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To hear Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland, and Fred Ladd tell it (and they do prattle and yack on endlessly during a dotty DVD commentary track), you would think that "JOURNEY BACK TO OZ" is equal in every way to MGM'S 1939
masterpiece "THE WIZARD OF OZ." It isn't... but it is a respectable animated sequel. Wacked out Sutherland keeps referring to "THE WIZARD OF OZ" as "The Judy Garland Version."
In L. Frank Baum's book "THE LAND OF OZ", Wicked Witch Mombi attempts to take over Emerald City and destroy the Scarecrow. She is defeated by a boy named Tip, Jack Pumpkinhead, and Woodenhead the Horse. Tip turns out to be a girl who Mombi transformed into a boy. Tip is actually Ozma, the rightful ruler of Oz, before the Humbug Wizard blew in. Sutherland and Ladd keep this basic plot structure, omit Tip/Ozma entirely, and put Dorothy in his/her place.
For the film, Dorothy (beautifully voiced by Liza Minnelli) is back in Kansas. She starts to get that old feeling for Oz; a cyclone blows her and Toto back, and she battles Mombi, etc.
"JOURNEY BACK" had quite a journey itself. The excellent voice cast was recorded in 1960. But lack of finances delayed the film for well over a decade. "JOURNEY BACK" was finally finished and had a small theatrical release around 1974. Apparently, nobody saw it. Scheimer, Sutherland, and Ladd sound understandably proud that the film has finally appeared on DVD. While not as magical as in the 1939 MGM live-action masterpiece, Oz is nicely depicted in animation here. The animation is much better than the Hanna-Barbera cheap and quick, Saturday morning TV show style. Apparently, a few of the animators who worked on "JOURNEY BACK" were former employees of Disney Studios. The animation was intially began overseas, while the voice cast was recorded in New York City and Los Angeles.
I am certainly no fan of that overblown Broadway hag Ethel Merman. But, having said that, Ethel is perfectly cast as animated hag /Witch Mombi. She looks and sounds frightening. Margaret Hamilton, the original Wicked Witch Of The West in 1939, is briefly heard here as the voice of Aunt Em in Kansas. Paul Lynde is excellent as the voice of (Jack) Pumpkinhead. Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland's old partner at MGM, replaced a mis-cast Peter Lawford, as the voice of the Scarecrow. It is disappointing that (the added in to the film's plot) old friends The Tin Man and Cowardly Lion essentially whimp out on Dorothy when she asks them to help. Glinda (voiced here by opera star Rise Stevens) reappears to tell Dorothy she only has herself to rely on and sing a ho-hum slow ballad.
At least "JOURNEY BACK" does not commit the unforgivable cinematic sins of the 1985 Disney live-action disaster "RETURN TO OZ." In that hideous film, (AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS) Aunt Em and Uncle Henry take Dorothy in for electric-shock therapy to have all memories of Oz removed from her mind!! Dorothy subsequently escapes to an Oz in serious dis-repair, devoid of joy and music. While the songs in "JOURNEY BACK" by Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen may not be of the same quality, as the perfectly integrated, Academy- Award winning "THE WIZARD OF OZ" score by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg, it is still nice to hear Liza Minnelli sing such songs as "Keep A Happy Thought," "That Far-Away Land," and "Feeling For Home" in perfect "Dorothy Gale From Kansas" style. Apparently, Liza has exspressed regret in participating in "JOURNEY BACK." True, she sounds almost exactly like her mother Judy Garland did in 1939 here... but there's nothing wrong with that, especially not in this instance. In fact, the vocal similarity is likely the primary reason she was cast to "voice" Dorothy in the first place.
I recommend "JOURNEY BACK TO OZ" to fans of Liza Minnelli-- and for Oz fans who would like another adventure/trip. After all, L. Frank Baum wrote 14 Oz book sequels himself.
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