#I think that HER / Gabriella Wilson or Halle Bailey could make a really good Dorothy

[toiletpotato]

the muppets wizard of oz had so much potential. hypothetically if they would let me fix it here is what I would do:

KEEP:

Ashanti as Dorothy

Queen Latifah as Auntie Em

David Alan Grier as Uncle Henry

Miss Piggy as The (Moral Description) Witches of the (Cardinal Directions)

Kermit as the Scarecrow

Fozzie Bear as the Lion

Gonzo as the Tin Man

How close it is to the book once you make some cuts.

CUT:

The entire Quentin Tarantino sequence

Kelly Osbourne from the extended version

Jeffrey Tambor as the Wizard

Most overt pop culture references

The Wizard actually granting their wishes

NEW CAST:

Sheryl Lee Ralph as The Wizard

Okay. In all honesty that came to me last night and I think the idea is worth exploring. Not only does she already have Ozian connections like the three other humans (Ashanti was in The Wiz at City Center. David Alan Grier played The Wiz at La Jolla and he also played the Lion in the NBC Live production, in which Queen Latifah played The Wiz. Sheryl Lee Ralph once played Madame Morrible in Wicked and she has a lovely Broadwaycom vlog series to accompany it). I believe that she has the range to pull off the "wow, I'm the Wizard and super cool" as well as the "hey I'm just a little guy from Kansas" energies that the role demands.

REDUCE:

The side plot of how Dorothy wants to be a famous singer and how the Muppets are running a singing competition. It's still good motivation for Dorothy to want to get out of Kansas, and provides a modern perspective, but, her ending with that is not really in line with the story. So I think still having the Muppets exist in Kansas in some capacity would work, but not to the current extent.

Pepe's role as Toto. I don't want to entirely recast Pepe as Toto, but it’s very hard to make Toto a speaking role and make Pepe a nonspeaking role. I'm sure we can find a place for him. Dorothy having a pet prawn is also funny, so I am inclined to keep that aspect in some capacity.

GOAL:

I want this new movie to be whimsical and joyful, which the original was so close to achieving.

If they lean into the whimsy and truly creating and believing in Oz, then it'll be wonderful