The 1939 film, "The Wizard of Oz," is an undeniable classic. To this day, the acting, the costumes, the artistry of it all still hold up. It gains new fans every new generation, making it a timeless film. Following it up will be no easy feat, but I do commend the makers of "Legendz of Oz: Dorothy's Return" for their A+ effort.
With a great cast and commendable animation, "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return" sought to give better closure to Dorothy's story after she's gone back home to Kansas. Here, she reunited with her friends to defeat another villain terrorizing the colorful world of Oz, Jester, also known as the Wicked Witch of the West's (and East's) younger brother. Without much fanfare, the movie premiered back in 2013 and, unfortunately, got a lot of negative reviews. But the kids, their most important audience, liked it well enough. Particularly my little cousin at the time, Eric.
Like me, Eric was a huge fan of the 1939 classic. There'd be weekends where he'd go to our place just so we can spend the day watching it. While other kids were pretending to be students of Hogwartz or elves fighting in the war of Middle Earth, Eric was too busy pretending to be either the cowardly lion or the tin man who wanted a heart.
Unfortunately, back in 2012, Eric got diagnosed with a terminal illness. He had to spend most of his time at the hospital trying to get better. And while I'd go there from time to time to let him watch the movie on my laptop, he didn't feel like it most of the time. Still, he was a trooper. I was always so proud of him every time I'd visit him. He was in massive pain, I was sure, but he always put on a brave face and smiled at his visitors.
When 2013 came, his illness got worse. The doctors told us it was only a matter of time before he'd succumbed to it and we'd have to say goodbye to him. However, there was a silver lining. It was also the year a new animated sequel to "The Wizard of Oz" and Eric wanted to check it out. With the doctor's approval, I took him to the movies and he cried, laughed, and sang along to the movie. In many months, I've never seen him that happy.
I wanted to make him smile so much that I thought I'd give him one last gift. I wrote to the cast of the movie, mentioned Eric and how much they made him so happy even during his hardest time ever. I was hoping they'd reply back with a letter for him to make him feel better. And, as luck would have it, the did! But not only that they also included a few copies of the movie's poster with all their autographs on them. It was such a sweet gesture from them that I teared up a little. And when I saw Eric light up reading their letter and seeing their signed posters, I bawled my eyes out.
Now, Eric is in heaven, hopefully meeting Dorothy, Glinda, and all the wonderful characters that made him happy hear on Earth. Before he passed on, he told me he wanted me to share the posters with everyone else. And so now, I am.
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
