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'Oz'the blahs■at box officeBy Kim FritzemeierThe Hutchinson News Focus EditorIf you’re off to see the Wizard, you may be disappointed.“Return to Oz” isn’t a sequel to the classic “Wizard of Oz.”It is a new adventure featuring Dorothy Gale from Kansas. Her familiar friends — Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man and Toto — are with her, but only in marginal roles.Her new companions include Billina, a talking chicken; Tik Tok, a pot-bellied robot; Jack Pump-kinhead, whose actions resemble the traditional Scarecrow; and Gump, a flying contraption with the face of a moose, the body of a sofaand a palm-frond tail.The movie will play through at least July 3 at the Flag Theatre, 310 North Main, depending upon the response, said Jeff Love, city manager for Commonwealth TJheatres.Love hasn’t seen the film. He said he’s interested, but just hasn’t had the time.“Return to Oz” isn’t really doing that well in Hutchinson, Love said.“However, Hutchinson is one of the better towns for it throughout our theater circuit,” said Love, explaining that Commonwealth has 400 screens in 15 states throughout the Midwest. “We were in the upper 10 percent in our circuit. There are a few places where ‘Return to Oz* only did a $300 to $400 gross over the weekend. That’s pretty bad.”He doesn’t think lagging attendance is due to the MGM classic’s entrenchment in the hearts and minds of long-time fans.“I think it was a, bad release time,” Love said. “They should have released it when people didn’t have anything to do. It should have been before people got out and started going on vacation.”,“Return to Oz” is perceived as a children’s film, Love said. That’sanother problem.“A ‘G* film anymore is the kiss oldeath - even Walt Disney.” Though he hasn’t seen it, Love said he’s heard some good things about it.* “A guy was walking out with three kids last Saturday night,” Love said. “He told someone standing in line that it was a really good movie.”Love has a theory.“Both *Oz* and ‘D.A.R.Y.L.* are cute little pictures that aren’t doing all that well in the theater,” Love said. “I figure they’ll be those movies that, when they come on Home Box Office or Show Time, people will be saying, ‘Hey, that’s a great show! How come it never came to Hutchinson?’ ”Hutch audience gives film qualified vote of approval-S /. -5“Return to Oz” may blow out of town quickly. It’s not grossing a lot for Commonwealth Theatres in Hutchinson or anywhere else, for that matter.But theater goers gave the movie good reviews. Here’s♦what they had to say:Diane Roberts, 1801 East 30th; “I thought it was a really greatshow. I really Wiggins didn’t think it would be that good. It held the attention of my little girl (Carrie), and she’s not quite 5.”She thought the film deserved its PG rating, but said, “I don’t think it bothered Carrie. I guess we’ll find out tonight.Janet Petrotta, Sterling: “It was an enjoyable movie. Some things were scary. For the children, I think PG is a fair rating.” Chris Berger, 10, of 3104 Northwestern: “It was pretty good. It didn’t have much cussing in it.”Chris Wiggins, 10, of 3204 Northwestern: Wiggins said he’s seen “The Wizard of Oz 10, “maybe 20 times.“I liked this one, Wiggins said. “It had different characters. They were funnier. I guess I liked Tik Tok the best. He was the machine, the robot.”Brian Petrotta, 8, Sterling: “Iy- -x:V';Jacobs , McVeywanted to see it. My friend said he really liked it. I thought it was ‘ pretty good.”Sandra Algood, 910 East 31st Terrace: “It was really good. It is the first movie my 2 year old has seen, and she sat through the whole thing. But I don’t think any movie can compare to the classic.” But two Hutchinson girls disagreed.Tina MeVey, 13, of 228 East 16th: “I think it’ll be a classic. I've seen the^other one probably 13 times, so I really wanted to see this one. It was really good. The scarecrow could have looked better, but I guess he was OK. I liked Tik Tok and Jack Pump-kinhead.”Heather Jacobs, 13, of 1423 East 26th: “We’ll see it on TV, I think. ,The changes from the original are what many people noticed.Lisa Adams, 9: “It was different from the other movie.”Teresa England, Buhler: “It was good,” said Mrs, England. “The animation was different, butmmEnglandAlgoodv*• . •» I itAA.liftB. PetrottamummwrnmmJ. PetrottaI liked it and the special effects. I didn’t have any preconceived notions about what it would be like,♦but I enjoyed it a lot — not in the same way as the original, though.”Just like the Lion, Scarecrow and Toto, the new “Oz” has special characters, too.Ryan Neufeld, 7: “It was good. I liked the pumpkin man.”Jenna Petrotta, 6, Sterling;“My favorite character was — oh — I forgot her name. ... Oh yeah, Dorothy.”Lori Alvarado, Kleila Carlson and Kim Fritzemeier contributed to this story.
Newspaper Details
Hutchinson News
Hutchinson, Kansas, US
Fri, Jun 28, 1985
Page 83
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USA 15 Nov 2021
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