Return to Oz Inspired Dog Names

The 1985 film Return to Oz, which serves as the unofficial sequel of the film The Wizard of Oz, has gained a significant following. Dog lovers will be pleased to know that the follow-up film still features Toto, the adorable canine owned by Dorothy Gale, albeit very briefly.

Toto is the fictional dog created by author L. Frank Baum from the Oz series of kids’ books. The earliest depiction of Toto was created by artist W.W. Denslow and appeared in the first edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. He has since appeared in a variety of adaptations of the books, most notably in The Wizard of Oz and Return to Oz.

Toto is owned by the Dorothy Gale, the heroine and primary protagonist in the series. Even though most creatures who set foot in the Land of Oz gain the ability to speak, Toto never did and remained speechless through most of the books. However, in the book Tik-Tok of Oz, it was revealed that Toto can actually speak but simply chooses to stay quiet; in The Lost Princess of Oz, he talks frequently. Although Baum does not specify what Toto’s breed is, his description and the drawings from the first book fit that of a Cairn Terrier. This is why a Cairn Terrier, named Terry, was used to depict Toto in The Wizard of Oz. For Return to Oz, Toto was played by a female Border Terrier named Tansy.

The plot of Return to Oz is centered on Dorothy as she returns to the Land of Oz to help beat the evil Nome King and bring the order back into the land. The film begins in 1899 as Dorothy shares her experiences in Oz. Thinking that she is simply daydreaming, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry start to get worried and decide to bring Dorothy to Dr. J.B. Worley so she can undergo electrotherapy. The asylum is struck by lightning, however, and a girl rescues Dorothy and warns her of the dangers that the patients of Dr. Worley face. In this scene, Toto first appears and attempts to come with Dorothy but she refuses and asks her pooch to go home. The duo escape and Dorothy wakes up in Oz.

While in Oz, Dorothy faces the Nome King and finds out that the King Scarecrow was captured by him. He also reveals that he is responsible for the destruction of the city. Throughout the film, Dorothy saves her friends and eventually uses her chicken, Billina, to beat the Nome King. The girl who saves Dorothy at the beginning of the film turns out to be Princess Ozma, who takes over as the leader of The Land of Oz. Dorothy returns to Kansas and the film ends with her going outside to play with Toto.