''Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz'' is a 1987

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

introduced by Michael Gross of ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States f ...

''. It is based on the 1907 novel ''

Ozma of Oz ''Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, Billina the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People Too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein'', p ...

'' by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's books, particularly ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and its sequels. He wrote 14 novels in the ''Oz'' series, plus 41 other novels (not includ ...

Plot

On an ocean voyage bound for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with her

Aunt Em Aunt Em is a fictional character from the Oz books. Jack Snow, ''Who's Who in Oz'', Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1988; p. 10. She is the aunt of Dorothy Gale and wife of Uncle Henry, and lives together with them on ...

and

Uncle Henry Uncle Henry is a fictional character from The Oz Books by L. Frank Baum.Jack Snow (writer), Jack Snow, ''Who's Who in Oz'', Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books, 1988; p. 227. He is the uncle of Dorothy Gale and husband of A ...

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most of its ...

and Toto are swept overboard in a storm. Dorothy manages to climb in with a hen who had also fallen into the sea. Next morning, Dorothy finds the hen, whose name is

Billina Billina is a fictional character in the classic children's series of Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. She is introduced in ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). Jack Snow, ''Who's Who in Oz'', Chicago, Reilly & Lee, 1954; New York, Peter Bedrick Books ...

, had laid an egg and can talk. Dorothy finds that they are in the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a magical country introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Country in the north, Quadli ...

. Finding Toto's tracks in the sand, they follow them to a place in the forest where they find a warning signed in the sand: "Beware the Wheelers". Stopping again, they decide to have breakfast. Dorothy finds that the tree she is sitting under grows lunchboxes. Having finished breakfast, they are chased by two Wheelers. They reach a rocky hill, and climb up it knowing the Wheelers can't follow them. One of the Wheelers threatens to tear them into little pieces for stealing "their" lunchboxes. Dorothy and Billina agree that they could be lying. Suddenly, the

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, also known as the Tin Man or—mistakenly—the "Tin Woodsman," is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book ''The ...

, the

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesley B ...

, and the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly ...

arrive, followed by Tik-Tok and the

Hungry Tiger This is a list of characters in the original Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. The majority of characters listed here unless noted otherwise have appeared in multiple books under various plotlines. ''Land of Oz, Oz'' is made up of four ...

. As the Wheelers try to attack Dorothy's friends,

Princess Ozma Princess Ozma is a fictional character from the Land of Oz, created by American author L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the Oz series except the first, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and Baum i ...

appears and orders them to halt. Dorothy approaches and introduces herself. Eventually, the Wheelers apologize for the behaviour and promise not to do it again. They explain that Toto was headed towards the land of the

Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is introduced in Baum's third Oz book ''Ozma of Oz'' (1907). He also appears in many of the continuing sequel '' Oz'' novels also written by Baum. Although the c ...

. Reunited with her old friends, Dorothy is introduced to Tik-Tok and Hungry Tiger and Ozma explains that they are on their way to rescue the Queen of Ev and her ten children from the evil Nome King and his Magic Belt. Suddenly the travelers come upon a metallic giant with a hammer. They manage to pass under the giant and are eventually greeted by the Nome King's Rock Fairies. Hearing Dorothy's plea, the Nome King allows them to enter. Ozma introduces herself and demands the Nome King release the Queen of Ev and the ten children. The Nome King explains that he changed them into ornaments and set them in his treasure room. He then offers them a chance to rescue the Queen and her children. They had to touch an ornament to which they believed were the Queen or her children; if they were right, the Queen and her children would be restored – but if they chose wrong, they would be transformed into ornaments themselves. As the Nome King takes the travellers into his treasure room, Billina stays behind under the throne. The travellers decide to split up and search. Meanwhile, Billina overhears the Nome King and his minions say that the Queen of Ev and her children were the royal purple ornaments. She manages to sneak away and find Dorothy, while the Hungry Tiger, Tik-Tok, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and Princess Ozma are changed into ornaments themselves. Dorothy and Billina find the royal purple ornaments and restore the Queen of Ev and her children and return to the Nome King. The Nome King is surprised that Dorothy managed to restore the Queen and her children, and even more so when he discovers that Billina told him. At once, the Nome King and his minions become frightened, and even more so when Billina lays an egg, saying that it's poisonous to them. Dorothy threatens to splatter the egg on the Nome King, who tries to get away. She then throws the egg at him, which splatters against his head. While wiping the egg off, Dorothy manages to grab the King's Magic Belt which restores her friends and even Toto back to normal. United with Toto, Dorothy asks to be sent back to her Aunt and Uncle. Billina gives Dorothy one of her eggs to remember her by as Ozma puts on the Magic Belt and sends Dorothy and Toto back to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. She finds herself on a bed, at first wondering if it was a dream but finds Billina's egg. Upon this discovery, Dorothy hopes that someday she and Toto can find their way back to the Land of Oz again.

Cast

* Michael Gross – Himself/Host * Hiromi Kawaye –

Matthew Stone Matthew Stone (born 1982 in London, England) is a London-based artist. He is part of the South London art collective !Wowow!. Stone graduated from Camberwell College of Arts, London in 2004. He currently stages performances and films. In 2007, h ...

–

* Sandra J. Butcher * Nancy Chance * Jay David * Fredie Smootie

External links

''Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz'' at imdb.com
{{Oz 1987 films 1987 animated films 1980s American animated films 1980s animated short films Animated films based on The Wizard of Oz 1980s adventure films 1987 fantasy films 1980s English-language films

Plot

Cast

Further reading

External links