“if his brains ran down… how can he talk?”
“it happens to people all the time jack”
i can’t believe this is an official addition to the wizard of oz universe: but i’m so glad it is. young fairuza plays dorothy gale in a gothic universe, she gets placed in a mental institution as she tells her family about her travels to the magical world of oz, she is sent to oz again and realises the place has been overtook with corruption and misery: and she meets even kookier characters than last time, characters consisting of a talking pumpkin man, a talking robot that can spin, a talking chicken, a flying moose thing (?) a headless woman who steals the heads of women’s head and wears different heads almost like their hats, and a stone man who’s the new king of oz. this movie surprised me how good it actually was, like oz the great and powerful found dead in a ditch! it perfectly emulates the bizarre, horror adjacent tone of the books which i just adored: the 1939 film is magical and whimsy, but this one is campy and even kinda terrifying especially for an audience consisting of kids, the characters here are nightmare fuel and i think this has a more effective horror element than loads of actual horror films. i will always love when movies traditionally made for a younger set of viewers try to have a little bit of an edgy atmosphere, as it allows a wide range of ages to enjoy them. this movie was highly surreal, even more than the 1939 movie, like this was a complete fever dream with food growing out of trees, a sparse, drowsy setting and no witches/munchkins in sight. the practical effects are immaculate and innovative, holding up a lot better than cgi. stop motion animation and use of animatronics never fails to impress me, so that’s just bonus points. this movie is full of bold risks, and while fairuza balk definitely isn’t no judy garland, she’s still iconic in her own way and her portrayal of dorothy was a real enjoyable one. completely disjointed, and no musical numbers. it shouldn’t work: but it totally does.
“if his brains ran down… how can he talk?”
“it happens to people all the time jack”
i can’t believe this is an official addition to the wizard of oz universe: but i’m so glad it is. young fairuza plays dorothy gale in a gothic universe, she gets placed in a mental institution as she tells her family about her travels to the magical world of oz, she is sent to oz again and realises the place has been overtook with corruption and misery: and she meets even kookier characters than last time, characters consisting of a talking pumpkin man, a talking robot that can spin, a talking chicken, a flying moose thing (?) a headless woman who steals the heads of women’s head and wears different heads almost like their hats, and a stone man who’s the new king of oz. this movie surprised me how good it actually was, like oz the great and powerful found dead in a ditch! it perfectly emulates the bizarre, horror adjacent tone of the books which i just adored: the 1939 film is magical and whimsy, but this one is campy and even kinda terrifying especially for an audience consisting of kids, the characters here are nightmare fuel and i think this has a more effective horror element than loads of actual horror films. i will always love when movies traditionally made for a younger set of viewers try to have a little bit of an edgy atmosphere, as it allows a wide range of ages to enjoy them. this movie was highly surreal, even more than the 1939 movie, like this was a complete fever dream with food growing out of trees, a sparse, drowsy setting and no witches/munchkins in sight. the practical effects are immaculate and innovative, holding up a lot better than cgi. stop motion animation and use of animatronics never fails to impress me, so that’s just bonus points. this movie is full of bold risks, and while fairuza balk definitely isn’t no judy garland, she’s still iconic in her own way and her portrayal of dorothy was a real enjoyable one. completely disjointed, and no musical numbers. it shouldn’t work: but it totally does.
