scarecrow of Oz," and also combined two witches (the Wicked Witch of the West and Mombi) into one character. You would also no doubt get angry at that film's creator, whose name, by the way, was L. Frank Baum.
@@captainbeastazoid7084 It doesn't combine the stories; it's an original story that uses elements of the two books, and a few others.
@@MaskedMan66 Yeah, I know... But the only really major addition was the whole "electrotherapy" thing. Everything else was drawn from the books and the look and feel was more faithful to the books than the original film. Of course, both are masterpieces imo
You'd get about 30 Oscars for this now and everyone else could go home, It's so underrated, but appreciated by many many people. The clay animation is mind blowing.
Big agree
If a computer virus had a face, it would be the nome king's messenger.
it does look like the virus from brave little toaster at the witgenstein part
Honestly it looks like the crack master
I can totally see wireframes taking shape on a monitor and bending to those smirks
Wicked Witch: What kind of stupid weakness is melting due to water?
Nome King: Hold my beer.
At least the Nome King's weakness was set up all throughout the film, with multiple mentions of chickens being banned from Oz, and at the climax we find out why. There was no setup for the Witch's weakness, Dorothy just throws water at her accidentally and oops, she's dead.
@@SprightlyValentino Read the book (as people in 1939 had done, so they knew already); the WWW carries an umbrella with her at all times, and while Dorothy is a slave in her castle, Baum says that that the only times Dorothy takes off the silver shoes are when she goes to bed-- and the Witch is too afraid of the dark to try and snatch them then-- and and when she takes a bath-- and of course the Witch stays far away from that.
@@MaskedMan66 Buddy, that is a bad argument. An adaptation shouldn't require you to read the source material for you to understand it. Their criticism is valid.
@@TheMellowFilmmaker It didn't "require" anyone to have read the book. Most people just had. What isn't necessary is to know every minute detail about every character in a movie. Some things are allowed to come as a shock.
Everyone knows that witches are made of sugar. You melt them with fire or water.
Fun Fact 1: The stop-motion work done for the Nomes and the Nome King was animated by the late Will Vinton, the guy who animated the California Raisins and The Noid.
Fun Fact 2: Henry Selick, who later on went on to do stop-motion of his own (Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, etc.), was a storyboarder on this movie.
The level of the stop-motion talent present in the making of this movie is through the roof.
It's insane so underrated. What a gift he had
Yes! And actually, the lead lead animator for the Nome King sequences was Doug Aberle (Vinton just owned the studio). I’m sure there were many other talented animators that I’d have to dig into the credits for
@@samalden2607 Now there's something I didn't know about! Maybe a rewatch of Return to Oz is in order.
Fun to know. I watch Claymation Christmas almost every year.
@@kerplop Is that the one with the California Raisins?
I gotta admit, this movie has MUCH cooler villains than the Wizard of Oz. (No disrespect.) Mombi, the Wheelers and the Gnome King are all pretty freaky antagonists.
And I find the animation on the Gnome King's minion both cute and creepy at the same time.
Believe it or not all three are actual characters from the Oz books...
The princess Mombi is more of a composite of two Oz characters:
The name and the witch elements from Princess Mombi and the head collection elements from Princess Langwidere.
@@Munchausen45 It also makes sense because
I read some of the Oz books as a child.
@Otneimica The Nome King and his
minions never scared me anyway
I LOVED THEM!!!!
Original OZ movie was great but 'Return to Oz' is better, far more entertaining and imaginative. The cool animations and all the creatures were just pure art. You can't just remake this movie today with those lame ass CGI.
@@mattx5499 The original Oz movie was made in 1910.
I loved this movie as a child. Yeah, some parts were scary but such is life. It's an awesome movie.
@duraznoches Not at all; KateMich12 has exactly the right attitude.
@duraznoches She's taking the good with the bad, the joys with the terrors, and realizes that in order to have a really good flavor, a story must contain all manner of seasonings. That makes a story more like real life.
@duraznoches There's always something happening in this world; keeps us from getting bored, I suppose. :-)
I love how condescendingly polite the gnome king is, by the third act his plan was like 99% complete and he was positive that there was nothing the heroes could do to stop him, it’s astonishing how many bones the story threw at Dorothy and her friends to make this work.
Read "Ozma of Oz." It's all there.
Nome King.
What the nome king said, "Don't you know that eggs are poison?" The chicken says, "Poison indeed!!" I just love this scene.
@Alan Bourbeau I agree, that was funny. That was the reason the Nome King banned from having chickens in Oz and the Wheelers did everything they could to get rid of that chicken especially they told Dorothy that they will tear her in pieces and throw her in the deadly desert just for having a chicken in Oz and holding a stolen lunch pail in her hand.
@@afriendofbean Of course, having no hands, the Wheelers could never have made good on that threat, even if they had meant it. But as they were ultimately cowards, there was really nothing to worry about.
@@MaskedMan66 I guess that one Wheeler only said that to Dorothy just to scare her and if they did mean what they said, the only thing they could do is bite to tear Dorothy to pieces and each of them would carry her in their mouths to throw her into the deadly desert.
@@afriendofbean They couldn't hurt a fly, they're such cowards. I mean, the Cowardly Lion has more courage than they do. :-3
Best special effects EVER. It has stuck with me ever since I saw this movie back in the 80s.
She has.... a chicken with her!
A CHICKEN?!!
Love that part.
"Ahhh finaaahlly laid maaah egg" 😂😂
"Your Majesty! They have discovered... The Yellow... Brick... Road!"
I love how the Nome says that! It gives me chills!
RIP Will Vinton, one of my fave animators for 35 years
The actor who voices the Nome King's spy also plays the head Wheeler. Even as a kid, I knew that he was playing a dual role because the voices sounded exactly alike.
He was also an intern at the sanitarium.
I honestly didnt find out that tidbit of info until 2012. And I also believe he was the stunt coordinator and orderly with squeaky cart in the mental institution
@@lauriefaithprescott He was; he also played the reptilian warrior Saurod in _Masters of the Universe._
Laurie Faith Prescott He was wheeling the cart with Mombi and in Oz, the wheelers work for Mombi. The wheeling of the cart also links to them being wheelers in Oz.
@@Mrsamuellord Including the squeal of the gurney's wheels.
Those faces are just amazing. So expressive. Definitely ahead of it’s time.
Such creepy villains!
RIP, Nicol Williamson (Actor who played Dr. Worley/ The Nome King).
He was also Merlin in another great fantasy film of the age, _Excalibur._
@@MaskedMan66 AND, he made a wonderful Badger in the live- action/ human 'Wind in the Willows' movie.
@@Adamguy2003 Was that the one with half of the Monty Python troupe in it?
@@MaskedMan66 It sure was!
@@Adamguy2003 I'll ave to find that and watch it again. :-)
The performances in this movie were nothing short of absolutely awesome.
The style of those stop motion faces were ahead of their time in style. They are wild and free flowing in design. The later and more detailed stop motion at the end looks more "80's" in style, but is still beautifully crafted. Great stuff.
PS. F**K the AVGN for bringing me here!
Say what, Alex Kim?
Have you seen what happened with Doug Walker?
You hate James Rolfe just because he introduced you to a good film?
What's wrong wuth you, kid?
@Alexander Kim
Why does he suck?
Makes sense. This movie went through a lot in order to get released. And when it did, all that hard work was driven to the ground by biased critics who unfairly panned it.
Same.
"So if someone steals something, you think the right thing is for them to give it back."
"Yes, your majesty."
"And what if they don't want to give it back?"
I find that exchange so very... chilling.
loved this movie as a child. dark,funny and unforgettable.glad i saw this before the MGM movie
Why?
The Nome king is one of those manipulative villains who seems nice at first, until things aren't going his way.
Exactly! That's an aspect to his character that comes straight from the books. When he first appears in "Ozma of Oz," he seems very jolly and benevolent, and that, combined with his round belly and white beard, prompts Dorothy to declare, "Why, he looks just like Santa Claus--only he isn't the same color!"
Released June 21, 1985 and still after 35 years still the darkest kid movie of its decade.
Nah. The Black Cauldron is much darker.
Rubbish. There are dark things in it, but they are the bad guys, and Dorothy defeats them with her courage and her light.
Me and brother loved this film as kids. Everytime we saw an egg in the kitchen, we'd point at it in mock horror and say "poiiiison" in that creepy voice. Lol.
I really love the Stop Motion Elements this film had
Those old school animation techniques made this movie so good. Imagine it being remade with these CGI effects of today and being ripped of it's charm.
Not if the right animation house was handling it.
Gnome King:"What about the chicken?"
creepy wall face:"There's no sign of the chicken!" lol
this movie is so overshadowed and underrated
Great wordplay!
For the witch it was water.
For the gnome king, it's eggs.
What's next, mayonnaise?
Nome. Tons of villains appeared in the Oz books, and they were all defeated by various means, usually magic ones. In the second book, Mombi was stripped of her powers (at least for a time) by Glinda while General Jinjur reformed and settled down on a farm. In the fourth, the Mangaboo Sorcerer was sliced in half by the Wizard (he was a vegetable, so no blood was shed). In the fifth, the Scoodlers threw their heads at the Shaggy Man, who collected them all in a sack and pitched them down a deep pit. In the sixth, the Nomes, the Whimsies, the Growleywogs, and the Phanfasms were all made thirsty by magically kicked up dust and drank the Water of Oblivion, which made them forget everything they had ever known.
And so on Anne Soforth.
Oh man, great stuff! I LOVE the Gnome King. One of the best villains ever. Incredibly powerful, short-tempered, cruel, arrogant, manipulative - wonderful!
God I love this movie. Will Vinton animation studio did the Nome stop motion effects.
yea pretty cool
It should be rebooted with an all-female cast!
@@MrRadical87 Nope.
Nome King: You can't defeat me.
Dorothy and friends: We no, but she can.
BILLINA!!!
@O Mundo do Vini I guess not even the ruby slippers were powerful enough to protect the Nome King since Glinda the Good Witch of the North told Dorothy to never take off the ruby slippers or she'll be at the mercy of the Witch of the West which means they'll protect her. Plus, they protected and prevented the Witch from taking them off of Dorothy's feet when Dorothy gave permission to take them and when the Witch tried taking them, she got an electric shock.
@@afriendofbean Wrong movie.
@@MaskedMan66 I'm talking about what was said on "The Wizard Of Oz."
I love the devious smirk the messenger makes when the Nome King says they won’t get past Mombi. Also love the messenger’s face when he says there’s no sign of the chicken. The way his bottom lip makes the biggest frown.
These scenes are also very creepy and sinister. The fiery red glow and the menacing voice of the Gnome King makes it seems like his minion is talking to Satan himself.
Nome.
Christopher Lloyd was the first person considered to play the Nome King.
Louise Fletcher and Mary Steenburgen were considered to play Princess Mombi.
Personally I think Nurse Ratchet would of been a good choice between the two.
It's interesting, then, to note that Christopher Lloyd went on to play the Wizard of Oz in a movie called "Witches of Oz."
Having seen Jean Marsh as "Princess" Mombi, I can't picture anyone else in the part in this movie, especially since she's darn good at playing evil witches; she was Queen Bavmorda in "Willow" and has played two different versions of Morgan LeFay (one of them on "Doctor Who").
Mark you, the best screen Mombi ever was Agnes Moorehead in a 1960 T.V. version of "The Land of Oz" with Shirley Temple as Ozma.
Tim Curry was also considered for the role of the Nome King.
@@seanpatrickcain2 He got to be an 80's fantasy villain all the same, in the movie _Legend._
@@MaskedMan66 Another excellent villain turn from Jean Marsh was in the Nickelodeon show 'The Tomorrow People.' She played Dr. Culex, a mosquito- obsessed mad scientist who was the Big Bad in one of that show's seasons. She was probably my favorite villain from that entire series.
@@Adamguy2003 Was that the update/reboot of the 70's show of the same name? I'd love to see that.
This movie always reminds me of my childhood.❤️
An adventurous one, I take it? ;-)
A CHICKEN !!!!!!!
the knome king is terrified of the colonels secret recipe. lol.
A
Great Foreshadowing
@@brianstephens6493 No, just of eggs.
Can I stop and gush over the beautiful stop motion?
Why not? Lots of people here have. :-)
God the stop-motion is so impressive to see in this movie.
He knows. 🙂
I gotta admit these gnomes gave me nightmares..
now that I’m 23. Yep still nightmare fuel
Nomes.
The stop motion animation is awesome!
And the minion's face at 0:35 is sweeet
This one is darker and better than Wizard of Oz IMO
The stop motion for the Gnomes always stood out to me, I pair them with The Helpful Hands from Labyrinth on creative forms of animation (I know the hands aren't animated, but the use of human hands to create faces is so cooool)
Nomes.
Is kind of interesting how everyone thinks of the Wicked Witch of the West when really the Nome King is the overarching villain of the Oz trilogy
Its because of the witch's acting was so great that she and OZ are 1 and the same
I thought there was more than three books about Oz
What is this trilogy you speak of? There's like dozens of Oz books and films, and I can't recall any that ever had the same creative minds making a trilogy.
People know the Witch better because the first Oz book is the one everyone knows. The rest of the series hasn't really stayed in the mind of pop culture to the same extent.
There's no trilogy.
The whole Chicken thing is hillarious!
The mark of a true Baum villain is that he or she really isn't much without powers or minions.
Ahh... my nightmares have been reawakened. I'm glad I found this video.
Genuinely; the gnomes in this film are so coolly and creatively designed and animated.
Nomes.
Haha, some of you are real sissies, saying that this isn't for children!!! It was watching these movies with creepy elements as children that hardened us up & prepared us for adulthood. Life isn't all roses; it's about going through trouble & strife before finding the answers. Walt Disney himself said that there were reasons he included horror elements in his movies (such as Snow White).
Shut up you absolute dork
@@baracksays9401 No, he's absolutely right. Children's literature is full of horrific elements, as anyone can read in the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen. And children have always thrilled to them. Baum was in fact against "nightmares and heartaches" in children's stories, but he still infused his books with more than a few thrills and chills.
It's Nome, maybe sounds like the same, but it's the correct name in the books, nome
Later Oz authors unfortunately spelled it "Gnome," though Jack Snow tried to get it right in the books he wrote.
These stop motion effects really helped inspire me to become a film maker.
What films have you worked on?
I like how Nome King was kind enough to put Pumpkinhead down gently in that brief moment he was still conscious after finding out he’s been poisoned.
I have to find a way to watch this movie, it's probably Disney's darkest, along with The Black Cauldron. But while being creeped out at those Nomes, you can't help but laugh at the "She has...a CHICKEN with her!" -"WHAT?! A CHICKEN?!!"
The movie isn't dark at all; it centers around an optimistic girl with courage and light on her side.
@@MaskedMan66 It's got some fairly spooky moments, and it can get pretty intense for a kid's movie. I'd say it's dark like Dark Crystal, probably up there with some of Don Bluth's work.
@@Gigas0101 And by and large, children can handle that sort of thing; many even enjoy it, because they know things will all turn out right in the end. 🙂
@@Gigas0101 Kids can handle a lot; don't underestimate them.
The animation is kinda trippy but really beautiful and cool😍😍🙌🙌👍👍👌👌💖💖💘💘💕💕
2:15 to 2:45 Dorothy just back sassed the Nome King
Finally! I have found this movie!
I loved the animation for the nome flunkies/messengers.
This movie is sOOOO GOODDD I LOVE ITTTT SOO MUCHH MY CHILDHOODDD!!!
" I FINALLY LAID AN EGG!!"
this was a really cool if underrated movie...and these stop motion gnomes were actually kind of terrifying...especially when the nome king was dying.
Nomes.
Awesome work in this anim.
It looks so good even 3 decades ago.
Let's Get Roooooight Into The Noose
It's such a classic that many of us grew up with... so it was terrifyingly JARRING when some parents would come home with this movie, or in my case, caught it on TV on some boring saturday afternoon. You get used to something as cheerful as the original and then you see this and think W....T....F...!?
to Me, Return to Oz makes a great Sequel to the Classic 1939 MGM film: the Wizard of Oz, and I love the Wizard of Oz Itself too! But I also love the Film Prequel, which is Oz the Great & Powerful!
The three movies are not connected. RtO takes place in 1899, TWoO takes place in 1900, and OtGaP takes place in 1905.
If there's a sequel to the MGM movie, it's _Journey Back to Oz,_ a 1974 animated movie starring Liza Minnelli as Dorothy.
That wall is a masterpiece of animation if its claymation gawd damn
GNOME KING: What about thee.... chicken?
GNOME: There's no sign.... OF THE CHICKEN!
Sean Parker: .......... Seriously.... What is the chicken?
Nome.
I will admit, the Nome King is pretty scary, but the way he's portrayed in the film comes as a big surprise. As each person/thing guesses and is turned into an ornament, he becomes more human...and stranger. Does anyone get a weird feeling that he found the ruby slippers and wore them? Or is it just me? Kudos anyway to Will Vinton for creating the true villain of Return to Oz, even though this is the only Disney film which he has claymation work.
+demon0981 Yes, it was mentioned here on the movie that the Nome King found the ruby slippers explaining that they fell out of the sky one day as Dorothy was very excited to get home and he mentioned that he used their power to take over the Emerald City while in the book, Dorothy mentioned that she arrived to Oz with silver shoes. Also in the book, the Nome King didn't have the ruby slippers but instead had a magic belt.
@@afriendofbean That's correct, and at Billina's insistence, Dorothy stole the belt and gave it to Ozma, who has had it ever since. Ruggedo (the Nome King's name) has often tried to get it back and/or conquer Oz, but has been defeated every time.
@@MaskedMan66 I know Dorothy stole the magic belt and gave it Ozma.
@@afriendofbean I reckon you do, but other people looking in might not. ;-)
@@MaskedMan66 I was only responding to your comment since you told me what Dorothy did with the magic belt and I responded saying that I know.
Pons Marr is the one who voices the Nome Messenger. Most of the Nomes are depicted through Claymation.
He also plays an orderly at the sanitarium and the Lead Wheeler.
Awesome. I love the "charm" that stop motion used to offer in movies. It's a dying art form (in feature films mostly).
Do you remember all those Christmas specials by Rankin-Bass?
some of the best stop motion i've ever seen
A chicken!! 😂
No, it's the Nome King and his Nomes.
This film is a nightmare Fuel and a masterpiece
Only if you're more cowardly than the Lion.
Spectacular movie
It's really a shame movies like this, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth etc would never get made now. Everything is just CGI and kids movies are not allowed to be at all scary or challenging for children.
CGI is just another form of special effects.
Won't get pass Mombi. 0:33
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who saw this as a child. This I s by far one or the creepiest movies that should have never been madr
Ever read the oz books?
What's creepy about it that isn't SUPPOSED to be creepy?
vigilantcitizen.com/moviesandtv/return-oz-creepy-disney-movie-blatantly-mind-control/
Joshua Nelson
Try again; that article is from the same sort of mindset that thinks the original story has something to do with economics.
I for one was glad to see this movie made. Critics panned it, and it took me about 2 decades to finally see it, but from what I saw, I enjoyed the entire film. Goes to show critics don't always get it right.
Someone said that the egg allergy has to do with the symbolism os motherhood. They said since all the Nomes were male they had never been able to digest the idea or something like that
More with life than with motherhood (not that the two aren't linked). The Nomes live underground and seldom see the sun or growing things-- except for the living gems they cultivate.
I loved this movie as a kid, but looking back I'm like welp this is the movie that fucked me up for the rest of my life. Out of all the scary things, it was the Gnome Minions that scared me. Their dumb faces in the rocks scared me.
a movie fucked you up for the rest of your life? that's a bit far fetched.
The creepy stop motion in this film reminds me so much of Jan Švankmajer
A small army? It's 3 people (though i hesitate to use that word), maybe 3 and a half since the gump can barely move, and maybe two of them are capable of fighting, that being Tick Tock and Jack. Small is quite the exaggeration. Especially when it seems that he can cause avalanches by laughing
The problem is a loss of translation, in actuality the small army was of 27 soldiers, ozma, the cowardly lion, the hungry tiger, the scarecrow, and the tin man. Dorothy was by herself with tik-tok at the time. this movies tries to make the 2nd and 3rd book fuck and it doesn't work. glump is dissembled by the third book and jack pumpkinhead is not on this adventure, nor was the nome king ever killed and JESUS CHRIST this has so many errors because some fuckwitt couldn't decide which book they were writing. eggs aren't even lethal in the books they just cause great harm but fuck it. They tried to display things as though it was the third book while only working with the 2nd books material, dorothy was shipwrecked there with her chicken bill. As someone who read the books this movie makes my brain hurt and angers me at every turn.
They are very intimidated by Dorothy though. They believe her to be a powerful and worthy advisory, not just an innocent little girl (from their point of view, she is a powerful villain). So even though WE know they are just a little girl and some nice natured friends, to them they are intimidated and describe it as a small army. Also TikTok is literally "The Army of Oz" so that also goes some way towards being described as a small army.
Tik-Tok's rank IS the Royal Army of Oz, and that's who Dorothy was talking about. And that's why the Nome King laughed.
Return to Oz, Dune, and The Black Hole... three movies I probably shouldn't have been allowed to see as a kid, but still glad I did.
They don't make 'em like they used to!
@Philip Zamora If you haven't yet, you should also see the other "Oz" movie titled "Legends Of Oz: Dorothy's Return."
RtO is a kid's movie.
I like slightly bizarre and darker 80's stuff, todays films are too clean and feel good!
This was a feelgood movie altogether.
Who the hell saw this a and thought "children's movie" and not "Lovecraftian Hellions shattering the sanity of impotently terrified children"?
Everyone at Disney.
You've obviously never read the Oz books.
You're obviously being pointlessly elitist.
Stefan Kienzle
Nonsense, all you have to do is read them and you'll know what I'm talking about. Elitist? No. As for pointless, you are mistaken.
The point is that Oz and its surrounding environs could be a very scary place. I'm talking dragonettes who would eat you if their mother hadn't tied all their tails to a stalagmite in the back of their cave ("Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz"). I'm talking Scoodlers who want to make soup out of you and will throw their heads at you ("The Road to Oz"). I'm talking Giant Yoop, who would squash you just for the fun of it and eat you with orange marmalade ("The Patchwork Girl of Oz").
And I'm talking Phanfasms, evil shapeshifting monsters whose only aim is death, destruction, and slavery ("The Emerald City of Oz").
And let's not forget the Tin Woodman chopping up forty marauding wolves and the Scarecrow breaking the necks of forty evil crows in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
"Return to Oz" is the closet thing to the literary Oz that's ever been put on a movie screen.
MaskedMan66 Sorry for the initial aggression. People that post that kind of shit are a dime a dozen.
As for reading Frank Baum's work, it's one of those things that's on a very long list of things I want to do when I have the time, so I'll get to it when I'm in my 60s.
A CHICKEN???? LOVE IT
What do those gnomes have against chickens? They're delicious!
@captaintaco2345 Because eggs are poisonous to gnomes as the henchman gnomes said from 4:14-4:22 and the Nome King mentioned from 4:38-4:52 that eggs are poisonous to gnomes which is why the whole time the Nome King hates having chickens in Oz as one of the Wheelers mentioned earlier in the movie.
@@afriendofbean Nomes.
Keemstar
haha
Gnomestar
@@adriandominic8237 Nome.
Excellent depiction of gnomes, even if only a L Frank Baum creation. If u give them qualities like the weeping angels, you got a real addition to old school fantasy!
Nomes. Different creatures from gnomes.
he kinda sounds like Smaug..
Kuh kuh kuh KILLER KEEMSTAR LEEEEETS GET ROOOIIIIGHT INTO THE NEWS
This is a really cool looking movie for its time
For any time!
They're nomes, not gnomes.
I Love Return to Oz!!!😍❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I Really love the Gnome King, I love him as much as I love my other top favorite Disney Villains, Like Captain Hook, Jafar, Hades, Judge Claude Frollo, Gaston, Scar, the Horned King, Maleficent, Ursula, Cruella De Vil, the Queen of Hearts, Mother Gothel and the Evil Queen/Witch with the Poisoned Apple From Snow White. I just really Love Characters who can be Evil, as the opposite of good!!!🔥👹🔥😈👹🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Nome, not "gnome."
gotta love the stop motion effects. Better than freaking CGI
Looks like Disney’s 2d animation applied to 3d
Much like the Peanuts Movie and the LEGO Movie
Sorry, what?
@@MaskedMan66 it looks extremely choppy
@@NCTStudio Typical of stop motion.
keemstarrrrrr XD
@UpperPaleolithicMan I agree. Both this role & his role as Merlin in Excalibur were straight up awesome.
Knew Fairuza growing up in Vancouver! She encouraged me to be an actor!
Very Güüd!
PS - KNOME is totally spelled with a “k”…. Sorry, not sorry, I’m super Spelling-B Canadian!
A CHICKEEEN?!!!
I know it’s claymation but I would love to know how they did these
Over many, many hours. :-)
As a kid I always thought the stone faces went to hell when talking.