Video Review: Dorothy In The Land Of Oz

One of the more obscure ''sequals'' that were done to the original 1939 movie was this animated TV special shown as a Thanksgiving special. Since the live-action movie was traditionally shown at or around Thanksgiving, this special was aired under the title Thanksgiving In The Land Of Oz, which is a slight fusion of Land Of Oz, Ozma Of Oz, and Emerald City Of Oz.

Here, Dorothy is getting ready for Thanksgiving with her aunt and uncle, even though they have to move off their farm. She then runs into the Wizard(voiced by Sid Ceasar)who has made a giant turkey-shaped balloon for a Thanksgiving parade, but she ends up getting caught in one of its ropes and flies away to Oz. Once there, she meets Jack Pumpkinhead. He is holding onto the Powder of Life, but the wicked Tyrone the Terrible Toy Tinker(this show's version of the Gnome King)uses it to bring the turkey balloon to life so he can take over Oz. Dorothy and Jack head out to stop him, and along the way run into Hungry Tiger and Tik-Tok, plus accidently give life to Dorothy's mince pie. They find Tyrone and convince him to be good. Dorothy is then reunited with her old friends, and meets Ozma who brings her family and farmhouse from Kansas to Oz.

This special has been rebroadcasted under the title Christmas In Oz, and has been put on VHS as Dorothy In The Land Of Oz. It is currently on DVD as part of a double feature by Liberation Entertainment which also has another special done by the animation studio of Peter And The Magic Egg. You can find the DVD for sale from several online dealers like Amazon.