'Return to Oz' (feat. Kai Yaniz)

As we continue our journey down the yellow brick road, Close Watch host Robert Yaniz Jr. is joined by his wife, Kai Yaniz, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of Disney’s strangest, darkest, and most fascinating cult classics: Return to Oz.

Released in 1985 as a sort-of sequel to The Wizard of Oz, this eerie fantasy took audiences by surprise, bringing electroshock therapy, a walking pumpkin, and some of the creepiest stop-motion movie villains into the magical land of Oz.

We dig into what makes Return to Oz so unsettling yet enduring, from Fairuza Balk’s haunting Dorothy to the wild imagination behind Tik-Tok and the Nome King. Along the way, they explore the film's misunderstood legacy, its surprising faithfulness to L. Frank Baum’s books, and why it might just be the ultimate Halloween hidden gem.

Subscribe to Crooked Table on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@crookedtable

Follow Crooked Table on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/crookedtable

Crooked Table Productions is powered by Riverside.fm. Start your own audio or video project here 👉 https://riverside.sjv.io/c/2356989/2648500/28064