Preteen girl looking at a cell phone with her parents

Personalized picks at your fingertips

Get the mobile app on iOS and Android

Get the app
Parents' Guide to

After the Wizard

By Renee Longstreet, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Sweet but muddled postscript to Oz has mild suspense.

Movie NR 2012 80 minutes
After the Wizard Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

See all
age 12+

Based on 1 parent review

Will Mansfield
Will Mansfield Adult
August 26, 2018
age 12+

Bad bad bad.

To be honest I think only 12 year olds and over will understand the plot of this story. Basically, just a one giant cash grab. Dorothy is now in high school. There you go. That’s the plot basically. All your favourite lovable characters are now turned into weird creepy annoying full grown men dressed in costumes telling strangers they are ‘munchkins.’ Please don’t watch this cash grab.
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Elizabeth (Jordan VanVranken) is a 12-year-old orphan struggling to find her way in the world. She believes with all her heart that she's Dorothy Gale, the heroine of L. Frank Baum's book The Wizard of Oz, who returned from The Emerald City only to lose her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. But no one will believe the troubled young girl, not even the kindly director of the Kansas orphanage where she lives. Elizabeth/Dorothy longs to meet up again with her loving companions from the Yellow Brick Road and return to Oz. At the same time, The Tin Woodman (Orien Richman) and The Scarecrow (Jermel Nakia) have set out from Oz to find Dorothy and bring her back once again to help their country. After a bumpy journey in which The Tin Woodman and The Scarecrow navigate their way to Kansas and Elizabeth/Dorothy is reunited with a stray she's certain is Toto, fantasy and reality meet head-to-head.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (3 ):

This movie has good intentions and some fine performances -- Peter Mark Richman shines as a blind Southern gentleman, and the Tin Woodman and The Scarecrow are awkward but winning. But the story never quite jells, and the resolution is weak. It's obvious that AFTER THE WIZARD's budget was very low and that director-writer Hugh Gross, as well as many of the actors, are new to the profession.

The film lacks both clarity and momentum, and, most importantly, it asks many more questions than it successfully answers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Elizabeth wanting to be Dorothy Gale instead of herself. What happened to Elizabeth in real life that made her want to be someone else? Why do you think she chose Dorothy?

  • The Tin Woodman and The Scarecrow come to Kansas from Oz. Name some of the things they found strange and new. Why is it funny to watch characters learn about things that are already familiar to us?

  • Do you ever imagine that you're a character from a book or movie? Who would you want to be? Why?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended movie lists

Related Topics

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate