Development Walter Murch began development of
Return to Oz in 1980, during a brainstorming session with
Walt Disney Productions production chief Tom Wilhite. Murch told Wilhite he was interested in making an
Oz film and Wilhite "sort of straightened up in his chair". Unbeknownst to Murch, Disney owned the rights to the
Oz series and wanted to make a new film as the
copyright was soon to expire. In September 1981, Disney president
Ron W. Miller announced that the studio would be making the film, not as a sequel or continuation of the 1939 movie, but instead an entirely new story with a different look from the original film.
Return to Oz is based on the second and third
Oz books,
The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904) and
Ozma of Oz (1907). The element about
Tik-Tok being "The Royal Army of Oz" derives from
Tik-Tok of Oz (1914), in which he is made the Royal Army of
Oogaboo and also makes frequent cries of "Pick me up!" That book was itself based on a dramatic production,
The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (1913). Murch also used the book
Wisconsin Death Trip as a historical source for the film. Murch co-wrote the screenplay with Gill Dennis, intentionally writing a film that was unlike the original to avoid accusations of blasphemy. Executive Producer
Gary Kurtz noted, "We're not trying to make a sequel, although technically the books are sequels to each other", suggesting that the movie would be more faithful to the books than the 1939 film was. Despite an original $20 million budget, this eventually rose to $28 million. In casting the relatively unknown Balk, who was the second youngest auditionee from around 1,000 children auditioned across eight cities, Murch said he "wanted to find somebody who might be
Judy Garland's cousin once removed." Maslansky believed Balk was born to play the role, saying "She is Dorothy as described by Baum. She is also Dorothy as I think Judy Garland would have loved to play her if she were that age." Emma Ridley was cast in the role of Ozma, which she described as "a dream come true". In preparation for the role, she would watch visual adaptions of the story and analyzed the opinions of critics of Ozma. Ridley described how she tried to make her Kansas character "very calm, very studious", opting to wear little makeup and perform barefoot, while wanting a complete difference for Ozma, who was shown with a transformed appearance and attire. There was a gap of several months between Ridley filming the Kansas scenes and the Oz scenes. Ridley, who was born in London, had her voice in the film dubbed by Beatrice Murch, daughter of Walter Murch, so that the character of Ozma would have an American-sounding voice.
Leo McKern and
Christopher Lloyd were each considered for the role of Dr. J. B. Worley/The Nome King before Nicol Williamson was cast. For the role of Billina, around 40 real chickens were available during filming, each being good for different things. Cages were tagged with the chicken's purpose, including perch, sit, carry and run to name a few, as well as chickens that would attack and others to run towards cast members. As Balk's small arms could not handle carrying a full-size chicken, a smaller one was used for those scenes. A mechanical chicken was also used for certain scenes, at times behaving so similar to a real chicken that crew in the screening room were unable to tell the difference. The dog playing the role of Toto was Tansy, a brown-eyed
border terrier family pet. Director Walter Murch had already seen around 50 dogs before seeing Tansy.
Filming Principal photography began on February 20, 1984, and
wrapped in October 1984. Originally, filming was to be shot 75% on location, including Oz-like locations in Algeria and Italy; however, due to budget restraints from Disney, the movie was filmed entirely in the United Kingdom at
Elstree Studios. Kansas scenes were filmed at
Salisbury Plain, which was described as a "natural choice" by Maslansky due to its being flat and near London. The temperature at Salisbury Plain during filming was described by Maslansky as "freezing", saying of Balk that "she would cry from the cold, from the pain of the cold – but she would never complain." While Balk did her own stunts, Ridley had a stand-in. Filming for the river scenes took place in a sound stage, described by Ridley as being "like a hot Jacuzzi". Various scenes, in particular those with the Nome King, used
clay animation to achieve the desired effect. When interviewed in 2020, director and animator Doug Aberle explained the process involved in animating the Nome King and other characters with clay, including the technical difficulties encountered. Each section, such as the outside rocks with faces on, was allocated to an animator. Nome King scenes in the throne room were animated progressively, with the character initially made entirely of clay, progressing gradually closer to human form until finally portrayed by Nicol Williamson in live action. Towards the end of the film when the Nome King crumbles, Aberle explains how it took him four attempts to animate this accurately. For other creatures humans in costumes, cables and
animatronics was used to make them come to life. The
Emerald City scenes towards the end of film had to be fully reshot, as the character of Ozma was originally dressed in a gold lace dress which was deemed unsuitable during post-production. The scenes were re-shot with the actress wearing a white and green dress,
Music The film is composed by
David Shire. The Japanese version has "Keep On Dreamin'", performed by
Godiego's
Yukihide Takekawa, which was later re-recorded for one of his albums. ==Release==