The 1985 TV movie The Whimsical World of Oz was made as a promotional piece for the Disney film Return to Oz.

In the course of an hour the movie manages to make a very good overview of the creation of the Land of Oz and its many filmed interpretations. There is a profile of the creator of Oz, L. Frank Baum, and a look at his other works. A Baum descendant is interviewed and Baum’s legacy in his hometown is shown.

On hand to discuss the books is author Ray Bradbury, who relates how when his family was driving across country during the Depression he would stop at every town library and look for Oz books but rarely found them as they weren’t considered literature. My own father was two years older than Bradbury. He said that whenever an Oz book came to the library the kids would simply devour it, and bought his own children a set of Oz books.

Bradbury also remarks how much more welcoming the Land of Oz was than the environment of the Alice in Wonderland books as so many Oz characters could act as friends. Children who have read the Oz books give their take on the stories and characters, and one boy describes how the Scarecrow could be his best friend.

The film features fascinating footage from the very first Oz films and an interview with Romola Remus, the first film Dorothy in the early 1900s. The 1939 film is showcased and Ray Bolger appears. He must not have been well, as he speaks while reclining on what appears to be a couch, which I have never seen in any documentary interview. As Margaret Hamilton passed away in 1985, she must have already died or been too unwell to appear, making Ray Bolger the last surviving major cast member from the 1939 film.

I learned a lot from this movie, which shows clips from many Oz films. I never knew that Liza Minelli voiced Dorothy in an animated Oz movie or noticed how much her singing voice is like Judy Garland’s, at least in that particular movie. I had also never heard of the Walt Disney project The Rainbow Road to Oz, which was a proposed live-action movie starring the kids from The Mickey Mouse Club. A clip of the Mouseketeers pitching the movie to Walt Disney and him approving it appears. Apparently parts were filmed and previewed on TV on September 11, 1957. This project may just be the greatest movie never made. I would have totally watched the heck out of it.

This TV movie went on to showcase the extremely difficult technical work involved in Return to Oz which gave me even more appreciation of that film. Say what you will about it, people worked extremely hard and were dedicated to making it wonderful. Fairuza Balk, who is interviewed, was a beautiful and charming Dorothy and a fantastic actress. This gives a behind the scenes look at the magic of Oz. I found it very enlightening and entertaining.