#The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
movie-gifs · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Wizard of Oz (1939) dir. Victor Fleming
2K notes · View notes
letterboxd-worth-a-damn · 2 years ago
Text
Tumblr media
1K notes · View notes
aquitainequeen · 8 months ago
Text
The moment in the cyclone with Miss Gulch turning into the Wicked Witch and cackling is one of the best moments in cinema.
48 notes · View notes
ultrakeencollectionbreadfan · 10 months ago
Text
I do hope that if The Wizard of Oz is ever adapted again in any form, I want it to have the 1939 Wizard's tone combined with Return to Oz's technological sensibilities.
60 notes · View notes
mask131 · 5 months ago
Text
So you want to know about Oz! (4)
Now that we got the topic of the Oz books out of the way, let's talk about... The MGM musical! The 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz"!
Tumblr media
Or rather, let's NOT talk about it. Let's talk about... its alternate continuity.
"Alternate continuity" or "alternate Oz" are terms cherished by Oz fans and scholars, because they allow one to navigate through the maze of Oz adaptations.
I don't want to talk here about the MGM movie per se, because A) there's way too much to say and B) everybody knows it or saw it, so I don't need to explain what it is as thoroughly. But I want to insist on a specific and given point... The 1939 musical COMPLETELY changed the game.
It is an adaptation of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", yes. And it is the most famous and acclaimed Oz adaptations that ever was - to the point it is a landmark of American cinema, and a key part of American popular culture. But, and here's the important part: it is also not at all a faithful adaptation of Baum's novel. It is a very loose adaptation that omitted, reinvented and added MANY, many things - and the problem is that, since the movie is much more famous and well-known than the original novel, it created its own "alternate continuity" of Oz works, completely dissociated from the original novels by Baum (and other authors). These are two different worlds, that start from the same story-point but diverge in many, many ways.
Tumblr media
In this post, I want to look at all the works, movies and adaptations that present themselves as prequel or sequels to the MGM movie, and that build together this "alternate Oz continuity" that is the 1939 continuity.
How do you recognize these works, and separate them from the ones more aligned with the old novels? Simple! All you need is to look out for key details that were introduced by the MGM musical!
The Wicked Witch of the West is considered the supreme evil of Oz, and is depicted as having a green skin and being clad in black.
There is only one Good Witch, Glinda Good Witch of the North.
The magical slippers are Ruby Slippers, not Silver Slippers.
Insistence on Oz being a "dream lord" paralleling the real-world
The Wicked Witches are sisters, and not just unrelated allies in wickedness
And other details of the sort. Alright! Ready? Let's go!
Let me begin with something a bit obscure... The 1990 cartoon "The Wizard of Oz".
Tumblr media
In 1990, a Wizard of Oz cartoon started airing on television. This animated series proposed itself as the direct sequel to the MGM movie. Dorothy, still with the ruby slippers, returned to the Land of Oz, called by Glinda due to new troubles brewing in Oz: the Wicked Witch of the West was resurrected. The series is mostly about the group of heroes travelling through Oz, encoutering various Oz folks (purely invented for the series) and defeating the various schemes of the Wicked Witch, while trying to catch up with the Wizard of Oz, whose hot air balloon is tormented by the West Wind...
Unfortunately, due to poor ratings, the series was never renewed beyond its first season. Even worse, it just... kind of stopped mid-season. 13 episodes were created (I am not even sure all were aired?) and... the show just stops. No conclusion, no ending, it just stops. Sometimes, the two-part opening episode "The Rescue of the Emerald City" is edited as one short animated movie.
Tumblr media
Much more famous: the Disney movie "Return to Oz", from 1985. One of thes "obscure Disney movies", one of those "weird fantasy sequels", one of those "dark 80s children movies"... There's multiple reasons why this piece became a cult-classic today.
It is most notably one of the many instances of Disney trying to create an Oz product in line with the MGM movie, despite not having the rights to do so, and thus playing around with the public domain of the Oz novels. This movie presents itself as a sort-of-sequel to the MGM movie (sort-of because, since they couldn't make an actual sequel, they have things that do not match - like Dorothy's new appearance - and things that do match - the slippers are ruby). In terms of inspiration, it is mostly a retelling of the third Oz novel, "Ozma of Oz", but with various elements taken from the second Oz novel "The Marvelous Land of Oz". For example, one of the villains of the movie is Mombi, the witch from "The Marvelous Land of Oz", but her behavior and appearance are those of Princess Langwidere, a secondary antagonist of "Ozma of Oz".
Another famous attempt by Disney at gaining their ground on the MGM-Oz domain is this movie:
Tumblr media
2013's "Oz: The Great and Powerful". Meant to be a prequel to the MGM Wizard of Oz (but stll placing itself in its own continuity, since it couldn't be an ACTUAL prequel), it tells the story of how Oscar (the Wizard) arrived in Oz, and how the power-struggle between the three Ozian witches put itself in place. And it was... it was not a great success. In term of Oz adaptations it is recognized today to be between "mid" and "failure". (It is still VERY pretty though)
Speaking of Oz failures...
Tumblr media
Do you remember THIS movie? "Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return"? Oh that's one messy story...
"Dorothy's Return" (2013) was an animated movie adapting one of the novels written by Roger S. Baum, L. Frank Baum's great-grandson, called "Dorothy of Oz" (1989). And it did... VERY poorly, despite the huge amount of money and advertisement put in it. But you know what's even funnier? Why does the movie has such a long title? Because "Legends of Oz" was actually a HUGE franchise project. There was this plan to create a big line of animated movies and derived products, of which "Dorothy's Return" would have been just the first step. The movie came out, did poorly... and the entire franchise was canceled. But not without a lawsuit being opened for the shady practices and financial ruins behind this project... Yeah it is QUITE a story!
Still within the domain of modern Oz movies people do not particularly like...
Tumblr media
The Tom and Jerry Oz movies!
These animated pieces are part of the modern trend of putting Tom and Jerry in famous movies (there is also the very unfamous Tom and Jerry + Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie). The first movie, "Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz" was basically just Tom and Jerry being present during the MGM movie. And... that was it. Oh yes, they did include the Jitterbug deleted scene but you know. It was just that.
Less known is this movie's direct sequel, "Tom and Jerry Back to Oz". It was less talked about than the first one, despite being at least more original! It is notably a loose adaptation of the third Oz novel, "Ozma of Oz".
Tumblr media
More successful and beloved: 2017's "Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz".
Just like the 1990s series, it is a children cartoon presenting itself as a direct sequel to the MGM movie, but unlike the 1990s series it was HUGELY successful. It aired for three full seasons, and while it is placed within the MGM continuity, it notably modifies several details so kids could be able to get into the story more (Dorothy is a little girl, the Wicked Witch is replaced by her daughter), and sprinkles several elements from the novels (Ozma, queen of Oz, is a recurring character). It is mostly a... I'll say "slice-of-life" type of show, about Dorothy and her friends just... living in Oz, solving problems if they are, avoiding the various schemes of the Wicked Witch's daughter.
Tumblr media
Now that we looked at all the most "recent" incarnations, let's take a look at an older classic: 1972's Journey Back to Oz.
This animated movie is a loose adaptation of the second Oz novel, "The Marvelous Land of Oz", but presented as a sequel to the MGM movie. Tip is replaced by an MGM-looking Dorothy as the protagonist, Mombi is depicted as a green-skinned witch and the cousin of the deceased Wicked Witches of The Wizard of Oz, and Dorothy's voice is provided by Liza Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland.
And to conclude it all a movie that... nobody seems to have noticed upon its release?
Tumblr media
2000's Lion of Oz. An animated musical movie for children, adapted from Roger S. Baum's novel (yes, still him) "The Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage" (1995) ; but still placing itself, by the characters' design, under the legacy of the MGM movie.
This movie presents the backstory of the Cowardly Lion, who, as it turns out, was a lion Oscar Diggs brought with him to Oz, and who, before meeting Dorothy, underwent a quest to fight the nefarious plans of the Wicked Witch of the East...
20 notes · View notes
bikkue · 17 days ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Wizard of Oz' 75th Anniversary Companion - The Wizard's Gifts™
8 notes · View notes
quotes-from-oz · 8 months ago
Text
I do think it's a great touch (and a pointed diss to higher education that Baum would have loved) to give the Scarecrow a diploma in the film instead of physical brains. It does a great job of accentuating the ridiculousness of using a piece of paper to measure intelligence or wealth when we know it's all a sham <3
22 notes · View notes
themousefromfantasyland · 1 year ago
Text
Thoughts I had while watching The Wizard of Oz after a long time
1 - This is the Wicked Witch of the East. She's wearing high heels that look suspiciously similar to the ruby slippers, and later Dorothy tells the Munchkins how the Wicked Witch of the East flew too close to the house.
The wind began to switch – the house to pitch and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch.
Just then the Witch – to satisfy an itch went flying on her broomstick, thumbing for a hitch.
Tumblr media
2 - Why do Munchkins think goblins are destined to go to hell? Are there goblins in Oz?
Wake up, the wicked witch is dead!
She's gone where the goblins go below, below, below, yo ho
3 - Is Oz technically a county?
4 - Oz seems to be a mostly agrarian society. You could see farmlands in almost all backgrounds
5 - The Wicked Witch of the West is Hitler and Mussolini. The Wicked Witch is green, because the Winkies are green. She's a sovereign leader who enslaved her own people, and is so tyrannical, that they are glad and relieved when she's dead. I think 1930's audiences were more than likely to understand these subtexts.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
6 - The LGBTQ fandom of the movie subverted the whole message.
In the film, the Land of Oz, no matter how much it's more colorful, more cheerful and more liberated than Kansas, is treated just like a childish fantasy, and Kansas is the reality that Dorothy has to learn to conform to live within. The message comes as if you should never try to escape your dreary, monochromatic conservative rural state.
The LGBTQ following, the friends of Dorothy, identity themselves more with Oz, and prefer to live over the rainbow in a magical fairyland where they can be themselves and be celebrated because of it, than to be forced to conform to society expectations in dreary Kansas.
Tumblr media
@ariel-seagull-wings @autistic-prince-cinderella @tamisdava2 @natache @thealmightyemprex @the-blue-fairie
54 notes · View notes
cindysparkle96 · 3 months ago
Text
Happy 85th Anniversary to The Wizard of Oz, one of my favorite films
6 notes · View notes
velvet4510 · 7 months ago
Text
9 notes · View notes
pollsforpondering · 8 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
8 notes · View notes
letterboxd-worth-a-damn · 1 year ago
Text
Tumblr media
28 notes · View notes
goodmorningsandgoodnights · 1 month ago
Text
Tumblr media
Source: thewraithrisingfilmscenes.tumblr.com
2 notes · View notes
pyramidofmice · 10 months ago
Text
Pearl (2022) and The Wizard of Oz (1939) parallels:
• Pearl talking to her barn animals about being a star / Dorothy's Over The Rainbow
• Ruth catching fire and Pearl throwing the bowl of water on her / The Wicked Witch catching fire and Dorothy throwing a pail of water on her, accidentally killing her
• Pearl taking the scarecrow down from the post and dancing with him / Dorothy freeing the Scarecrow from the post and dancing with him
• Pearl riding her bike past the cornfield / Dorothy, Miss Gulch (the Wicked Witch) riding a bike down the road
• Pearl's dress silhouettes and hair bows / Dorothy's dress silhouette and hair bow
9 notes · View notes
Text
FRANK MORGAN
FRANK MORGAN
1 June 1890 - 18 September 1949
THE WIZARD OF OZ
            Frank Morgan is an American actor who is best known for playing the Wizard in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939). He started working as an actor during the silent era in 1916 and then appeared in sound films during the 1930s and 1940s. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer admired Morgan so much that they gave him a lifetime contract. In The Wizard of Oz, he played six characters, the Wizard, the Gatekeeper, the coachman, the Emerald City guard, and the Wizard’s face projection. Actor W. C. Fields was supposed to play the Wizard, but the studio became frustrated over his fee.
            Morgan was born in New York City, US and was the youngest of eleven children. He had German, Spanish, American and English ancestry. Morgan was married and had one child. Morgan was a heavy drinker who always carried a black briefcase, inside contained a mini-bar. Morgan died of a heart attack, aged 59, whilst filming Annie Get Your Gun.
Tumblr media
#frankmorgan #thewizardofoz #thewizardofoz1939
2 notes · View notes
bikkue · 17 days ago
Text
Tumblr media
The Wizard of Oz' 75th Anniversary Companion - Certificate of Death™
4 notes · View notes