Chance's Corner: Interesting Facts About The Wizard of Oz

Now that audiences are taking another trip down the Yellow Brick Road in Oz the Great and Powerful,  it's a great time to reminisce about flying monkeys, a pyromaniac witch, and the ultimate terror they wrought. But I digress...

Here at the Franklin County Library we have L. Frank Baum's original classic The Wizard of Oz in book form and in the 1939 classic movie form. Now here's the debate, what are the differences between the two? Well, there's quite a few! Let's look at some differences.

• If you're looking for the pair of iconic ruby slippers in the book, then you'll be disappointed. Dorothy only dons a pair of silver slippers. Why the change? Designers thought ruby slippers would look better on screen.
• In the book, Oz is an actual place - not a dreamland. So character parallels such as Hunk, Zeke, Hickory, Miss Gulch and Professor Marvel were... well, they just weren't there.
• In contrast to the Oompa-Loompas in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Munchkins were provided no song or lyrics to sing to.
• Speaking of songs, the ever-catchy "Yellow Brick Road" is only referred to as the road of yellow brick in the book. Not so catchy.
• In the movie, the Tin Man's only problem is having no heart and rusting over. However, in the book the Tin Woodsman loses the love of his life while hacking himself to death with an enchanted axe. Hence the tin prosthetics.
• Audiences in theaters couldn't deny that the Emerald City was... well green. In the reality of the book, the powerful Wizard only plays a joke on all who enter the gates. Everyone thinks that the city is so grand and blindingly green that they need glasses to see, but what they don't know is that the glasses are only tinted green. Also, there was no color changing horse.
• One of my favorite differences is the Wicked Witch of the West. She cackles and plots throughout the entire film, but only proves to be a minor hindrance only near the end of the book. Thank goodness that witch got some screen time!

Plenty of more differences can be found. If want to know what they are, then come on by and do your own comparison.

Now...

Everyone that knows me, knows that I love trivia about classic movies. So, as a bonus, I'll throw in some random facts about The Wizard of Oz.

• Buddy Ebson, originally cast as the Scarecrow, changed roles to the Tin Man as a favor to Ray Bolger. However, in the end, he had an allergic reaction to the aluminum dust involved with the costume and was rushed to the hospital. The Tin Man was soon recast as Jack Haley. If you listen closely, Buddy Ebson's voice can still be heard singing "We're off to see the Wizard".
• Shirley Temple, 11 at the time, was considered as a casting choice for Dorothy by L. Frank Baum's successor, but of course the role instead went to Judy Garland who was 16.
• To achieve the proper sepia - technicolor transition when Dorothy opens the front door of her house after it has landed in Oz, the set designers actually painted the interior of the house sepia and had a sepia colored wardrobe for Dorothy. 
• Holds a Guinness World Record for the longest space time in between sequels. Disney's Return to Oz was made 46 years later.
• Many of Margaret Hamilton's scenes as the Wicked Witch of the West were cut because they were deemed too frightening for audiences. Also, Margaret's copper-based makeup severely heated up during the Munchkin Land "poof-be-gone" scene and caused her to get second and third degree burns.
• Actor Frank Morgan plays various important roles while Dorothy is in the Emerald City.

If you've seen Oz the Great and Powerful, let us know how it stacks up against this timeless classic!