Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is Almost Here May 9, 2014

Roger S. Baum’s further adventures of his great-grandfather’s beloved characters are given a new animated life in Summertime’s Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.

The film is based on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum and the further adventure stories by his great-grandson Roger Stanton Baum. "Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return" begins when Dorothy (Lea Michele) wakes up in Kansas to find that it has been devastated by the tornado that whisked her to Oz. But soon after, she is magically transported back to Oz by her old friends Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man (Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi and Kelsey Grammer, respectively). She must work with a new cast of characters to save Oz from an evil Jester (Martin Short) who wants all of Oz under his control. The film also stars the voices of Patrick Stewart, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy, Megan Hilty and Bernadette Peters.

The impressive cast is further augmented by Bernadette Peters as the voice of Glinda, the good witch, and Oliver Platt as a wise, argyle-clad owl. The film is directed by Disney animation veterans Dan St. Pierre (also production designer) and Will Finn (also story supervisor). St. Pierre’s feature directing credits include Everyone’s Hero and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey; Finn co-wrote and co-directed Home on the Range for Disney. The story was adapted by Randi Barnes, with screenplay by Adam Balsam and Barry Glasser. Toon Town vet Bonne Radford produced with Summertime’s Ryan and Roland Carroll–Neil Kaufman, Greg Centineo and Rene Torres served as exec producer.

As you may know, the indie-studio behind the film, Summertime Entertainment, has had an adventure of their own to make it to the film’s theatrical release. Founded by Ryan & Roland Carroll, the brothers teamed with industry expert Bonne Radford (founding member of DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment) to create a unique, and special film.

Summertime Entertainment has also launched an ambitious slate of transmedia "Legends of Oz" features including a virtual world and really fun apps.

You can learn more about the studio in this Animation Magazine feature from Cannes 2013 http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/oz-revisited/