| Return to Oz | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation, Family, Musical |
| Based on | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum |
| Written by | Romeo Muller |
| Directed by | F. R. Crawley Thomas Glynn Larry Roemer |
| Voices of | Carl Banas Susan Conway Peggi Loder Susan Morse Larry D. Mann Alfie Scopp |
| Music by | Gene Forrell Edward Thomas James Polack |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Arthur Rankin Jr. |
| Cinematography | Bill Clark Ron Haines Gary Morgan |
| Running time | 51 minutes |
| Production companies | Videocraft International Crawley Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | February 9, 1964 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Return to Oz is a 1964 animated television special produced by Crawley Films for Videocraft International. It first aired on 9 February 1964 in the United States on NBC's The General Electric Fantasy Hour block,[1] then later aired on syndication from 1965 to the 1990s and on the Disney Channel in 1995. It was directed by F. R. Crawley, Thomas Glynn and Larry Roemer from a teleplay by Romeo Muller, who later wrote Dorothy in the Land of Oz. This was the first special produced by Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass of Rankin/Bass Productions (the soon-to-be renamed Videocraft International).[2]
Crawley Films also produced the earlier 1961 animated series Tales of the Wizard of Oz and brought similar artistic character renditions to the special.[3] There is also a 1985 live-action Disney film of the same name.
In the special, Dorothy and Toto arrived back at Oz, after they received a letter from one of her Oz friends wanting her back, only to later be warned by a good witch, Glinda, regarding the Wicked Witch of the West, who has been restored back to life, and cast the dark spell by erasing her friends' abilities and kidnapping the Wizard of Oz for her revenge plot on Dorothy to steal away her magic silver slippers. So along with the assist of her Oz pals, Dorothy and Toto must journey to foil and rid Oz of the Wicked Witch for good.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1989). Animated TV Specials: The Complete Directory to the First Twenty-Five Years, 1962-1987. Scarecrow Press. pp. 338–339. ISBN 0-8108-2198-2. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
- ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 315. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
- ^ "The Bootleg Files: 'Tales of the Wizard of Oz'". Film Threat. 30 March 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2018.