Return to Oz (1985)- Fabricated and Real Props- Identification and Builds

[OzReturner]

Hello to all!

My interests are all over the place. However, I recently came to the realization that I would really like to have my primary collecting focus to be on stuff from Return to Oz, which has always been one of my absolute favorites. I already had a bunch of stuff I made or bought, but wanted to try to find items that were not created just for the movie. So, my intention with this thread is to be an ongoing log / information resource / help center where we can hopefully collaboratively try to identify some things from the creepy Oz movie.

I will also be posting here items I have made, with varying degrees of accuracy. Many things I just want on the shelf, and can revisit when I get more time, or the accuracy bothers me badly enough.

I feel like this movie is enjoyed by many, but doesn't really get much attention in the prop area aside from the Oz key and Tik Tok, and hope that this can be a welcome database of sorts for fellow fans.

I will be updating this thread periodically into the future, so keep an eye out here if you don't see something you have a question about yet.

I would like some help identifying some items in my posts, so please look around!

I've also got a companion thread to show off non-prop items I have. Take a look!

Return to Oz (1985)- A Non-Prop Collection

Thanks to everyone for looking!

 

[OzReturner]

Gump Ornament from the Nome King's Ornament Room

First up is the ornament for the Gump, as seen in the Ornament Room.

After seeing the recent rousing success of a reverse image search over in the Balkan Lecture Lobby Card thread, I decided to try and locate this object. Lo and behold, it is a perfume bottle from the 1930s, made by Czechoslovakian company Hoffmann and Schlevogt. It is made of green malachite jade glass, about 5" tall, and weighs about 1.5 pounds. According to this document, there are 2 variants. 1 has the top of the bottle as solid glass using a stopper, to dab the perfume onto your finger, and the other one has a metal top for you to screw in an atomizer. I have also seen this referred to as Ingrid Glass.

I have also seen this for sale as a Frantisek Halama (brand?) perfume bottle, model 1646. They aren't on the cheap side, but managed to snag mine with a damaged atomizer, which I don't care about. Yes, it is not 100% accurate due to the metal top and not a glass top, but for the price difference, I am willing to live with it.
Here's each variant, currently for sale elsewhere as of this post:

And here is the one I purchased, and that currently is in my display

 

[OzReturner]

Billina's Nome King Killing Egg

This is just a fun, no effort painted wooden egg that Billina finally lays at the end of the movie, which goes down the Nome King's throat and kills him, due to his egg allergy.

 

[OzReturner]

Dr. Worley's Newspaper Clipping

This is seen at the very beginning of the movie, when Uncle Henry is seen thinking of calling Dr. Worley to address Dorothy's "delusions."

I did my best to recreate this clipping a few years back, using my admittedly limited knowledge of Photoshop. Not all of the fonts are correct, nor are the pictures, but I feel like I got close enough to get the gist of it. I had to make up some of the text and other objects on the page to match the length / size of the clipping seen in this shot. I also included some little easter eggs for anyone who looks closely enough at the made up text.

And here is the one I made. It is just printed on standard printer paper, with an old timey background to look like newspaper. Does anyone know if you can buy blank newsprint? I really haven't done any research into it, but would make it look much more authentic. Nevertheless, I am happy with how it turned out.

 

[OzReturner]

Dorothy's Psych Hospital Room Painting / Framed Artwork

Seen briefly on the wall of her room at the mental hospital, I am struggling to identify this exact piece of art. Reverse image search didn't yield anything for me. Can anyone help identify this?

See here for a separate identification attempt thread:

Please help identify this Return to Oz painting / illustration

 

[OzReturner]

"Fruit" of the Lunch Pail Tree

Shortly after arriving in Oz, Dorothy and Billina pluck some lunch pails off of the Lunch Pail Tree. There seems to be a few variants. A full, openable one that Dorothy actually uses (apparently made from a metal bucket?), another that is just 2 vacuum formed pieces put together for long shots, and another that Dorothy is carrying around the Emerald City, but without it's leaves. Here are 2 of the 3 variants:

I just realized, but the leaves on the tree appear to be napkins!

According to the Prop Store auction, this one is 10" x 6" x 6".

In the movie, Dorothy opens one up and finds inside a ham sandwich. So for the one I made, before I had good reference material, I put inside a wax wrapped piece of foam for a sandwich, and just for fun an apple and a carton of milk I filled with sand for some weight. Not super accurate, but it is made with a real metal bucket.

 

[OzReturner]

Dorothy's / Nome King's Ruby Slippers

These need no introduction. NOT accurate to the movie, but still give the right vibe to the display shelves. A cheap $30 pair, but good enough.

 

[AJLoCascio]

This is incredible! The perfume bottle is particularly impressive! !

 

[OzReturner]

This is incredible! The perfume bottle is particularly impressive! !

Thank you! There's more to come, so keep a lookout

 

[OzReturner]

Powder of Life Can

The one prop that has always fascinated me, ever since I first saw the movie as a kid. Bring anything to life! With sparkle powder, no less. You only ever see about the top half of the backside label.

And here is the "official" Disney image. PLEASE! If anybody knows what kind of can the label was attached to, please let me know! An image search gave me a close hit on an old baking powder can.

And this is the can and label that I made. Again, not an accurate can size or shape, but it was what I could find in a pinch that was good enough. I am aware that it should be taller and narrower, so my label looks a bit stretched out and squashed, but I feel it isn't terribly noticeable if not comparing directly to the screenshots. I made up the rest of the bottom half of the back label, with some ideas from somewhere I no longer remember.

My idea was that the Y.B.R. Apothecary was like an Oz pharmacy, for Yellow Brick Road. It made me laugh that this was something you could go and buy off of a shelf at a drugstore, and not have some magician fabricate for you, so included it as a half joke, but also possible.

 

[OzReturner]

Cabinet 31- Mombi's Real Head Cabinet Contents
When Mombi's headless body wakes up and grabs her real head after Dorothy steals the Powder of Life, you can see 3 skulls / heads in the shot.

Left- looks like a monkey skull? I think it's a vervet monkey, without it's fangs. Help identify please!

Center- looks like a monkey head, with skin and hair still attached. Reminds me of the face on the chilled monkey brains dessert in Temple of Doom.

Right- looks like a bloody? fetus or young child skull. Does anyone know the right age range for this size / shape of skull

 

[Dan Efran]

Whoa. How is that moment so scary I never noticed the skulls in the shot?!

Also why is she sleeping with skulls? Ew.

Loving this thread.

 

[OzReturner]

"OZ" Key- The Key to the Old House / Tik Tok's Room

Possibly the most replicated and famous of objects to own from the movie is the Oz key. In Kansas, it's just the key to the house that was destroyed by the tornado, but in Oz it gets Dorothy into the room where Tik Tok has wound down.

And images from the Prop Store auction. According to the site, it is indeed metal and painted to resemble burnished brass. Size is 3.5" long x 1" wide x .25" thick.

And this is the one that I made out of steel. The head and flared piece is 1/4" thick stock, the barrel is a door hinge pin, and the bit is a piece of door hinge plate, welded together. Not the easiest way to make it, but it feels great in the hand, and has a nice weight. I haven't painted it, as I like the steel look, and can't bring myself (yet) to cover it in paint.

There is also an alternate version at the end, in the throne room. Tied with a green ribbon around Billina's neck is a polished brass version with small gems attached.

 

[OzReturner]

Broken Piece of the Yellow Brick Road

Oz is in shambles. Mombi, the Wheelers, and the Nome King terrorize the country. The Yellow Brick Road has fallen into disrepair, to the point that some of the bricks are crumbling. This is my nod to that. I just broke a brick, painted it a yellow that looked right, and put some felt pads on the bottom so it doesn't scratch my glass shelf.

 

[Tommy]

Left- looks like a monkey skull? I think it's a vervet monkey, without it's fangs. Help identify please!

Center- looks like a monkey head, with skin and hair still attached. Reminds me of the face on the chilled monkey brains dessert in Temple of Doom.

Right- looks like a bloody? fetus or young child skull. Does anyone know the right age range for this size / shape of skull

I would check out Skulls Unlimited for ID. The fetal skull looks like between 35-40 weeks to me:

Search Results

Shop Hundreds of Real and Replica Skulls and Skeletons from Skulls Unlimited.

www.skullsunlimited.com

All Mammals

Skulls Unlimited is the world's leading supplier of the most diverse selection of legally-obtained animal skulls and replicas. Real animal and human skulls for sale to buy online to professional education facilities and bone collector hobbyists. We also carry entomology, cryptology, anthropology...

www.skullsunlimited.com

Return to Oz was filmed at Elstree just a year after Temple of Doom... So it's conceivable the center piece was either reused or made by the same guy.

 

[OzReturner]

I would check out Skulls Unlimited for ID.

Yeah, that's where I got the idea of it being a vervet monkey. But they don't have a 100% complete catalog of every skull out there, so it could be something else after all.

The fetal skull looks like between 35-40 weeks to me

I agree

 

[OzReturner]

Scarecrow Ornament from the Nome King's Ornament Room and Brass Bird

PLEASE HELP IDENTIFY!

1. The brass bird that is Dorothy's first guess. I found some good candidates using an image search, but wanted some extra input on what you all may think. Pic 1 has the right shine and some details are correct, but seems a bit washed out and those details aren't crisp. Pic 2 seems the better, crisper candidate, but the shoulder detail isn't there. The log and leaf detail is though. Seems to be about 4" tall. Thoughts?

2. The emerald / green glass ornament that ultimately becomes the Scarecrow. It is assuredly glass as far as I can ascertain. The top, bottom, front, and back are all flat. When it is in the process of falling over (and just standing upright), you can see what appears to be a round shaft going completely through it, almost as though it should be threaded onto something. Maybe nautical, like some sort of rope rigging adornment? Inexplicable powerline addition, like those glass insulators they used to use? I have a strong feeling that it was not created for the movie, but is a found object. Also seems to be 4" tall, or thereabouts. Thoughts please, it's a very desired piece to add to my collection!

See here for a separate identification attempt thread:

Please Help ID This Return to Oz Green Glass Ornament

 

[OzReturner]

Nome King's Hospitality Setup- Pitcher

Oh boy. There's a lot I have to say about this scene. To be addressed right now, though, is the pitcher full of hot melted silver that the Nome King is serving Dorothy, Jack, and Tik Tok. It does not have a lot of screen time, but it had a big impact on my desire to find some of these real world objects. The second screenshot is from when the room flashes briefly after Gump guesses incorrectly his ornament choice.

I found, and bought, one of these pitchers from a seller in France. Between 11-12" tall and weighing a few pounds, it is a 95% solid pewter pitcher made my Etain Fin / Zinn, best guess is from the 1950s-60s. There is a hallmark stamp on the bottom, as well as inside the pitcher on the bottom. It says E.P.U. Europe 118, for what it's worth, as well as a fleur de lis design. I've seen very few of these for sale, and they are usually in Europe, not here in the US. In one instance I found it listed for sale as a "Pine Cone Pitcher." There seems to be at least 2 variants.

The first here has 5 total "hinge interactions," for lack of a better description, and some different hallmarks stamped on it.

The second one, which is more like what I was able to buy, has only 3 hinge interactions.

And this is the one I have, which just arrived last week. I'm thrilled to have gotten one, and takes a place of pride in my collection. It seems a bit more worn and less defined as some of the others out there, but I am still happy with it.

 

[KOMakesThings]

Great thread! I love these deep dives on a single movie, especially a movie like Return to Oz. I have a few 3D prints of the aforementioned Oz key kicking around my 'to-do' pile so that I can make both versions of the key one day.

1. The brass bird that is Dorothy's first guess. I found some good candidates using an image search, but wanted some extra input on what you all may think. Pic 1 has the right shine and some details are correct, but seems a bit washed out and those details aren't crisp. Pic 2 seems the better, crisper candidate, but the shoulder detail isn't there. The log and leaf detail is though. Seems to be about 4" tall. Thoughts?

I kept going back and forth between the two pics for a bit, looks like they're the same sculpt, but pic 1 is much more worn? I kinda like pic 1 because of the simpler detail, but it's a shame how the area between the bird and the perch is a lot less distinct. Looks like they kept casting even after the mold deteriorated? For that alone I'd probably be swayed to going with pic 2. With some brasso polish and a bit of elbow grease I bet it'd shine up great.

 

[OzReturner]

Great thread! I love these deep dives on a single movie, especially a movie like Return to Oz. I have a few 3D prints of the aforementioned Oz key kicking around my 'to-do' pile so that I can make both versions of the key one day.


I kept going back and forth between the two pics for a bit, looks like they're the same sculpt, but pic 1 is much more worn? I kinda like pic 1 because of the simpler detail, but it's a shame how the area between the bird and the perch is a lot less distinct. Looks like they kept casting even after the mold deteriorated? For that alone I'd probably be swayed to going with pic 2. With some brasso polish and a bit of elbow grease I bet it'd shine up great.

Wow, thank you for the reply! It was actually you and your dedication to Labyrinth that inspired me to start focusing my efforts on 1 movie. Been following your thread for a while now and love new updates. I was hoping you would chime in!

I'm inclined to agree that pic 2 is the better choice as well. I think I could get a good shine on that one.