The Wheelers are antagonists in the 1985 film, Return to Oz. They are a group of bizarre, human-like beings with wheels for hands and feet who served Princess Mombi until her demise. They are lead by the Lead Wheeler, who appears to fear Mombi the most.
Although they serve as relatively minor characters in Return to Oz, their cultural impact in the real-world remains significant, and are regarded as some of the more horrific and scariest characters to ever appear in a Disney film.
Appearances[]
Return to Oz[]
When Dorothy Gale finds the Emerald City conquered, she hears the wheels squeaking and sees the warning sign, "Beware the wheelers". As soon as the Wheelers (who somehow remind Dorothy of the people with the wheeled stretchers from the clinic) appear, they start chasing her and Billina to the secret room where Tik-Tok is. The Head Wheeler peeks through the keyhole telling Dorothy that when she comes out he and his troop will tear into pieces and throw into the Deadly Desert. When she says that hasn't done anything to them, the Head Wheeler explains that she stole a lunch pail and has a chicken with her; as well as the fact that the Nome King doesn't allow chickens anywhere in Oz. Dorothy asks who the Nome King is, but the Wheelers don't answer and leave.
When Tik-Tok leads Dorothy and Billina back outside, the Wheelers are about to attack, but Tik-Tok fight back by spinning Dorothy's lunch pail at them and they can't fight back due to them having wheels instead of hands and feet. The mechanical man grabs the Head Wheeler while the others flee. The Head Wheeler tells Tik-Tok that he'll be sorry, but the clockwork man talks back saying that he cannot ever be sorry. Dorothy asks what happened to the Emerald City and the Head Wheeler confesses that it was the Nome King. When Dorothy asks where the The Scarecrow is, the Wheeler explains that only Princess Mombi knows. Tik-Tok demands that he and friends be taken to Mombi; the Head Wheeler refuses at first, but then does as he is told by escorting the good guys to the palace. He asks to be released and Tik-Tok does, telling him to behave himself.
When Dorothy, Billina, Tik-Tok, and Jack Pumpkinhead escape riding in The Gump, Mombi wakes up the Wheelers telling them to retrieve the heroes. Tik-Tok and Jack see the Wheelers chasing them, but then some of the Wheelers fall into the Deadly Desert and turn to sand. The remaining Wheelers retreat back to Emerald City to tell Mombi what had happened while the Gump keeps flying to the Nome King's mountain. Angry to hear about Dorothy heading to the Nome King's mountain, Mombi hitches the Wheelers to a chariot and they take her through a tunnel heading for the mountain. After Mombi is locked in a cage by the Nome King who blamed her for letting Dorothy escape (due to the farm girl guessing correctly to find the Scarecrow), the Wheelers unhitch themselves from the chariot and retreat back to Emerald City instead of helping the witch when she calls for their help.
After the Emerald City is restored and the Nome King is defeated, the Wheelers (who have somehow changed from bad to good) join the celebration. Princess Ozma reclaims her throne after Dorothy helps her step out of the mirror and sends her home, promising to bring her back to Oz whenever she wants as the farm girl says goodbye to all her friends, including the reformed Wheelers.
Video games[]
Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two[]
The Wheelers make several cameo appearances in this video game, appearing as both broken attractions and bits.
Trivia[]
- In Ozma of Oz, Dorothy faced the Wheelers in the Land of Ev where they remained.