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Has anybody here read the Oz books? I had a curious thought. So in the original we had flying monkeys. In The Wiz the flying monkeys were these weird motorcycle human hybrid things. Now in Return to Oz there are no flying monkeys but there are the wheelers which are people who ride around on all fours with wheels for hands and feet which is not a million miles off from human bicycle hybrids. Now I'm curious if that was from the Oz books or is it a weird callback to the flying monkeys in The Wiz or just coincidence?

Did I love this overall? No. But there were some absolute gems: Scarecrow's nose, a Reese's peanut butter cup wrapper? As Dorothy announces she's going to confront Evillene, she takes off her earrings matter-of-factly Any time they sang East on Down the Road Everybody Rejoice dance sequence Diana Ross' performance of Home at the end

I'm guessing it was something made solely for a competition version of the game, as during the various tournaments like this in the early 90s and even now with various E-Sport leagues they have to include other ways for points to be doled out outside of who won the match. I know for the things like the Fortnite Pro-Am or charity events that use it, they give out points based on how high you placed in a match so if you suck ass one round it doesn't completely eliminate you from contention. So with the whistle, while it only warps your character forward levels, all the player would be doing in a competition is playing a much harder level for the same points his opponents are playing for at easier levels, so giving a point bonus for taking that chance with the whistle can either big a big bonus for a kid if they're also good at the harder levels, or can at least bolster their score if they are struggling on the harder levels they went to so they still have a chance at winning the match.

I think the advantage of Return to Oz and Wizard of Oz is that we spend a fair amount of time with Dorothy pre-Oz and we get to know her as a character. We know her motivations and fears and that. Here, we barely get to met her and just her Aunt who loves her wanting to get out and see the world. It's all very short and really boiled down. To this extent I think the metaphorical nature of Oz gets kind of muddled. In the original all the things she sees are parallels to things in her real life or real world adding to those whole "was it all a dream" type situation. If we draw that out to the idea that Dorothy is a homebody afraid to get out there, the things she sees and experiences should further this notion which I think it only does to a certain extent. Sometimes it feels like it is doing things because that's what happens in Wizard of Oz and not because that would be the next logical step. Edit: Sorry morning brain I should expand. The things Dorothy sees in the original are all things to help her realize that home is not so bad. That's why the friendly farmhands are her friends, the evil witch is the mean old woman and her ticket out is a travelling huckster. If in The Wiz the thing was Dorothy should get out and see the world and not be a homebody the metaphors should be things that would want to motivate her to get out there. I get this film and the musical from what I understand is suppose to be about the black experience in America and I got that. I think the journey and metaphors serve that more than they serve as development for the Dorothy character. As a result I found her just there to move the story along (though I like as Cameron pointed out she's one at the end the puts things together) and the encounters and that don't really relate to her arc of "shy girl needs to get out more."

That's what Musical Mondays and Unspooled Thursdays and HDTGM Fridays are for. Otherwise, I'd have no clue either.

I’ll watch this soon...I’ve returned to the Rona (my nickname for COVID)—induced loss of any sense of time or perhaps reality itself. What week is it? What year? Wait, we elected that guy? Truly, since the school year has ended, time has lost all meaning. I have to check my phone to remember what the day/date is. Speaking of which, I’ll do that now!

Agreed! Oz in the Wiz is more run down. It's bright, but there's a kind of dangerous edge to it. If I'm remembering correctly, more like Return to Oz. Also, Wiz Dorothy comes from, what appears to be a very loving and supportive family, whereas Wizard Dorothy is actively trying to escape her life and trying to protect her dog. However, that brings me to what I think is my biggest complaint about The Wiz as compared to Wizard. I don't like the the Evilean isn't introduced until the very last act. In Wizard, the Wicked Witch is a continuous, and personal, threat to Dorothy. The witch in Wiz feel more like a box to check than a legitimate or interesting threat.

Roger waters George's bush and Robert's plant.

At one point the kid uses a warp whistle and that somehow boosts his score, but warps don't actually add points in the game.

That's always been my impression of The Wiz as a movie. The energy of the live show didn't translate to the screen, for whatever reason.

I loved this, it was very entertaining! The music is awesome. Some of the sets and things maybe lean too weird-as-fuck, but I don't mind that at all. I'm so glad I watched this! Hm one of the main critiques of the original is the whole is message is "there's no place like home" which makes little sense after visiting a magical wonderland like Oz. Here, it makes a bit more sense because Dorothy is such a homebody introvert. But that said, Diana Ross isn't very good in this; she's the weak point in this movie if you ask me. Which sucks because out of everyone in the film, she's the one I'm a big fan of. She doesn't get the arc or motivation across well.

No, that would probably be Glenda.

So Dorothy is the dungeon master?

Something I really liked about The Wiz is at the end of the movie it’s Dorothy, and not the Wizard, who confirms that the things her companions sought they possessed all along. I think that’s more emotionally satisfying than the kind of gag/satirical ending in The Wizard of Oz (e.g. A diploma proves you have a brain whether that’s true or not)

I agree. I think her character was just underwritten and none of the problems could really be laid on her.

Overall, I agree. I enjoyed the music and choreography. I found out that people felt Diana Ross was too old at 33 to play Dorothy, so that makes me feel a bit protective of her. I thought she did a great job.

So I overall enjoyed the movie. Mostly for it's music and wonderful production design. I thought the make up and costumes were fabulous. Story wise there are some problems. I think Dorothy here has real weak motivations and not a real arc. In addition I thought some of the metaphors worked better than others and they seemed to forget about that at points. However updating the poppy fields to be drugs and stuff like that I thought were good and creative.

She does gather a party as well. It is all very RPG

I have always loved how Dorthy takes the witch’s shoes like she’s in RPG trying to gear up her character.

Well we need this movie now; because it's the OG Floor is Lava. Wilshire Blvd. is Lava. Subway is Lava. EVERYTHING IS LAVA.

Now I have to rent this. That is $1.99 i will not get back.

Bang once for erotica; bang twice for comedy.

Next week's show!

Yeah the whole thing of the Wizard was it was a commercial for Nintendo and all it's remembered for is that line about the Power Glove and how ironic it is now: "it's so bad," and the fact that it followed a trend in Hollywood of person on the spectrum being a savant in some niche activity. There is even some fucked up ideas with the bounty hunter who specializes in chasing kids, the way the kids escape in a casino from said hunter is for the girl to scream that he groped her, and that the stepdad who hired the dude basically tells Fred Savage's dad and mom, now that guy's wife, that he is only hiring the hunter to catch the savant and that Fred Savage can basically get killed by cannibals for all he cares. It was Richard Kelly who I give props to for trying to make a multi-media experience for the film by having the first half of it's over arching story be a graphic novel. Unfortunately that wasn't promoted so well and if I recall came out after the movie flopped so no one really gave a shit about it, though it does set up what is shown in the movie rather well, though it doesn't help the movie's overall quality. And considering that the organizers of Cannes somehow loved the DVD screener sent to them that they put the movie up for their top prize, prior to the uncut version being torn to shreds by critics, makes me wonder what else could have been cut in order for the final product to be released. And still with that scene, it's still not the most batshit moment of that whole movie.

The second largest video rental store in San Francisco, Le Video, was going out of business. Every movie was $4. I combed through the cult section looking for gems, and found a dvd rip of this movie sandwiched in an original vhs cover. It. Blew. My. Mind. As an adult, this movie is not scary at all and is in my top five favorite wtf movies alongside can't stop the music and freeway 2: confessions of a trick baby. Learning that Canadians have a collective unrealized nightmare about this movie only makes it more enjoyable. The best parts aren't even the plot--which is impossible to relate without an hour of spare time--but the acting choices of the secondary characters. The 12 year old sister whom you could swear is the forty year old sitcom housewife of her father. The best friend who so badly wants the dad to like him but knows that staying true to himself will win the day. The art critic who loves a generic painting of a family playing tennis, but bites his thumb at a bird painting he considers empty. Top it off with Celine Dion's first English language song and the fact that THIS MOVIE IS INEXPLICABLY AVAILABLE TO STREAM FOR FREE (in high quality) ON AMAZON PRIME RIGHT NOW when before it could only be found off a ripped vhs in the cult section of a dying video store, and you have a masterpiece waiting to be sent up by true pros of the industry. There is something for each of you here. Jason, the aforementioned characters and morbid motifs will get you yelling out loud with your headphones in. Paul, the incomprehensible (but still unravelable) plot will fill your pages with notes. And June, the wildly improper dynamics between adults and children, the moral ambiguity--and of course, the wonderous wardrobe--will have you muttering "oh, we're going to get into IT" almost on par with drop dead fred. Please, please do this movie asap, while it's available. You will be elated that you did.