Journey Back to Oz

[luvliza89]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:54pm

...is now on DVD!

"Liza Minnelli recreates the role of Dorothy made famous by her legendary mother, Judy Garland. Joined once again by the Scarecrow (Mickey Rooney), Tin Man (Danny Thomas), The Cowardly Lion (Milton Berle) and new friend Pumpkin Head (Paul Lynde), Dorothy travels back to Oz, and encounters a whole new set of adventures when she meets up with Mombi (Ethel Merman), the cousin of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Making a cameo voice appearance as Aunt Em is Margaret Hamilton, the original Wicked Witch of the West.

“Journey Back to Oz” features songs and music by Walter Scharf and Academy Award® and Emmy Award winners Sammy Cahn and James Van Heusen."

The speical features are great too!

• Feature length audio commentary
• Interviews with creators Lou Scheimer, Hal Sutherland and Fred Ladd
• Behind the scenes photo gallery
• Image Galleries
• Sing-along feature
• First Draft Script
• DVD-ROM – script & sheet music

The DVD can also be purchased at Amazon.com.

I am beyond excited!
Journey Back To Oz DVD

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:56pm

It's horrible, as I recall it. Why the excitement?

[luvliza89]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 1:59pm

I love it. But I guess that's just me. This was my first time hearing Liza Minnelli and Ethel Merman. The memories are golden.

And maybe its just me but I am so pumped for having the sheet music =)

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 2:03pm

Wow. I'm surprised its getting such a deluxe DVD treatment: but hey who am I to complain. I remember getting the record when I was a little kid. It was a special offer through SPRAY 'N WASH - you had to send in like 3 proofs of purchase and 5 bucks. My mom was a good sport. That SPRAY 'N WASH stayed around the house for years!

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 2:06pm

It may be horrible, but its just one of those things that people like.

Ivan and I will probably get it.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 2:50pm

Susan Sontag famously defined "camp" as "something so bad it's almost good."

She may have been speaking of Ethel Merman as Mombi.

This movie is so bad it's ALMOST good.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 3:01pm

i was just thinking of those green elephants the other day.

[roquat]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 6:46pm

I remember the original broadcast--Milton Berle hosted and made little comments before and after all the commercial breaks, depending on what was going on--i.e., "Quick, Dorothy, open the magic silver box!"

The movie itself is a hodgepodge, but I'll still always remember it--when has their EVER been such a cast assembled for an animated cartoon?

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/2/06 at 7:02pm

Milton Berle .... Cowardly Lion (voice)
Herschel Bernardi .... Woodenhead Pinto Stallion III (voice)
Paul Ford .... Uncle Henry (voice)
Margaret Hamilton .... Aunt Em (voice)
Jack E. Leonard .... The Signpost (voice)
Paul Lynde .... Pumpkinhead (voice)
Ethel Merman .... Mombi, the Bad Witch (voice)

Liza Minnelli .... Dorothy (voice)

Mickey Rooney .... Scarecrow (voice)
Risë Stevens .... Glinda, the Good Witch (voice)
Danny Thomas .... The Tin Man (voice)
Mel Blanc .... Crow (voice)
Dal McKennon .... Omby Amby (voice)

Larry Storch .... Amos (voice)

I saw this in the movie theatre when it was first released in 1974. Perhaps it was a telling sign (even as a kid) that I wondered why Mama Rose was playing Mombi the Witch. And those green elephants she was brewing that were never a part of any of the Oz books. And I was 11 years old thinking this. Such a precocious young homo!

Still I enjoyed it for what it was... and I've already ordered the DVD... more because it's a "Journey Back to Childhood" than a "Journey Back to Oz" for me.

Oh, and I'm not expecting much from Brentwood Home Video. Even though it has a list of potentially interesting extras, they have turned out some pretty underwhelming discs in the past.