The Evolution Of Oz

BY STACEY PASTERNAK

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a book written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum, sounds very familiar to most people. After all, most kids see peers who haven’t seen the 1939 film adaptation, The Wizard of Oz, as outcasts or, as we teens like to call it, never having a childhood. Even now, with its graphics seen as sub-par in comparison to the newer, high definition 3D movies coming out these days, its magic never fades, and younger and younger generations are coming to appreciate the Oz phenomenon in all of its glory. That doesn’t mean, however, that Hollywood hasn’t tried to modify the original, however. The most popular of these Wizard of Oz adaptations amongst our generation seem to be the Broadway play Wicked and the highly-anticipated Oz the Great and Powerful, but they aren’t the only Oz-inspired works out there. Not even close.

Movies

The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays

This movie, made in 1908, was one of the earliest L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz-based movies. Baum was one of the show’s stars and the show, which turned out to be very popular, did end after only two months. The reason? The motion picture was so expensive that even the full audiences couldn’t bring them in enough money.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

This 1910 film was completely silent, and is another early adaptation of the Baum books. It has much of the same plot as the 1939 The Wizard of Oz, but there were some new characters introduced, such as Imogene the Cow, who was not in the books.

His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz

Made in 1914, L. Frank Baum wrote this film. It was unsuccessful when it first came out, but later grew in success. In the Land Of Oz book set, The Scarecrow of Oz was the ninth installment.

Wizard of Oz (1925)

This movie was another silent film directed by Larry Semon, who was also one of the leading stars of the movie. L. Frank Baum, Jr. helped to write this script. The movie starts with the scarecrow, which is different from the start The Wizard of Oz movie we all know and love.

The Land of Oz

This is a 1932 sequel to Wizard of Oz, described above. Not much is known about the movie.

The Wizard of Oz (1933)

This movie, which was planned to be in color but got sued by Technicolor for using their product, so it ended up premiering in black and white. It was a short film and was written by L. Frank Baum’s oldest son.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

This was the movie that started it all. Up until this time, The Wizard of Oz wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today, with its books and few film adaptations. You know a movie is good when, even though its graphics are nowhere near the level they are at today, the movie gets a 99% on the tomatometer on rottentomatoes.com. This movie’s famous quotes can be heard in almost any TV show, movie, or things of the like (“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” anyone?) and stars the beautiful and talented Judy Garland. The movie has unsurprisingly been nominated for six Academy Awards, one of those being “Best Film.” Others include winning the “Original Score” and “Best Song” awards for the music created for the film, which have become just as iconic as its quotes, if not more so. Although it’s hard to live up to this original, many have tried their hands at variations, and some have succeeded in their own unique ways. Thus, the evolution of Oz.

Journey Back to Oz

This 1974 film was a sequel to the popular 1939 movie above. It was semi-based on the 2nd Oz novel, The Marvelous Land of Oz and was animated. Bill Cosby of The Cosby Show voiced the Wizard.

The Wonderful Land of Oz

In 1969, this film debuted and was also based on The Marvelous Land of Oz book. The low-budget film was directed by Barry Mahon. He wanted Judy Garland to narrate the movie, but ended up not using any narration whatsoever.

Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde

I’m sure from the title you’ve guessed that this is a foreign film. If so, you’d be correct. This Turkish film, done by a Mr. Tunç Başaran and was based on the 1939 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was made in the year 1971. Instead of the name Dorothy, however, the main character was called Ayşe, and she lived with her grandparents, not her aunt.

Oz

This 1976 film is a rock musical from overseas, in Australia. Even halfway around the world, The Wizard of Oz has inspired. The movie is also known as Oz- A Rock ‘n’ Roll Road Movie and Century Oz.

The Wiz

The Wiz, a 1978 version of The Wizard of Oz produced by Motown Productions, has gained most of its fame from its all-star cast of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and many others. The film has quickly become a classic, and its music is quite unlike the original, with the song “Slide Some Oil to Me” sung by the Tin Man (Nipsey Russell) reflecting jazzy motown music. Originally, the movie was a musical, entitled The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical ‘Wonderful Wizard of Oz’. It has picked up seven Tony Awards, including one for Best Musical. The most memorable part of the movie adaptation, however, has to be the Emerald City scene, where the color scheme changes from green to red to gold. The Wiz is a beautiful example of how different groups can take an original and truly make it their own.

Return to Oz

Yet another attempt at a sequel to the 1939 film, this 1985 film was directed by Walter Murch. It was produced in-studio by Walt Disney Pictures.

The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz

Ahh, the Muppets. Most of us have seen this movie, I’m sure. It was made in 2005 and stars superstar Ashanti, Queen Latifah, and all the Muppets from Kermit to The Swedish Chef.

Apocalypse Oz

A 2006 short film inspired by Oz and “Apocalypse Now.” Using these two infamous movies, this mash-up was directed by Ewan Telford.

Oz the Great and Powerful

This movie, which opened March 8th of this year, already earned about $80.3 million and counting. Surprisingly, it follows the plot line of the 1939 movie and the L. Frank Baum books pretty well. The movie, which stars James Franco and Mila Kunis, was destined to be a box-office hit from the start. The movie, which starts out in black and white and turns technicolor when Oz himself (Franco) arrives in Oz, pays homage to its inspiration throughout. Seeing this movie on the silver screen compared to the original shows just how far we’ve come in the world of special effects. The creators of the hit even added a new plot line that most of us have never thought about but that makes complete sense: the wicked witch of the west, Theodora, was once in love with the wizard, which would explain her hatred for him in the 1939 The Wizard of Oz. This classic story with some nuances like these make for one of the most entertaining types of plots. They even showed how Oz became the “man behind the curtain,” which was very interesting. The biggest differences are the absence of the ruby slippers (which director Sam Raimi described as “copyright issues”) and the lack of musical numbers.

Television

Rainbow Road to Oz

This was an unfinished live-action show proposed by Walt Disney. However, there was a premiere in 1957 of the show.

Tales of the Wizard of Oz

In 1961, this cartoon premiered. It had many episodes and aired from September 1st to December 1st of that very same year.

Off to See the Wizard

MGM produced this 1967 series with both live and cartoon parts, but the show only lasted for a year.

Return to Oz

This 1964 animated show was shown on NBC and is based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book. It was supposed to be 90 minutes long, but was shortened to an hour.

Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz

Another adaptation of Oz, this time centered around the Thanksgiving holiday. It premiered in 1980.

Anime adaptations of The Wizard of Oz

Ozu no Mahōtsukai, an obviously Japanese film that was released in 1982, featuring, yes, a blond anime Dorothy. Another anime version was made in 1986 and showcased 56 episodes.

The Wizard of Oz

Based on the most popular film, this show premiered from 1990 to 1991 on ABC.

The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz

This Japanese anime series, a.k.a Supêsu Oz no Bôken, was made in 1990 and showed the Oz characters we know and love roaming the galaxy. It was set in the year 2060.

Sugar & Spice: The Wizard of Oz

Not much is known about this animated 1991 take on The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz

Although this one shares the same namesake as its inspiration, it is a British series made in 1995.

The Oz Kids

Made in 1996, this show focused on the children of the Oz “family.”

Adventures in the Emerald City

The Russian show, that goes by the name Приключения в Изумрудном городе as well, premiered from 1999 to 2000.

Tim Burton’s Lost In Oz

Sadly, this seemingly-successful TV show was just a pilot and never made it past the year 2000. Tim Burton was, in fact, on board for the show.

Lost in Oz

Another hopeful sequel to the 1939 movie, this TV pilot didn’t make it out alive either

Tin Man

This Sci-fi channel production is a super-cool version of the 1939 movie, with various science fiction adaptations. The main character: one of my favorite people, Zooey Deschanel.

W krainie czarnoksiężnika Oza

Even Poland’s in on the Oz! The show never made it to America, however.

The Witches of Oz

This was a short-lived series, shown in 2011. It was based on four: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz, and The Magic of Oz.

Stage

First musical version of the book

This musical, a Broadway show, which started in 1902, was pretty popular and well-known. A musical sequel followed, and another one after that.

The Wizard of Oz

This 1942 musical used songs from the popular 1939 Oz movie, and is always a go-to musical to perform, even to this day.

The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical “Wonderful Wizard of Oz”

As said before, the Motown classic movie The Wiz derived from this musical, which came out in 1975.

The Marvelous Land of Oz

This musical-turned-TV adaptation was made in 1981.

The Wizard of Oz

This musical, which was shown from 1987 to 1989, does not include the Wicked Witch or Toto, two pivotal characters in the movie.

The Wizard of A.I.D.S

This A.I.D.S stands for Aware Individuals Deserving Survival and aims for a teen audience and was put on by the AIDS Educational Theatre in 1987, and (yes) featured the “Wicked Witch of Unsafe Sex.”

The Wizard of Oz Live

This 1989-1990 musical was made to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Oz movie we all know and love.

The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True

This 1995 play featured a-listers like Jewel (Dorothy) and Nathan Lane (Lion).

The Wizard of Oz on Ice

In 1995, and until 1999, this quickly became an international phenomenon.

The Wizard of Oz on Tour

This was a touring of the 1987 version, but was shown in 1998. Roseanne Barr, of the Roseanne show fame, was the Wicked Witch, and Mickey Rooney played the Wizard.

Wicked

Wicked first premiered in 2003, and has been a Broadway staple ever since. In this twist on the classic, Glinda the good witch and wicked witch Elphaba as old friends from high school. Glinda tried to make Elphaba popular (hence the ever-so-famous Wicked song, “Popular”) and Elphaba eventually falls in love with Fiyero and is the one who turns him into a scarecrow, another interesting plot line unique to this play. The amazing music and original cast of Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba are undoubtedly some of the top reasons why people have flocked to the theater to catch a glimpse of this musical phenomenon.