Journey Back To Oz - Plot

Plot

After a tornado whips across the prairie and causes a loose gate to knock her unconscious, Dorothy finds herself back in the Land of Oz with Toto. The first new character they meet is a talking Signpost (voiced by Jack E. Leonard), which has three signs pointing in three different directions, and each sign says "Emerald City", so they are going to have to find it themselves. They then fall into some spooky woods where they meet Pumpkinhead (voiced by Paul Lynde), the unwilling servant of Mombi, the cousin of both the deceased Wicked Witch of the East (who was killed when a tornado dropped Dorothy's house on her in the first movie) and the Wicked Witch of the West (who melted after Dorothy doused her with water in the first movie). Toto chases a cat to a small cottage where Dorothy has the distinct displeasure of meeting Mombi's pet crow (voiced by Mel Blanc) and Mombi (voiced by Ethel Merman) herself face-to-warty-face. Dorothy is pushed into a chair which comes to life, and it hooks her arms. While Mombi has gone to get some more wood for the fire, Pumpkinhead sneaks into the house. She is brewing something big (and heavy): green elephants, which she is planning to use as her army in her plot to conquer the Emerald City and become Queen of Oz. Pumpkinhead frees Dorothy, and they flee. After finding Dorothy gone and knowing Pumpkinhead is responsible, Mombi flies out on her broom, and says their warning the Scarecrow will not help when her green elephants "come crashing through the gate".

While heading to the Emerald City, Dorothy and Pumpkinhead discover what appears to be a horse, upside-down on a pole. They get him off, and he introduces himself as Woodenhead Stallion III (voiced by Herschel Bernardi), and he explains how he ended up on there: he was a merry-go-round horse who fell from it. He takes them to the Emerald City, where Dorothy warns the Scarecrow (voiced by Mickey Rooney) about Mombi's green elephants. Unfortunately, she happens to arrive moments later, and Toto and the Scarecrow are captured. Dorothy, Pumpkinhead, and Woodenhead flee to Tinland and try to convince the Tin Man (voiced by Danny Thomas) to help them. However, after hearing that Mombi's army consists of green elephants, he declines upon being afraid of the green elephants and suggests that they ask the Cowardly Lion.

The Cowardly Lion (voiced by Milton Berle) puts on his best brave act when he tells Dorothy and the others he will slay the elephants, saying he will "snap off their tusks and use them for toothpicks", but, like the Tin Man, he is too afraid after hearing the elephants are magical, and he suggests they go to find Glinda (voiced by Rise Stevens), the Good Witch of the North. She appears at that very moment with her Glinda Bird on her arm. The bird uses its Tattle Tail to show what is occurring at the palace. She then gives Dorothy a little silver box. She instructs her to open it only in the Emerald City, and then only in case of a dire emergency. She repeats the warning, and then opens a hollow panel under Woodenhead's saddle where she hides it, and they ride off. Glinda tells her bird to keep them tuned in.

Mombi has been watching them through her crystal ball, and knows that their path will take them through the Ferocious Forest. Using her magic, she brings the trees to life. Luckily, Glinda is also keeping a watchful eye on things, and she conjures a golden hatchet, which she zaps to Pumpkinhead. One of the trees snatches it from him, but ends up hitting one of the other trees, turning it to gold and making it bloom. The tree with the axe hits the others, turning them to gold too, and finally, ends up doing the same to himself. Woodenhead continues to carry Dorothy and Pumpkinhead back to the Emerald City.

When they arrive, Mombi's elephants surprise them, but, when Dorothy flips open Glinda's box, a large army of mice emerge from it, scaring off the elephants. Mombi sees them in retreat, but she does not see the mice chasing them. She brews a potion to shrink Toto to mouse-size so she can feed him to her cat. One of the magic mice scares her, who throws the potion all over her pet crow, and a drop drips from its perch, landing on the cat. The magic mice are much larger than normal ones, so the tiny crow and cat flee in fear.

Running outside, Mombi disguises herself as a rose with poisonous thorns. The elephants trample and kill her then disappear, and the Scarecrow explains that when a witch dies, all her magic dies with her. Unfortunately, that also means that Pumpkinhead loses the life she gave him. However, he comes back to life when one of Dorothy's tears falls on his head, and Glinda tells her that there's a magic stronger than her own as well as Mombi's put together, the strongest one in all the world: faith and love.

The Scarecrow makes Woodenhead the head of the Oz cavalry and knights Pumpkinhead. Now, all Dorothy wants is to go home to her Aunt Em (voiced by Margaret Hamilton) and Uncle Henry (voiced by Paul Ford) in Kansas. The Scarecrow flips through the Constitution of Oz and reads a section that states that a visitor to there may return the way they came if similar transportation is available. After Dorothy reveals she came by cyclone, Glinda asks for some leaves. Pumpkinhead gives her some of the ones from his neck, and she waves her wand. They form a tornado, which takes Dorothy and Toto back home. Before their departure, Dorothy promises that she will return to Oz someday.