Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return

Even by the standards of allowance-snatching half-term filler, this is pretty indifferent ...

Kid-friendly with some neat visuals.

Carping on a film clearly targeted to 5-year-olds might seem unjust, but the filmmakers go about their business in such a lazy fashion that the viewer can't help but feel irritated by the whole ordeal.

Problems abound from the rushed beginning all the way through the impossibly resolved ending.

The bricks are still yellow, but the road doesn't lead anywhere special.

It's short on jokes and hampered by unmemorable musical numbers (including one about building a boat), and the film's niceness can't overcome the dopey tedium.

Won't give Pixar a run for their money and might be best saved for a rainy day rental.

Yawn.

In the end when I walked out I felt like I just watched a failed Broadway musical that got turned into a failed animated movie that no one else should have to suffer through.

The adventures are engaging, the journey fun, the underlying lessons about friendship and loyalty well told, but the dialogue itself proves hit and miss...