Journey Back to Oz


Journey Back To Oz is a 1972 American animated adventure musical fantasy film produced by Filmation. It is loosely based on L. Frank Baum's second Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz, although Baum received no screen credit.
The film was not a hit in theaters, but did well on television, premiering on ABC on December 5, 1976.
For television broadcast, Filmation produced live-action segments with a celebrity playing the Wizard, flying in his balloon with a parrot and two Munchkins, Sprig and Twig. The first version featured Bill Cosby. Filmation only contracted with Cosby for two airings, so when the film aired in syndication later, the company reshot the live segments with Milton Berle.

Production history

The movie began production in 1962, but ran out of money and was halted for nearly eight years. It was only after the Filmation studio had made profits on their numerous television series that it was able to finish the project, copyrighted 1971, released in 1972 in the UK and 1974 in the U.S. It features Liza Minnelli voicing Dorothy. Other voices were by Ethel Merman, Milton Berle, Mickey Rooney, Paul Lynde, Herschel Bernardi, Paul Ford, Danny Thomas, Margaret Hamilton, and opera singer Risë Stevens as Glinda the Good Witch.
For the film's U.S. release, Filmation partnered with a company called Seymour Borde and distributed it through a process called four wall distribution, whereupon the studio rented venues to show it and kept all of the box-office revenue. Outside the United States and Canada, Warner Bros. distributed the film.

Plot

After a tornado in Kansas causes a loose gate to knock Dorothy unconscious, she re-appears in the Land of Oz with Toto, and encounters a talking Signpost, whose three signs point in different directions, all marked "Emerald City". They later meet Pumpkinhead, the unwilling servant of antagonist Mombi – cousin of the deceased Wicked Witches of the East and West. Toto chases a cat to a small cottage where Dorothy is captured by Mombi's pet crow and Mombi herself. Pumpkinhead sneaks into the house in Mombi's absence, and discovers her creation of green elephants, to use as her army to conquer the Emerald City. Pumpkinhead frees Dorothy, and they flee. After finding Dorothy gone, Mombi threatens that their warning the Scarecrow will not help when her green elephants "come crashing through the gate".
Dorothy and Pumpkinhead acquire Woodenhead Stallion III, a former merry-go-round horse, who takes them to the Emerald City, where Dorothy warns the Scarecrow about Mombi's green elephants. Mombi arrives moments later, and Toto and the Scarecrow are captured. Dorothy, Pumpkinhead, and Woodenhead flee to Tinland to convince the Tin Man to help them. He declines upon being afraid of the green elephants and suggests that they ask the Cowardly Lion, who promises to slay the elephants, but suggests consulting Glinda the Good Witch, who appears to them with a "Glinda Bird" that uses its Tattle Tail to show what is occurring at the palace. She then gives Dorothy a little silver box, to open only in the Emerald City, and only in a dire emergency.
Mombi, having seen their progress in her crystal ball, brings the nearby trees to life; whereupon Glinda sends a golden hatchet to Pumpkinhead. One of the trees snatches it from him, but changes its fellows and itself into gold and turns them from bad to good. Woodenhead carries Dorothy and Pumpkinhead back to the Emerald City, where Mombi's elephants surprise them. When Dorothy opens Glinda's box, mice emerge, scaring the elephants. Mombi brews a potion to shrink Toto to mouse-size so she can feed him to her cat; but when startled, miniaturizes her crow and cat instead. Thereafter Mombi disguises herself as a rose with poisonous thorns, which the elephants trample over and themselves disappear, prompting the Scarecrow to explain that Mombi's magic has died with her. Unfortunately, Pumpkinhead, another product of Mombi, also dies; however, he is revived by one of Dorothy's tears.
The Scarecrow makes Woodenhead the head of the Oz cavalry and knights Pumpkinhead; and Dorothy and Toto leave Oz by another tornado, promising to return.

Cast

The film contains twelve original songs by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. The arrangements and some of the film's score was by Walter Scharf. The original songs include the following:
  1. "A Faraway Land" - Dorothy
  2. "Signpost Song" - The Signpost
  3. "Keep a Happy Thought" - Dorothy
  4. "The Horse on the Carousel" - Woodenhead
  5. "B-R-A-N-E" - Scarecrow
  6. "An Elephant Never Forgets" - Mombi
  7. "H-E-A-R-T" - Tin Man
  8. "N-E-R-V-E" - Cowardly Lion
  9. "You Have Only You" - Glinda
  10. "If You're Gonna Be a Witch - Be a Witch" - Mombi
  11. "Return to the Land of Oz March" - Dorothy
  12. "That Feeling for Home" - Dorothy
However, a majority of the film contains library music from other sources. One particular piece of music, heard in the opening titles, is The Awakening, a Johnny Pearson composition that was recorded in 1967. While largely familiar to U.S. audiences for its use in this film, it is otherwise known to British viewers as the theme for ITN's News at Ten. Coincidentally, another well-known Pearson composition, "Heavy Action", served as the theme to the syndicated SFM Holiday Network, which ran this film for many years.

Television version

While the film was a failure in its theatrical release, it would find its audience in its television showings. Filmation sold the broadcast rights to ABC in 1976. By this time, Bill Cosby was in the midst of his success with Filmation's TV series Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, as well as starring in a new, but short-lived TV series for ABC. Filmation decided to expand and reformat the film to a Christmas television special. The film's theatrical running time was extended to include new live-action connecting segments with Cosby as the Wizard, a character otherwise not seen in the original theatrical release. The live-action subplot was to get two lost children home to spend Christmas with Dorothy, while helping to move the plot along. This extended TV version would later air in a successful syndication run via the aforementioned SFM Holiday Network. The last known airing of this version was in 1984 and it has not been available since then. SFM also made available another television version for airing during the year with cast member Milton Berle filming new linking interstitials in place of the Cosby segments.

DVD release

A special edition DVD was released on October 24, 2006. This DVD features a feature-length audio commentary, interviews with creators Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Fred Ladd, behind the scenes photo gallery, image galleries featuring poster art and animation cels, a sing-a-long feature, most of the Bill Cosby interstitials used in the TV version, the first draft script and storyboards, and a photo gallery.
The theatrical version is known only to exist as a PAL digital transfer as the original NTSC film elements were apparently discarded and purposely destroyed by the previous owner of the film, Hallmark Entertainment.