Return to Oz (1985)

It's always a little dicey to try to enlarge on classic films, but this semi-sequel to "The Wizard of Oz" is in fact quite faithful to the spirit of the Baum books and in many ways much darker than the beloved icon.  Dorothy, here played by 11-year old Fairuza Balk, is unable to sleep after her return from Oz and no one believes the tales she has been telling.  Her aunt therefore takes her to a creepy clinic where she is about to face electric shock treatment before escaping and ending up back in a devastated Emerald City where the Lion,  Tin Man, and nearly everyone else have been turned to stone and the Scarecrow is missing in action.  With the aid of new friends Jack Pumpkinhead, a mechanical soldier, a stuffed moose-head, and a rather nauseating talking chicken, Dorothy avoids the evil head-collecting Mombi, the scary Wheelers, and the claymation Nome King with his talking rocks, and eventually restores order to Oz and Ozma to the throne.  All of these characters are straight out of the Oz books, but they are little-known nowadays.  Balk who grew up to play a variety of punky parts has the essential seriousness here to be a believable heroine.  Perhaps this film would be a little scary for very young children, but it is sufficiently black to satisfy older kids and young-at-heart adults.