I've always been a big fan of this film too, henry. I was surprised it didn't turn out to be a bigger hit in theaters than it was. All of my friends enjoyed it back in '86 as well. And every showing I went to was packed...
The original movie is great, Ashman & Menken wrote a great musical, and Oz made a wonderful movie out of it. Besides the music and the humor (dialogue, dark humor, visuals), the art design is excellent: not only Audrey II (in its various stages), but also the sets; I like the balance they strike between (fake-looking) theater sets and realism.
And which do you prefer: the original ending, or that of the theater release? The latter is of course a lot happier, but the former is in line with the whole story and a lot of fun (though maybe a very little tad bit too long).
...which do you prefer: the original ending, or that of the theater release? The latter is of course a lot happier, but the former is in line with the whole story and a lot of fun (though maybe a very little tad bit too long).
I probably prefer the theatrical ending. Just because that's what I saw back in 1986 when I first viewed this film. But it's good to have the original "darker" ending on Blu-Ray too....
All of my friends enjoyed it back in '86 as well. And every showing I went to was packed... 
