Ozu no mahôtsukai

I've seen this movie dubbed in Swedish and subtitled in Finnish so I don't know how wonderful Aileen Quinn is as Dorothy. I watched this movie probably at least over 10 times when i was about 4-7 years old. The first times someone had to read me the subtitles but i guess I learned them from memory after few watchings. I saw Return to Oz (1985) when I was 7 or 8, and I loved that too, and still do. When I was about 12 or something I saw Wizard of Oz from the 20s, and only after all these I saw the Judy Garland's one, which is one of my favorite movies by now.

So... As a great movie experience, of course the Fleming's 1939 flick is the one to watch, but you got the storyline in here too, and even more accurately. Plus I like the animation in this even if it isn't so polished and superb. Then I love the own kind of synths in the music, and always when I hear same kind of synths anywhere (for example some car commercials has it, chill-out music or 80s Pink Floyd), it brings this movie to my mind. But this is not a musical, there's no Somewhere over the Rainbow.

I still think this is a good children's movie, so I recommend this of course to all the children, but then to all the people who love the 80s animation and nostalgia. Not the best in this "genre" but worth watching. You can never top Silver Fang, Alfred J. Kwak, Willy Fog: Around the world in 80 days, Nick Knatterton and Il était une fois...-series but you can see fair efforts like this too.

In Finland this movie was distributed by Omaxi, which had these video series and pretty interesting films actually. The company was live and kicking through the 80s and the early 90s, but then it disappeared. Some people still treat those Omaxi cassettes as treasures, and they kind of have this cult status. Other animated movies in this series that i got, is a version of Jack London's Call of the Wild and the great great Genshi Shounen Ryu.

As a fan of the original book i recommend this film. I'm not a big fan of the character art work but its great to see sections of the book explored that are ignored in the 1939 movie.

The film takes on a pleasing dark tone in all the right places and can create quite an atmosphere. especially in the witch's castle. i love they way she is animated

annoyingly they have given Dorothy red shoes although they only refer to them as magic slippers, the actual design (with curly up toes) is pleasing but i wish they were silver.

Also the munchkin houses are drawn much in the same way as in the JR Neil drawings and the munchkins themselves resemble the Denslow originals.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Judy Garland. And her version of THE WIZARD OF OZ from 1939 is classic. But it's not at all faithful to the book. This production is. The animation isn't great, and it's obviously not a flawless production, but it's lovingly done, has decent songs, and above all, is FAITHFUL to the book. Yes, there is a book. Yes, people have actually read it. Everyone's seen the movie but few people have bothered to read the book. If they had, they'd discover that OZ was a much more whimsical place, it really existed, it wasn't some dream. And this production is very true to the spirit of the novel. And Aileen Quinn is adorable, I wish she'd return to the movies, what a fabulous voice at such a young age.

I am 38 years old and I have never forgotten this version. I am from the UsA but when I lived in Germany at the age of 3 and up I would faithfully watch this movie. I remember being so scared of the Flying Monkeys. It truly was a dark scary scene. Japanese Animation in the 80s is something to behold. This movie I used to pop in my VcR and watch but today I have managed to find it on youtube. If you have young children I would 100 percent put this on for them. It stands the test of time. The voice Actors are so good in this. The Bad Witch is so bad! The good Witxh is so pretty. Toto is the cutest lil doggie. Watch it. You won't regret.

This is one of the best screen adaptions of the "Wizard of Oz" tale I've seen. The story in this movie stays a lot closer to the novel than the Garland musical (which I love very much, don't get me wrong).

The plot, as always, is the same: young Dorothy and her dog Toto get whisked away in a tornado to the magical Land of Oz and has to journey to see the mysterious Wizard, who lives in the Emerald City. Along the way she meets the Scarcrow, who wants a brain, the Tin Man, who wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion who desperately wants some courage. The trouble is the Wizard won't grant any of their wishes until they defeat the Wicked Witch of the West for him.

The animation in this movie, while not spectacular, seems to be fitting and it looks a bit like anime sometimes.

This movie has some great songs. Sadly I don't know the names of the songs, and even worse I don't think they've ever been released on any sort of soundtrack but they are brilliant and Aileen Quinn's voice and song work in this movie is AMAZING. Her talent is worth seeing the movie for alone!

Kids will love this. I saw this movie for the first time as a 5 year old and it captured me from the start. It can be a bit scary but it shouldn't be missed. 9/10!