In the movie the wizard of oz what did the scarecrow want from the wizard

How did Dorothy and the Scarecrow decide on which way to go?

In the Wizard of OZ movie, Dorothy sets off on the yellow brick road to find the Wizard of OZ.
She came to a crossroad, and didn’t know which way to go.
She meets the Scarecrow, and he had no idea which way to go either.
They randomly decided to turn left while they were dancing.
It seemed to me that they had no reason to go that way.
Why did they go that way?

1 Answer 1

Based on what the Scarecrow says, both northerly paths seem to lead to the Emerald City, presumably splitting around an immovable object (such as the hills we see in the distance) and rejoining farther down the road :

Scarecrow : Pardon me. That way is a very nice way.

Dorothy : Who said that. Don’t be silly, Toto. Scarecrows don’t talk.

Scarecrow : It’s pleasant down that way, too.

Dorothy : That’s funny. Wasn’t he pointing the other way?

Scarecrow : Of course, people do go both ways!

If you pay close attention, the Scarecrow doesn’t actually say that he doesn’t know which route/s lead to the Emerald City, simply that he can’t make up his mind which is the most pleasant.

Dorothy : Are you doing that on purpose, or can’t you make up your mind?

Scarecrow : That’s the trouble. I can’t make up my mind. I haven’t got a brain, only straw.

For completeness, I should note that in the source novel, there’s no split in the road which obviously makes the choice somewhat easier :

«That is true,» said the Scarecrow. «You see,» he continued confidentially, «I don’t mind my legs and arms and body being stuffed, because I cannot get hurt. If anyone treads on my toes or sticks a pin into me, it doesn’t matter, for I can’t feel it. But I do not want people to call me a fool, and if my head stays stuffed with straw instead of with brains, as yours is, how am I ever to know anything?»

«I understand how you feel,» said the little girl, who was truly sorry for him. «If you will come with me I’ll ask Oz to do all he can for you.»

«Thank you,» he answered gratefully.

They walked back to the road. Dorothy helped him over the fence, and they started along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City.

Презентация по английскому языку «Викторина «Волшебник страны Оз»

Курс повышения квалификации

Эффективные методики изучения иностранных языков

Курс повышения квалификации

Особенности подготовки к ЕГЭ по английскому языку в части анализа раздела «Письмо» и «Говорение»

Курс повышения квалификации

Актуальные вопросы теории и практики современного образования

«Психологические методы развития навыков эффективного общения и чтения на английском языке у младших школьников»

Учебные задания в аспекте функциональной грамотности школьников в новом учебном году

Открытая сессия для педагогов и родителей

Описание презентации по отдельным слайдам:

The wizard of Oz
quiz

1 Where does Dorothy live?

2 What is the name of Dorothy’s dog?

3 What natural event occurred at the beginning of the novel?
A a flood

B an earthquake

4 Who meets Dorothy when the house lands in the Land of Oz?
a Munchkins

5 Who did Dorothy’s house kill?
A the Witch of the East

B the Witch of the North

C the Witch of the West

6 What does Dorothy get?

B a golden belt

7 What colour are the bricks of the road to the City of Emeralds?
A brown

8 Who does Dorothy meet first?
A the Tin Woodman

B the Scarecrow

9 Who does Dorothy rescue in the forest?
A the Tin Woodman

B the Scarecrow

10 What does the Lion want from Oz?
A courage

11 How do they get across the great ditch?
A the Lion carries them over it on his back

B they climb down

C the Tin Woodman makes a bridge

12 What happens when they enter the poppy field?
A Toto runs away

B Dorothy, Toto and the Lion fall asleep

C They meet Kalidahs

13 Who helps to get the Lion out of the poppy field?
A Mice

14 What should everybody wear in the Emerald Cily?
A green glasses

B green dresses

15 What task does the Wizard of Oz ask Dorothy to do?
A to kill the Witch of the West

B to bring him the golden cap

C to find the Witch of the South

16 Who brings Dorothy and her friends to the Witch of the West?
A wolves

C winged monkeys

17 What makes Winged Monkeys obey?
A the silver shoes

B the golden cap

C the bronze belt

18 How does Dorothy kill the Witch of the West?
A She throws water on the Witch

B She puts the Witch on fire

C She throws a stone

19 Who becomes the ruler of the Emerald City when the Wizard leaves?
A the Tin Woodman

B the Scarecrow

20 How does Dorothy leave Oz?
A She flies in a balloon

B The silver shoes carry her

C Glinda casts a spell

Рабочие листы и материалы для учителей и воспитателей

Более 3 000 дидактических материалов для школьного и домашнего обучения

«Кинетический имидж учителя и его невербальное влияние на учеников»

Свидетельство и скидка на обучение каждому участнику

«Начало учебного года современного учителя»

Свидетельство и скидка на обучение каждому участнику

Дистанционные курсы для педагогов

311 лекций для учителей,
воспитателей и психологов

Получите свидетельство
о просмотре прямо сейчас!

Найдите материал к любому уроку, указав свой предмет (категорию), класс, учебник и тему:

5 894 362 материала в базе

«Нейроигры для детей от 1 до 7»

Свидетельство и скидка на обучение каждому участнику

Другие материалы

Вам будут интересны эти курсы:

Оставьте свой комментарий

Авторизуйтесь, чтобы задавать вопросы.

Настоящий материал опубликован пользователем Лацко Анна Дмитриевна. Инфоурок является информационным посредником и предоставляет пользователям возможность размещать на сайте методические материалы. Всю ответственность за опубликованные материалы, содержащиеся в них сведения, а также за соблюдение авторских прав несут пользователи, загрузившие материал на сайт

Если Вы считаете, что материал нарушает авторские права либо по каким-то другим причинам должен быть удален с сайта, Вы можете оставить жалобу на материал.

Автор материала

Московский институт профессиональной
переподготовки и повышения
квалификации педагогов

Дистанционные курсы
для педагогов

663 курса от 690 рублей

Выбрать курс со скидкой

Выдаём документы
установленного образца!

«Дружественная к родителям среда в образовательной организации»

«Порядок проведения иммунопрофилактики в рамках национального календаря прививок»

«Профилактика подростковой агрессивности и пути разрешения детско-родительских конфликтов»

Подарочные сертификаты

Ответственность за разрешение любых спорных моментов, касающихся самих материалов и их содержания, берут на себя пользователи, разместившие материал на сайте. Однако администрация сайта готова оказать всяческую поддержку в решении любых вопросов, связанных с работой и содержанием сайта. Если Вы заметили, что на данном сайте незаконно используются материалы, сообщите об этом администрации сайта через форму обратной связи.

Все материалы, размещенные на сайте, созданы авторами сайта либо размещены пользователями сайта и представлены на сайте исключительно для ознакомления. Авторские права на материалы принадлежат их законным авторам. Частичное или полное копирование материалов сайта без письменного разрешения администрации сайта запрещено! Мнение администрации может не совпадать с точкой зрения авторов.

Scarecrow

Scarecrow

Title

Gender

Species

Origin

Residence

Occupation

First Appearance

The Scarecrow is a fictional character invented by L. Frank Baum, author and creator of the Oz legacy. His first appearance was in Baum’s first Oz book titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. He makes his debut appearance in the third chapter of the novel titled How Dorothy Saved the Scarecrow. He is a being from the magical Land of Oz, and is the first companion and loyal comrade that Dorothy Gale and her little pet dog, Toto discovered on their journey down the Yellow Brick Road while traveling to see the great and powerful Wizard. Dorothy encouraged the Scarecrow to join her and to ask the Wizard for a set of brains, which he thought he lacked. In the end of the story, he eventually did receive what he desired, and in Baum’s subsequent Oz books; becomes known as one of the cleverest figures in all of Oz. He is nicknamed Spooky in the Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz cartoon series.

Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow 1939.

Contents

Scarecrow of Oz

Baum never wrote how the Scarecrow was given life, (in contrast to his Oz companion the Tin Woodman, who was a real man with a body of flesh and blood whose soul transferred to its current form). One possibility could be that the magic substance called «Powder of Life» (mentioned in a later book) changed the scarecrow to a living being. We may speculate that a Munchkin farmer, who made him added the powder hoping to more effectively scare the crows away. They were not. The Powder of Life is an element that Baum introduces in his second Oz book which serves as a sequel to the first story titled The Marvelous Land of Oz, published in 1904. In this story, the Powder of Life is a special potion invented by a mysterious Magician and brings three Oz characters to life: Jack Pumpkinhead, Sawhorse, and Gump. In Baum’s seventh Oz book titled the The Patchwork Girl of Oz, published in 1913, the Patchwork Girl named Scraps, who later served as the Scarecrow’s love interest is brought to life with this same powder by a young Munchkin boy named Ojo.

Baum’s Description

Dorothy meets the Scarecrow by W.W. Denslow 1900.

«Dorothy leaned her chin upon her hand and gazed thoughtfully at the Scarecrow. Its head was a small sack stuffed with straw, with eyes, nose, and mouth painted on it to represent a face. An old, pointed blue hat, that had belonged to some Munchkin, was perched on his head, and the rest of the figure was a blue suit of clothes, worn and faded, which had also been stuffed with straw. On the feet were some old boots with blue tops, such as every man wore in this country, and the figure was raised above the stalks of corn by means of the pole stuck up its back. » ―

The Scarecrow is being made by two Munchkins. Illustration by W.W. Denslow circa 1900.

Somewhere in the middle of the Munchkin Country of Oz, he was introduced as being placed high up on a wooden pole in the cornfields of the Munchkin farming community. He is described as having an overstuffed sack filled with straw for a head with a mouth, nose, ears, and eyes painted on with blue paint, (one of his eyes is said to be larger than the other) and has two big blue buttons for pupils. On his stuffed body he wears worn-out and faded hand-me down Munchkin clothing of blue, with an old wrinkled and pointed hat that stands a foot above his head. Around his waist is an old leather belt and on his stuffed feet are old and scuffed farm-boots of navy blue. Because he is wearing Munchkin clothing the original Scarecrow is actually quite short in height like the majority of the Munchkin race in Oz. In the very first Oz illustrations by W. W. Denslow, he is only as tall as Dorothy who is a mere child said to be no older than twelve. So the Scarecrow would only stand about four or five feet high.

Scarecrow with Dorothy and Toto.

«While looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of the Scarecrow, she was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her. She thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently the figure nodded its head to her in a friendly way. Then she climbed down from the fence and walked up to it, while Toto ran around the pole and barked. «Good day,» said the Scarecrow, in a rather cheerful husky voice. «Did you speak?» asked the girl, in wonder.» ―

When he befriended Dorothy, at first he did not understand why the little girl wanted to leave the magical Land of Oz and go back to Kansas as the majority of Oz is such a beautiful place when Dorothy described Kansas to be colorless and dull. It is then when Dorothy tried to explain to her new stuffed friend that he can’t understand because he has no brains. Therefore, he simply cannot grasp the concept of the way people who are made of flesh and blood think, and the desire of returning to where one belongs no matter how beautiful or appealing any other place may be, for home is where the heart is. Thus, concluding that there is «No Place Like Home«.

Personality

Scarecrow of Oz by Eric Shanower.

«Dorothy helped the Scarecrow over the cornfield fence, and they started along the path of yellow brick for the Emerald City. Toto did not like this new addition to the party at first. He smelled around and sniffed the stuffed man as if he suspected there might be a nest of rats in the straw, and he often growled in an unfriendly way at the Scarecrow. «Don’t mind Toto,» said Dorothy to her new friend. «He never bites, he just has never seen a straw man walk before.» «Oh, I’m not afraid,» replied the Scarecrow. «Even if he did bite me, I wouldn’t feel it. Do let me carry that basket for you. I shall not mind it, for I can’t get tired. I’ll tell you a secret,» he continued, as he walked along. «There is only one thing in the world I am afraid of.» «What is that?» asked Dorothy; «the Munchkin farmer who made you?» «No,» answered the Scarecrow; «it’s a lighted match! » ―

The Scarecrow is a extremely gentle character, his disposition is so kind and considerate, obliging, and honest that all who know him love him.

The Scarecrow is a very clumsy and uncoordinated figure in his mannerisms because he is stuffed with straw. Therefore Scarecrow can never get hurt, though he is awkward in his movements as he literally weighs less than five to ten pounds. He never tires, and never needs to sleep or eat. He also sees very well in the dark. The only thing he fears is the burning flame of hot fire!

Despite claiming to not have a brain, the Scarecrow questioned Dorothy for wanting to return to Kansas as Oz is far more colorful and pleasant compared to Kansas, which is boring and colorless. He also comes up with some quick-thinking and clever plans on his first journey with Dorothy, saving the party from the kalidahs among other things. After the Wizard gives him some «brains», the placebo effect turns his lack of confidence in himself into near-overconfidence, and he becomes very proud of his intellect. However, he is neither very wise, nor is he stupid.

Despite being a man made of straw, he still finds himself enamoured with the beauty of Scraps, the Patchwork Girl, in The Patchwork Girl of Oz, due to their many similarities, neither of them being «meat people». She becomes his love interest in subsequent books, though their romance isn’t fully explored much in the series.

History of the Scarecrow

The Scarecrow doesn’t have a significant history. He was only two days old when he met Dorothy Gale. Unlike animated non-humans from later in the series such as Jack Pumpkinhead and the Patchwork Girl, who were both brought to life using the Powder of Life, L. Frank Baum never adequately explained how or why the Scarecrow came to life.

Ruth Plumly Thompson offered an explanation in her first book of the Land of Oz series, The Royal Book of Oz. In this book it is revealed that the soul of the deceased emperor of the Silver Islands, a kingdom on the other side of the world from Oz, traveled through a bean pole through the Earth to Oz and then inhabited the body of the Scarecrow once he was placed on the pole. The Scarecrow, however, has no memories of this past life, and prefers living in Oz and being himself. This explanation is somewhat contentious for fans, and is also open to interpretation; it’s never definitively proven in-story that Scarecrow is the reincarnation of the emperor, this is just the assumption of the Silver Islanders, who end up convincing the Scarecrow. Also, the first book makes it clear that the Scarecrow was already alive before he was placed on the pole by the Munchkin farmers that made him, throwing Thompson’s explanation into question.

The King of Straw & Brains

King Scarecrow, a wise ruler.

When Oscar, the humbug Wizard finally left Oz in his hot air balloon, after decades of ruling the Emerald City, he announced that the Scarecrow was to officially substitute as the new King of Oz in his absence. And the Scarecrow ruled very wisely with his new brains, and was loved by all who knew him. Therefore he was highly respected by all of the Ozians who were happy to have him as their ruler. A long time later, the Scarecrow was deposed as king when the radical General Jinjur organized a all female Army of Revolt and took over the entire Emerald City. Luckily, the Scarecrow escaped being held a prisoner due to riding on the Sawhorse, with an orphan boy named Tip and his creation Jack Pumpkinhead, to the tin castle of his good friend the Tin Woodman who now ruled over the Winkie Country. On their way back to the Emerald City, they met the Queen of the Field Mice, who allowed a dozen of her subjects to accompany the Scarecrow, nestled inside his straw-filled breast. When they arrived back at the Royal Palace of Oz, the Scarecrow released the mice in the throne room, and frightened away Jinjur and her Army. He and his companions then went to Glinda the Good Witch of the South, to ask for her help in conquering Queen Jinjur. Glinda agreed to help them only if they helped her find the long-lost daughter of King Pastoria, the Princess Ozma, who was the true ruler of Oz. When Ozma was finally found at last and officially established on the throne in her rightful position, the Scarecrow happily resigned and went to live with his dear friend the Tin Woodman and the Winkies. (The Marvelous Land of Oz)

When Princess Ozma set out across the Deadly Desert to the neighboring Kingdom called Ev, Glinda the Good Witch of the South made a magical rug to safely cross over. Ozma had gone to Ev to save the Royal Family who had been sold to the wicked Nome King, and the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion joined her party. Along the way they found Dorothy Gale who by coincidence had washed up on the shores of Ev after being thrown overboard on a ship headed to Australia to see relatives. Dorothy was accompanied by Billina the Kansas hen and Tik-Tok the mechanical copper man. Dorothy and her friends had all been imprisoned by the vain Princess Langwidere who wanted Dorothy’s head to add to her collection. Luckily the Scarecrow recognized his old friend and Ozma rescued Dorothy and her company just in time. After that the party soon arrived in the Nome Kingdom. The Nome King had transformed the Royal Family of Ev into ornaments for his decor collection, and in a rigged guessing game he tricked the Ozians and began transforming them as well. The Scarecrow was transformed into a golden ornament, but was eventually liberated along with everyone else by Billina the hen. At the conclusion of their successful mission the party had saved Ev’s Royal Family and finally returned to the Emerald City and also brought Tik-Tok with them to serve as «Oz’s Royal Army». (Ozma of Oz)

The Scarecrow of Oz. First Edition Cover.

Trivia

The Wiz 1978

Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow in the movie adaptation of The Wiz, was a new take on the character. This version of the Scarecrow was made entirely of junk. He had a popcorn bucket for a hat, two trashbags for a torso and pants, stockings for arms, and old dirty boots. As well as an old sack for a head and a reese cup for a nose with a styrofoam afro. He was portrayed by musician Michael Jackson making this his first film role. The Scarecrow had a child-like innocence. Whenever he encountered something for the first time he would get close to it and examine it by mostly cocking his head left or right. When Dorothy found him, he was being bullied by talking crows by making fun of him and forcing him to sing songs. She scares the crows away and invites the Scarecrow on her journey to see The Wiz. Though he believed and was told by crows that he didn’t have a brain, throughout the journey he was always the one to figure out ways to help his friends such as finding the Yellow Brick Road, saving Dorothy and the Lion from the Poppies and finding the solution to kill the Wicked Witch.

Return to Oz 1985

The Scarecrow in Walt Disney’s 1985 film Return to Oz, was much more faithful to the Oz books. His head was cable operated and relied almost entirely on the movements of an agile and incredible performer named «Justin Case» for its realism.

Scarecrow in Return to Oz. 1985.

It was very photogenic and very powerful on screen. The Scarecrow in Return to Oz was nothing like his counterpart in the 1939 musical played by Ray Bolger. This one was much more animated and gave the actor more ways to speak visually with the body. The other Scarecrow was obviously much more verbal, singing to songs etc.

Background

In Magic Land the Scarecrow is called Strasheela.

Peter Schulenburg provides a treatment of the Scarecrow’s unique home in The Corn Mansion of Oz.

In the graphic novel adaptation the Scarecrow was a stuffed man as in the original book.

The Scarecrow appears as Fiyero in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and Son of a Witch as well as the Broadway musical adaptation, but he does not appear in the third book in the trilogy, A Lion Among Men.

In Treasury of Illustrated Classics The Wizard of Oz the Scarecrow wore the same blue sleeve shirt, sneakers, jeans, and black pointed hat as the Munchkins.

In L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz: The Graphic Novel, the Scarecrow wears an orange jacket, blue jeans, and brown hat instead of the usual Munchkin blue outfit.

The Scarecrow Has a Gun

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 musical/fantasy/comedy film adapted from the 1900 novel, “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum and produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

It features a scene where the Scarecrow inexplicably has a revolver firearm. That isn’t it however; the Tinman has a wrench (along with his normal axe), the Lion has a bug catching net, and a two-handed pump sprayer with the words “WITCH REMOVAL” (or REMOVER), and the Scarecrow actually has another item that isn’t seen or heard from again after the scene; a walking staff/stick.

The items possessed by the other members are usually not even mentioned within the Mandela Effect community when reporting on it. It seems like the gun that the Scarecrow is holding is the most shocking to people. The Mandela Effect here is that people do not remember the gun and are convinced that either this scene never existed or he never had a gun.

Take a look at the following scene below:

My Experiences

I personally do not remember this scene, but I was just like the others in believing there’s no way the Scarecrow had a gun. It doesn’t make sense. Yet the scene is there. I wouldn’t say I’m a devoted fan or anything, but I’ve seen the movie a number of times.

As an experiment, I asked my friend to watch the scene without telling her anything. She has seen the film numerous times. I asked if she noticed anything out of ordinary. She didn’t notice anything. I showed it again, and yet again she couldn’t see anything weird. I think that’s at the heart of what we are dealing with here. It’s an obscure thing that has no right or context to being in the movie, and it’s hardly noticeable even when asked to be aware. It’s only when we point out these oddities, the viewers become aware of them. While my impromptu experiment doesn’t conclude anything, I feel it at least raises some points on how this could be missed or completely forgotten.

It was brought up again in popularity (and my mind) recently due to a Cinemassacre video on the subject.

Possible Explanations

Many long-time fans conclude that the scene exists as part of a larger deleted portion of the movie that explains all of these items. This has proven to be the case with “The Jitterbug”, a found piece of footage that shows a home video created featuring the music and some rehearsal production from the movie:

As the clip states:

“The Jitterbug” took five weeks to rehearse and film and was cut from the picture after the first preview. Here is the complete track of the number accompanied by more of Alren’s home movies made during a camera rehearsal of the song; a brief opening portio[sic] of the number is covered by stills of the stars. The jitterbug itself was a pink-and-blue-mosquito-like creature who – under direct orders from the Wicked Witch – stung the principal characters and sent them into a frenzied dance in the Haunted Forest.

While the video above doesn’t directly explain the items, it makes sense they were given them to fight the Jitterbug, especially the Lion’s bug catching net and pump-sprayer. It also matches up with the scene taking place in the Haunted Forest.

According to “ninaplays“, a Redditor, she or he also mentions that depending on the version or “print” you are watching, it’s possible that the Haunted Forest scene in question may have not even appeared. Additionally, a lot of the prints of the film are poorly restored, and in some cases, to make out the finer details of the gun, or any other items the cast members are holding is quite a hard task indeed. Thus leading to even further obscurity.

The post-production of the film is fraught with inconsistencies. Take a look at this poster/lobby card (which shows the gun and other items as well):

Notice anything weird there? Besides the whole scene being lit by daylight, Dorothy’s missing her ruby slippers, and appears in a red dress instead? The Scarecrow’s colors are also off (they used blue and purple instead of green and brown).

They even forgot to color the gun properly. Maybe the artists didn’t even see it and thought it was part of Scarecrow’s hand? That definitely crossed my mind watching the scene as well. It could have been mistakenly be seen as his finger or hand, especially if the print you were watching was dark or muddy.

As erik larson mentions in the comments, lobby cards were often produced by third parties and involved colorizing a black and white frame. It’s likely they guessed at the colors. It’s also weirder mistake given that this lobby card is for the 1949 re-release.

The production, restoration, and continuity of the film is a mess. The Movie Mistakes website entry for The Wizard of Oz has 22 pages of errors (which features this “Mandela Effect” funnily enough). This scene appearing in the movie with inexplicable items is not out of the realm of possibilities.

Film / The Wizard of Oz

Edit Locked

The Wizard Of Oz is a 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film, and the most well-known screen adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film was directed by Victor Fleming and starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Margaret Hamilton.

The film changed the silver shoes to ruby slippers (depending on this source, this was either to show off the new color technology of the time, because silver shoes were boring, or because silver shoes didn’t show up well), merged the two good witches, cut out several incidents, including all of Dorothy’s (admittedly anticlimactic) return to the Emerald City after killing the Witch and the journey from the Emerald City to Glinda’s palace, and added the possible All Just a Dream ending—the studio heads thought the audience was too sophisticated to accept a «real» fantasyland. note In The Emerald City of Oz, just before Dorothy, Aunt Em, and Uncle Henry come to Oz once and for all, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry think that Dorothy’s Oz adventures are mere dreams, as well. As it turns out, Oz really was a real place.

This movie has proven so popular that it has had several stage adaptations written and produced over the years. Professional productions have included a touring ice show in the 1990s, an All-Star Cast concert staging in New York City in 1995, another N.Y.C. production that ran seasonally at Madison Square Garden later in the decade, and a 2011 London production produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber that added several new songs by Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The 2011 Tom and Jerry Direct to Video movie Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz is a Twice-Told Tale version, and got its own follow-up Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz in 2016. It was even the basis for a professional wrestling gimmick.

Disney has made two films that effectively serve as (unofficial) bookends to this one. 1985’s Return to Oz is a semi-sequel that’s substantially Darker and Edgier, but also more faithful to the original Oz novels. 2013’s Oz the Great and Powerful is a spiritual prequel to this film, an origin story following the Wizard (played by James Franco) as he first arrives in Oz.

While this version is by far the most well known, and much more well-known than the book it is based on, it is not the only, or even the first film adaptation. There were several silent adaptations, the oldest surviving of which is from 1910. That, curiously enough, was based on a 1902 stage musical. Although most of the music for the show has been lost, the producers of the 1939 version were aware of it, and that may have had an influence on their work. Adaptations were far rarer since then, and most since have been based on the film rather than the book.

As far as tropes go, this film has directly inspired Off to See the Wizard (for Stock Parodies of the film’s plot) and Not in Kansas Anymore.

«We’re off to see the tropes. «