Fairuza Balk: Dorthy #2.

After watching 'Girl Interrupted', which then inspired the 'Wizard of Oz', my girlfriend and I moved on to the 'Return to Oz'. I hadn't seen this movie for over a decade(perhaps 2), and all I remember is some talking couch and psudo-punk guys with wheels as feet and hands. The DVD into had Fairuza Balk doing a little introduction before the movie began. Wondering why the crazy witch from The Craft was introducing the movie, she indicates that the 'Return to Oz' was one of her first movies.

Fairuzza-Factoids:

• Her name means turquoise in Farsi, after her father saw her blue eyes.


• Her father was a musician and mother a belly dancer, a skill she demonstrated in 'The Island of Dr Morneau'.


• She was selected from 12,000 for the roll of Dorthy in the 'Return to Oz'.


• Fairuza once owned Panpipes, an Occult Craft shop.


• Coincidentally? she's been in a few movies dealing with witches, including 'Return to Oz, 'The Worst Witch' and 'The Craft'

I know it seems trivial, discovering a memorable character in another movie, but for some reason this fully blew my mind. Watching her play Dorthy it all seemed to fall into place. The only thing I still don't get is how or why Dorthy got younger from the 'Wizard of Oz', to the 'Return to Oz'. Oh well... another factoid for another day.

Links

• IMDB: Fairuza Balk


• IMDB: Return to Oz (1985)