Film review: Legends of Oz

At the end of the classic 1939 musical The Wizard Of Oz, based on a novel by L Frank Baum, Dorothy Gale clicks the heels of her ruby slippers three times and chants, “There’s no place like home”, in order to return to sepia-toned Kansas.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th May 2014, 21:00 BST
Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.
Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.

At the time, cinema audiences didn’t fall completely under the spell of Victor Fleming’s ambitious fantasy but decades of TV repeats have elevated the adventures of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion in our affections.

Various spin-off TV series and films, and adaptations of Baum’s myriad sequels to The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz, have failed to recapture the magic and sense of wonder of Fleming’s version.

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Legends Of Oz: Dorothy’s Return joins that far from illustrious list.

Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.
Undated Film Still Handout from Legends Of Oz: Dorthy's Return. Pictured: Marshall Mallow (voiced by Hugh Dancy), China Princess (voiced by Megan Hilty), Scarecrow (voiced by Dan Aykroyd), Tin Man (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), Dorothy (voiced by Lea Michelle), Lion (voiced by Jim Belushi), Wiser (voiced by Oliver Platt) and Glinda (voiced by Bernadette Peters). See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Signature Entertainment. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.

Co-directed by Will Finn and Daniel St Pierre, this computer-animated musical is a direct sequel to the 1939 film, returning the plucky heroine and her pooch Toto to the enchanted realm in order to thwart a megalomaniacal new villain.

But it is neither fun-filled nor magical, despite songs composed by Academy Award nominated singer/songwriter Bryan Adams.

Lea Michele is a chirpy yet bland Dorothy and supporting vocal performances are similarly forgettable.

Related topics:Legends