Wizard of Oz...

[iwsod]

Hi Everyone.. given a number of us are reading the Wizard of Oz at the moment, I thought maybe a Wizard of Oz thread could be handy for collecting all our thoughts, ideas and WoO insights!

I'll get the ball rolling and share a couple of funny wizard of Oz Memes I just found!


Okay not a meme.. but still v funny! I found this one here - kudos.. very funny!!
So twisted.. it cracked me up!!

And.. finally.. an actual meme.. there is a bunch floating around using this pic:


Found this one HERE

There are some really twisted ones.. but some are actually PG and clever - so kudos to their creators!!!

Would you like me to get a pic of this for making our own WoOz memes? If interested let me know..

bye!

[valerie]

I grew up watching the movie. It was one of my most favorites as a kid. But I had never read the book until just in the past few weeks. There are some similarities and some weird differences. This year is the 75th anniversary of the movie and they have been doing all kinds of things to celebrate it. Years ago they started adding some of the missing footage. Right now a new stage musical is playing in the Detroit area. I don't know if it will be or is a tour of some kind. I haven't seen or heard any reviews as of yet. Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have added a couple of new songs however.

If anyone watches the TV show Once Upon A Time they did the whole last part of the season using the Wicked Witch, that also added in some Wicked elements to it.

[morley]

My sister learned to walk to "Ding Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead". And I read the book to my kids as part of their elementary school curriculum. Actually, I think some of the book is a bit heavy for them, especially the parts about the Scarecrow and the Tin Man. I need to go look at it again to check it against the plot of the SMK, esp. WOTSTW. My memory is hat those two characters went through alot of trauma before the joined up with Dorothy.

One of my sons played Scarecrow in a play of The Wizard of Oz this past winter, the other sang the Scarecrow's songs from Wicked years ago. Funny, huh?

[jestress]

I haven't read the book all the way through yet (I have a copy now and I've started it), but the Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie when I was a kid. I watched it over and over. I heard about the anniversary of the movie, so last Halloween, I made myself a Dorothy costume. It was a big hit when I was passing out candy.

Something that occurred to me when talking about possible codenames is that Dorothy is really a role for a young girl (even though Judy Garland wasn't a kid in the movie, her character was supposed to be).  Glinda, on the other hand, is an adult character (something that I read earlier was pointing that out too).  The contrast just struck me as interesting because Dorothy was a friend/love interest of Lee's when he was young and first starting out, and Amanda is now in that position when he's a bit older and more mature.  Yeah, I'm still stuck on the idea of Amanda as Glinda.   I just think she fits so well as the more mature counterpart to the younger Dorothy.

[Khell]

I really love the movie - but I can't help it, I always found Glinda kinda creepy. Maybe it's just my usual thing of preferring the villain ... *gg* I think my first thought when Glinda announced she was a good witch was something like "Lady, whom are you trying to kid? With THAT attire, you're maybe a fairy queen but no self-respecting witch would be caught DEAD in that sparkly kind of - ballet-gowney thing ..." XD

[debilyn]

The movie was so much a part of my life growing up. The Cowardly Lion was always my favorite character, though watching the Scarecrow dance was great, too. I've read the book at least once every 5 years, I think. I never remember everything that happens because there is so much more to it than the movie. I do believe there is a back story to Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion included in there, and none are pretty. It's as much about overcoming difficulties as it is a fantasy story.

[Khell]

Weren't Scarecrow and Tin Man both made by the Wicked Witch of the West or something like that? For different tasks? Argh, now I have to read that book again!

[jestress]

Jun 20, 2014 9:20:02 GMT Khell said:

I really love the movie - but I can't help it, I always found Glinda kinda creepy. Maybe it's just my usual thing of preferring the villain ... *gg* I think my first thought when Glinda announced she was a good witch was something like "Lady, whom are you trying to kid? With THAT attire, you're maybe a fairy queen but no self-respecting witch would be caught DEAD in that sparkly kind of - ballet-gowney thing ..." XD

lol!  Yeah, Glinda does look like the queen of the fairies.  All she really needs to complete the image is a large pair of gossamer wings.

[morley]

That congresswoman in ALLA reminds me of Glinda. I think it is the way she uses her voice.

[valerie]

While I was reading the story I did think it was a bit gruesome to be for kids, especially when the Tin Man tells how he became a Tin Man. Colors seem to be important to the story as well. I recently read an article that reminded me about something I had read before. There is some supposed symbolism in the story based on the economic situation here in the US at that time. There was an issue about paper money, the gold standard, and silver coinage. In the book there were no ruby slippers, but silver shoes. The Emerald City wasn't really green but to enter the city you had to put on glasses with green lenses. Glinda was the witch of the South and there was an argument between Scarecrow and Tin Man about whether it was better to have a heart or a brain. Each of the characters eventually became leaders of different lands once Dorothy left. Oh, and the flying monkeys could only be used three times and you had to use a cap to call them. It was an adjustment after having seen the movie so many times.

[valerie]

It's funny, this mooring the movie Topper is on (love me some Cary Grant). Anyway, Billie Burke who plays Glinda in The Wizard of Oz is in this movie. I forgot that her voice was just that way. She always sounded the way she did in the Oz movie.

[valerie]

So we've finished our stroll through We're Off To See The Wizard over on JWWM. I recently read the book for the very first time and the movie was always a favorite. When SMK first started there were a few hints about the Wizard of Oz and I somehow thought that since Lee was Scarecrow and he was working so closely with Amanda that she would end up getting the code name Dorothy. Obviously I was wrong.

The episode seems to borrow a few things from the movie and a few from the book, but only a very few things. The title of the episode is from a song in the movie. That never comes up in the book. I mentioned on the blog some of the connections of the Scarecrow character. The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion are all fairly protective of Dorothy in both, but in the movie Dorothy seems to have a special connection with Scarecrow. And we know that Lee felt close to Dorothy.

In the book, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow have a brief debate over whether it's better to have brains or a heart. The Tin Man feels that no one can love who has not a heart, that brains do not make one happy and happiness is the best thing in the world. The Scarecrow feels that a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one. Lee is learning how to use his brains and his heart.

What was interesting is that the Tin Man would take great care never to be cruel or unkind because he knew that he had no heart and that those who had one had something to guide them and never had to worry or take care. This was the issue I had with the Tin Man in SMK. He was heartless, meaning cruel. But, of course, it's a show. Also in SMK the Tin Man seems to have more of an axe (pun intended) to grind with Paul than Lee. He uses Lee to get at Paul.

In the movie all the characters went in to see the wizard at the same time and he was all great and powerful, almost God-like When Scarecrow's name is called he bows, scrapes, and kneels before Oz in a very reverential way, similar to Lee's description of how he viewed Paul as a Savior. But in the end both wizards use a bit of magic and sleight of hand to get what they want. In the book each character goes in alone to see the wizard and each sees something different. What's funny is that the Scarecrow sees the wizard as a Lovely Lady. There's so much with that one, especially since the 4 books issue came up with Lee.

I do think that Dorothy's statement about what she learned while in Oz also relates to Lee. Dorothy wasn't happy with what she had and where she was and felt that it was better somewhere over the rainbow. She learns that her heart's desire is no further than her own backyard. Lee is starting to see that his heart's desire is basically right in front of him.

Okay, so there are my little connections.

[valerie]

One more weird little connection but not to WOTSTW. In the book the Scarecrow sees the wizard as a Lovely Lady. Lovely Lady was the name of the cosmetics company in TGTN. Hmmm.....