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Fairuza Balk

Fairuza Alejandra Balk (May 21st 1974- ) is an actress who played Dorothy Gale in Walt Disney's 1985 live-action fantasy film Return to Oz, the unofficial sequel of the 1939 MGM movie The Wizard of Oz. Her debut began with a television film called The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in 1983. Her acting career continued into adulthood, with noteworthy roles in Valmont (1989), The Craft (1996) and many other successful projects.

She would later participate in the yet to be released documentary Remembering Return to Oz which was filmed in 2021.

Return to Oz[]

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Ten-year-old Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in Return to Oz

Disney's first filmed version of Oz (after Rainbow Road to Oz's cancellation) is regarded as staying faithful to what L. Frank Baum originally envisioned when he wrote the Oz books in the 1900s. Balk was definitely no Judy Garland as some critics said that watching her play Dorothy was like watching a living porcelain doll on screen. Indeed, there was a vibe around her for so many reasons because of this historic role. The director, Walter Murch had given the role to her because she captured the essence of the character without trying to be a copycat version of Garland, while other girls who also auditioned for the part were discarded for trying to be as close as possible to Garland's portrayal of Dorothy which came off as cheesy and insincere. She was so much younger and posh looking compared to Garland but was cast well for the movie because in actuality, there was a kind of a uniqueness and darkness to Balk that ended up working for the darker tones in the film which helped it become the "cult classic" it is today.

Balk's long dark pigtails and somber blue eyes closely resemble W. W. Denslow's original illustrations of Dorothy from the first 1900 book edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

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