Customer Reviews

Lion of Oz

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you're like me, when you saw that this movie was about the Lion of Oz, you immediately thought of Bert Lahr's performance in the 1939 film. And you thought you knew the character pretty well.

And you come to find out, there's more to him than you thought.

Cliff Ruby and Elana Lesser have written two of my favorite animated films (the underrated films "Balto" and "Cats Don't Dance"), and once again, they do a nice job with the script here. Like I mentioned above, there's more to this Lion than you thought. They do a nice job of tying into the original story at the beginning and the very end, but the majority is brand new material. The voice cast (Dom DeLuise, Bob Goldthwait, Jane Horrocks, Tim Curry, et al) does a serviceable job, though I believe they have given better performances. The animation is good, and of higher quality than some direct-to-video productions I've seen.

The only things I did not care for were the songs by Michael and Patty Silversher. They have done much better work before (their theme song for Disney's "Tale Spin" has got to be the single most irresistibly catchy theme song ever). Here, the songs just really didn't seem to do much, and I didn't really care for the vocalists' performances much. (Dom DeLuise has done MUCH better singing before.)

But this film is called "Lion of Oz," after all, and fortunately the best aspect of the production is the title character (appropriately called--Lion.) The animation of him is very good, and Jason Priestley's performance is wonderful. I love the way he delivers his lines, especially the "asides." His performance is the best one.

In closing, "Lion of Oz" has a few flaws, but it still makes for enjoyable viewing.

Hi guys! Well yesterday morning Disney's "Lion of Oz" was on and I woke up at 11am to tape it and I thought it was wonderful! I haven't read the book yet but I intend to buy it. The animation was wonderful, the songs and dialogue were great and the actor's voices fit each character perfectly. It was a very interesting story and I especially like the part at the end when the Lion meets a certain trio with a little dog down a certain brick road! As soon as this movie is released for sale which is Sept. 26 at amazon.com, I'm going to buy it. I suggest you all buy it too, trust me, you won't be disapponited and if you have kids they'll love it as it is a very easy plot to follow! I give it 10 stars! ********** bye* An Oz fan for life, Michael*

Kids who know The Wizard Of OZ will love this colerful movie! KIDS WILL LOVE IT! 2 thums UP for LION OF OZ!

This movie is adorable! While the animation is good and the songs delighfully adictive, it is not a sequel...it is a prequel. Any Oz collector will be interested. It features the voice of Tim Curry, which is really cute!

I loved this little cartoon. It gives a whole different view. You'll enjoy it!

God bless!

Roger S. Baum, the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, created a prequal to the original Wizard Of Oz book titled Lion Of Oz And The Badge Of Courage. In 2000, Sony Wonder did a full-length animated made-for-video movie based on it, Lion Of Oz, which was animated in Canada by Cinescope. The story takes place sometime prior to WOZ where the not so-Cowardly Lion is a circus animal, and his best friend there is Oscar Diggs, the circus' balloonist. Oscar takes Lion up for a ride(seems safe to take a Panthera leo up in balloon!), and gives him one of his obligatory medals that he gives to all of his riders, but they end up going to Oz. Lion falls safely out of the balloon while Oscar flies off uncontrollably. After rescuing a talking tree from being attacked by winged monkeys, he realizes that he himself can talk. But the Wicked Witch of the East(not West)shows up, and tells him that she has Oscar. In exchange for his release, the Witch tells Lion to find the fabled "Flower Of Oz", which apparently only someone who is brave of heart can find. Along the way, Lion helps out the strange cloiled bear Silly, who leads him to a castle where the enigmatic young girl Wimzik lives. She along with her living toys, the ballerina doll Caroline and the toy soldier Capt. Fitzgerald, decide to help Lion with his quest. They encounter Gloom, a living shadow who is working for the Witch, and she shows up to take Fitzgerald hostage in order motivate Lion more. The crew makes their way to a village of mini-Munchkins who are under a spell by the Witch, but Wimzik uses some hidden magic powers to restore them to their natural size(which is still kinda short). Lion and the others finally reach the end of the trail that's supposed to lead to the Flower, but Lion realizes that Wimzik herself is the "Flower" as she has healing powers and the ability to control flowers. The Witch shows up with Fitzgerald who tells them that she never had Oscar in the first place. This angers the Witch to the point that she attacks Lion, and throws away his medal, but Wimzik uses her magic to ward off the Witch. This leaves Lion believing that all his real courage came from his medal, and he leaves his friends to find Oscar on his own. He eventually carries on to where he first meets up with Dorothy and friends. This movie was fairly well animated for an early-2000s OVA, although some of the character designs are strange. Lion seems like he might be in The Lion King, Oscar(aka: the Wizard)is a little off from some of his other incarnations. It's refreshing to see characters like the Witch of the East getting more airtime in a story for once, although there's the big question as to who Wimzik might be in context to the rest of the Oz apocrypha, as if she might be Ozga from Tik-Tok Of Oz who is supposed to be Ozma's cousin from the Rose Kingdom. The film has a great list of voice actors, including Lynn Redgrave as the Witch, Dom DeLuise as Oscar, plus Tim Curry, Kathy Griffin, Bob Goldthwait, and Jane Horrocks. Although I kinda think that Jason Priestley as Lion was not appropriate casting.

I saw the movie on disney channel and I loved it. The music is wonderful. It's a fun filled adventure that every family should own. If you are ordering this video, you are in for a real treat. If you are an Oz fan, don't miss getting your own copy.

I saw this on the Disney Channel when it premeried and I thought it was WONDERFUL so I taped it! I can't wait to buy it. I didn't read Roger S. Baum's book yet but I intend to. I am a die-hard Oz fan and I enjoyed this movie alot andthe songs fit it perfectly. The actor's voices were perfect for the characters! In this musical animated feature the Lion lives and belongs to a circus in Nebraska. He is best friends with Oscar Diggs, the balloonist who gives him a badge of courage and then they both take an after-hour balloon ride when suddenly a storm hits! They are both transported to the Land of Oz but are unfortunately seperated. The Lion meets up with the Wicked Witch of the East who forces him to find her the Flower of Oz so she can takeover Oz! On the way the Lion meets and becomes friends with a comical character Silly Oz-bull,a girl named Wimsik and her doll and toy soldier. Their adventure is incredible and it follows all the way til the Lion meets three unforgetable friends down a certain brick road! EVERYONE will love this movie because its great!

I taped it off of Toon Disney. I'd never heard of this movie before, but me being the Oz fan that I am, I thought I should check it out. Overall, it was a pretty good movie. I like how they developed the friedships between Wimsik and Lion and Caroline and Captain Fitzgerald. Silly is an interesting character but he lightens the movie up a bit. There are some beautiful songs even if Wimsik's voice was digitally worked to make her sound better. They depicted very well the hatred the Wicked Witch of the East had for her sister. It also has a bit of a mystery to it which was very creative. The animation was very nice. It's worth the watch! Check it out!

I had an old tape (for VCR) of this movie and my nephew LOVED it--so of course I had to buy him the DVD as they do not have a VCR. It is torture sitting through this movie--but he is 4 years old and loved it so....as a dutiful aunt it was my job to buy it for him. Movie arrived in a timely manner and was cheap so I'd purchase from them again--I just wouldn't purchase this movie!

this is from the series of books that spawned the wizard of oz film.in this one,the lion must find the ultimate icon of good or something to that effect.i belive its a flower.dorothy is along for the ride too.the witch has a evil icon that spreads evil to everything it touches.only the flower can stop the witch.the kids like it some.its a fantasy/adventure type deal.the wizard of oz movie was far better than this cartoon.ive never read the book but i think it would be quite excellent.id love to see the other books turned into films also.