The Wizard of Oz Resources

Websites

Frank Baum

Any discussion of this movie starts with the fact that L. Frank Baum wrote the original book in 1900, along with a ton of others that remain classics in the literary field. The good people at Biography.com have the hook-up.

The International Wizard of Oz Club

The oldest and largest Oz fan club in the world!

IMDB Site

If you need the rundown on cast and crew, IMDB has the 411.

Pop-Culture References

There are so many pop-culture references for this film, we can't keep up with them all! Luckily, IMDB is there for the save.

Toto

And these guys, who actually named their band after the dog! (Sort of.)

Book or TV Adaptations

The Oz Books

L. Frank Baum wrote 15 Oz books to kick off this whole love-fest. Amazon has a massive collection of all of them, for those in need.

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

After Baum himself, the most famous book about Oz is probably Gregory Maguire's subversive prequel, which paints a surprisingly different picture of the Wicked Witch. Shmoop U has all the info!

Wicked: The Musical

Maguire's book begat a smash hit musical, which in turn begat another movie. It's the great circle of life, Simba!

The Wizard of Oz (1910)

Hollywood got into the Oz game very quickly, starting with this silent short from 1910. It's common domain, so you can look at the whole thing right here!

The Wizard of Oz (1933)

Remember those creepy cartoons from the 1930s? One of them is a version of Oz. Fairly warned thee be, says we.

Tales of the Wizard of Oz (1961)

Rankin/Bass, the company behind all those stop-motion Rudolph holiday specials, produced an animated Oz series in the early 60s. It only lasted one year, but it produced over 200 episodes. They Just. Don't. Stop.

The Wiz (1978)

In 1975, Charlie Smalls and William F. Brown had the brilliant idea of updating The Wizard of Oz to fit African-American culture. The Wiz became a huge hit on Broadway… as well as an overly long and rather turgid movie adaption in 1978. We love the play, though, so if you can find it live, take a look. (And we confess that Michael Jackson's version of the Scarecrow is kind of awesome.)

Under the Rainbow (1981)

A comedy starring Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher, about the behind-the-scenes mayhem caused by the munchkins. Haven't heard of it? We're not surprised: it stinks.

Return to Oz (1985)

A sort-of sequel to The Wizard of Oz, featuring Fairuza Balk as Dorothy. It got crucified when first released, but has aged exceptionally well and really captures the spirit of Baum's books. Still freaky as heck though, and perhaps a bit too much for the wee ones.

The Wizard of Oz (1990)

Another short-lived animated TV series. You know, this whole Oz thing is actually a lot harder than it looks…

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)

We try not to think about this dreadful 2005 TV adaptation, featuring passing teen singing sensation Ashanti as Dorothy and a chatty king prawn as Toto. Oh Kermit, how could you?

Tin Man (2007)

Syfy (or The Sci-Fi Channel, as they used to be known) produced a darker version of the iconic story, featuring Zooey Deschanel, Neil McDonough, Alan Cumming and Richard Dreyfuss.

Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)

With the sort-of sequels covered, Sam Raimi directed a sort-of prequel covering how the Wizard (James Franco) got to Oz. It's loud and clunky, but not bad if you give it a chance.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)

Wait, this was actually a thing? We had no idea. Good lord, it looks awful!

Articles and Interviews

Loved It

This New York Times critic thought that anyone who didn't like the film should be spanked

Jack Paar Interviews Judy Garland

A famous interview with Garland late in her life. She dishes on Munchkin shenanigans among other things.

Judy and Babs

Barbara Walters interviews Garland.

Roger Ebert's Take

The late legendary film critic gives us his take on the movie. (Spoiler Alert: the thumb goes up.)

AMC's Filmsite

AMC lends their thoughts, as well as providing a handy list of other Oz movies.

TCM Takes

Turner Classic Movies loves them some Wizard, and wrote a brief piece on the movie discussing it.

71 Facts About the Wizard of Oz

The Guardian collected some interesting tidbits about the product.

Video

The Jitterbug

A famous deleted scene from the movie, comprising a snazzy musical number called "The Jitterbug." You can hear dialogue referencing it in the actual film: just before sending out the winged monkeys, the Wicked Witch refers to a "little insect" she's sent ahead to take the fight out of them.

Pop Culture References: The Avengers

You want references? How about this one from the biggest superhero movie of all time.

Over the Rainbow (Best Version Ever)

Judy Garland only performed the famous song twice on television. Here's one performance in a 1955 TV special. If you can watch this without getting teary, Shmoop wants to know why.

More Superhero Weirdness

Children's shows loved riffing on The Wizard of Oz, including the old Superfriends TV show, which once showed Superman, Aquaman and Wonder Woman getting turned into familiar characters. Yeah, it's weird.

Zardoz

Not weird enough for you? How about the 1974 acid-trip-disguised-as-a-movie Zardoz, featuring Sean Connery in a red diaper?

Elton John

Musicians got into the act too… like Elton John, who penned a song called "Good-bye Yellow Brick Road."

Eminem

And ultra-tough guy Eminem, who wrote his own version of "Yellow Brick Road."

Blues Travler

And 90s one-hit wonders Blues Traveler, who based this music video on the movie.

The Line

In fact, there have been so many uses of "we're not in Kansas anymore" that somebody saw fit to collect them all in one place.

They Call it "Acting"

Here's a charming Margaret Hamilton in her appearance on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood."

Audio

Reunion!

Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton reunite in 1968 on the Merv Griffin show.

Audio Files

An enterprising fan collects a whole bunch of MP3s from the film.

Margaret Hamilton Interview

The Wickedest Witch of them all dishes on her iconic role.

Images

Lobby Card

One of the original lobby cards from the movie's 1939 release.

75th Anniversary Poster

A slightly more modern movie poster for the movie's 2013 re-release.

Behind the Scenes with Judy Garland

Garland and an unnamed gal pal study the script during the shooting.

Munchkin Direction

Director Victor Fleming instructs the residents of Munchkinland on how to properly dance on a grave.

Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man

Actor Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man, though he had to leave the role. (Something about the make-up coating his lungs…) Here's an image of him in costume.

"Judy? Is That You?"

An early costume design for Judy Garland. Could that belt be any higher?

Which Witch is Which?

Actress Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West. The producers wanted a sexy witch to match the slinky queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They eventually thought better of it and went with Hamilton. We concur with the decision.