Disney Trivia

Dorothy’s ruby slippers were specially handmade for Return to Oz with imitation rubies and rotoscoped in post-production to give them a magical look. The rubies were actually glass beads imported from Austria and individually attached to the shoes with a special spray adhesive. This later proved problematic, as the hot stage lights melted the adhesive, and the young actress’ fidgety movements would often knock the beads off. Tired of chasing after detached beads, the wardrobe staff finally ordered the shoes to be worn only when they would be visible on camera. Actress Fairuza Balk actually performed most of the film barefoot, as she found Dorothy’s everyday black shoes uncomfortable.

Return to Oz was made without the involvement of MGM, the studio that made the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. No approval was necessary, because by 1985, the Oz books on which the film was based were in the public domain, and the subsequent Oz books had been optioned to Disney many years earlier. A large fee was paid, however, to use the ruby slippers, which were still the intellectual property of MGM at the time (the ruby slippers did not appear in the original novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”; they were invented for the 1939 film to better take advantage of the newly developed Technicolor process. In the novel, Dorothy’s magical shoes are silver.)

Because of the proportions of the costume, Michael Sundin, a gymnast, stood on his hands facing backwards (with knees bent) inside Tik-Tok’s body to move the legs.