This past weekend I saw the preview of Legends of Oz: Dorothy Returns (Rated PG).
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return is a 3D-animated musical based on the adventure books by Roger Stanton Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum. A continuation of one of the world’s most popular and beloved fairy tales, Legends of Oz finds Dorothy (Lea Michele) waking to post-tornado Kansas, only to be whisked back to Oz to try to save her old friends the Scarecrow (Dan Aykroyd), the Lion (Jim Belushi), the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer) and Glinda (Bernadette Peters) from a devious new villain, the Jester (Martin Short). Wiser the owl (Oliver Platt), Marshal Mallow (Hugh Dancy), China Princess (Megan Hilty) and Tugg the tugboat (Patrick Stewart) join Dorothy on her latest magical journey through the colorful landscape of Oz to restore order and happiness to Emerald City. Set to the tunes of Academy Award-nominated singer/songwriter Bryan Adams, Legends of Oz marks a charming, family-friendly return to the Oz franchise.
I took my 10-year-old son to see the movie. We both loved it. It was the same premise as the original. The movie starts with the day after the tornado in Kansas, but years later in the Land of Oz The Jester, the Wicked Witch of the West’s brother is causing trouble. The scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man get Dorothy to come back to Oz. Dorothy and her new friends: Wiser the Owl, Marshal Mallow, and China Princess help Dorothy and Toto save Oz from the Jester. It is full hijinks, powerful messages, and what you would expect from Wizard of Oz. My son, felt there was a scary scene. He was fine with it, but wasn’t sure if his six-year-old sister would be.
