| For other versions of Nome King, see Nome King. |
- "All the precious stones in the world are made here in my underground domains. All made for me by my Nomes. So, imagine how I feel when someone from the world above digs down and steals my treasures. All those emeralds in the Emerald City really belonged to me. I was just taking back what was mine to begin with."
- ―The Nome King speaking to Dorothy Gale
The Nome King is the main antagonist in Walt Disney Pictures' 1985 film Return to Oz. The Nome King is based loosely on an eponymous character in L. Frank Baum's Oz books. He is played by Nicol Williamson, who also played Doctor J.B. Worley.
Fictional character biography[]
The Nome King seized Dorothy Gale's Ruby Slippers when she clicked her heels together three times and was transported home, and the shoes fell off of her feet (as in the original book) on the flight back to Kansas. The Nome King found them fallen on his mountain, where he uses their powers to conquer the Ozians, destroy the Yellow Brick Road, and demolish the Emerald City. When Dorothy returns to Oz, she finds Oz in ruins.
After escaping the Nome King's accomplices Princess Mombi and the Wheelers, Dorothy Gale and her new companions, Billina, Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead, and the Gump, made a journey to the Nome mountain across the Deadly Desert to rescue the Scarecrow, then a captive of the Nome King, and revive the Ozians.
The Nome King is able to change his size and shape at will. He first appears as a scowling face emergent from the surrounding stone. Later, when alone with Dorothy, he becomes human-sized and human-shaped, and sits on his throne smoking a pipe, where he pretends to comfort her; when his trick is discovered and his prisoners freed, he swells to a colossal size and tries to engulf Dorothy's companions in the interstices of his body, but swallows one of Billina's eggs and dissolves. Throughout the story, he and his subordinate Nomes appear as faces or shapes in the walls of his palace and can disappear into these at will; and also spy on Dorothy & company through stones in the scenery of Oz itself.
With the Nome King vanquished, Dorothy was able to get her Ruby Slippers back and use them to restore Oz to normal. When the curse was broken, Princess Ozma was released from the mirror where Mombi had kept her, under the Nome King's orders to keep the true heir to Oz's throne a secret. Once free, Ozma was confirmed as the rightful ruler of Oz, and ascended her throne.
Background[]
Christopher Lloyd and Tim Curry were considered for the role of the Nome King. Australian actor Leo McKern, known for his recurring antagonistic role in BBC's The Prisoner (1967-1968), was also considered, as it was felt that he resembled John R. Neill's drawings of the character.