The Wonder behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

A place with munchkins, witches, wizards, and a girl name Dorothy trying to get home to Kansas, in other words, Oz. This 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz is in the top 100 American Film Institute (AFI) list because of the many themes, symbols, and motifs. According to Thomas C. Foster the author of How to Read Literature like a Professor and Reading the Silver Screen,certain aspects make stories more understandable. In his books, he teaches us how to interpret and find these features in literary works. In How to Read Literature like a Professor it focuses more on the plot while the Reading the Silver Screen focuses more on the techniques of the film.

The placement of a prop or altering the way the light shines on a scene, however insignificant they may seem, are ways that the director can select and control meaning in a film. Such is in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939), specifically during the scene where Dorothy (Judy Galand) has been locked in the Wicked Witch of the West's (Margaret Hamilton) castle room by herself; many aspects of mise-en-scene are noticeable. Many of the elements of the scene she is in contribute to her state and other aspects of the movie. The setting and props of the film all seem to centralize to where she is and how she got there. The light focus' just on Dorothy but also amplifies the intensity of the situation she is in. The behavior of

Stories have deeper meaning than what they appear. Life events such as the government, economy, or something happening to an individual can inspire them to express themselves through writing. In the original story of “The Wizard of Oz”, it tells a tale far more than people realize. The story portrays the government during the time period and hidden symbolism within the story and characters.

Children today have access to many forms of literature, some of which are books made into movies. As the children become older, comments such as “the book was way better” or “the movie didn’t even come close to matching the book” or “the movie and book are the exact same, so save time and just watch the movie” are heard once children begin to make connections between the book and the film. It is important to me, as a future teacher, to be able to address such comments from my students and, in turn, help them understand why and how movies can either help or hinder the book’s original value and message. To help me prepare, I will compare a children’s film to the literary work that came from it.

In The Wizard of Oz, the ordinary world and the beginning of the adventure are presented with stunning visual effects. Dorothy, the protagonist, is shown struggling in her ordinary world. She is confronted by the mean neighbor Miss Gulch who wants to take away Dorothy’s dog Toto and give him to the animal control authorities because of Toto’s bad behavior. Dorothy reacts childishly with a temper tantrum, begging her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em not to let Miss Gulch have her way. She confronts Miss Gulch when she tries to take Toto, saying, “You wicked old witch! Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, don't let 'em take Toto! Don't let her take him -- please!” (The Wizard of Oz). In a fit of temper, Dorothy decides to run away because she thinks that it is the only way she can protect her dog from Miss Gulch. The plot picks up the story of Dorothy’s life at a rather bleak point. Dorothy is portrayed as powerless and directionless and she does not appreciate the gifts she has in her family and life. Her character flaws and areas of growth are clear from such behavior. She seeks to be the leader of her own life but she lets temper get in the way of her enacting effective change. Furthermore, in her decision to run away Dorothy shows that she does not appreciate those who love her or the blessings of her loving home.

The Wizard of Oz has been a popular and symbolic film throughout our previous history. Both the book and movie have been recognised as classic literature for children and adults alike. Although they share the same concept, there are a few important differences between the novel and the film.

Scene: This scene in the film comes just after the house has been picked up in the twister. Dorothy's house has been lifted up into the sky and suddenly dropped back down to earth in the middle of the Land of Oz. In the scene itself, Dorothy leaves her home to see that she is "Not in Kansas anymore," and finds the new and amazing world of the munchkin city in front of her. She also meets Gwendela the good witch as her journey in Oz begins.

The Wizard of Oz uses film form by using similarity and repetition. With Dorothy being the main character, she is always reappearing in the film. As well as all of the characters, The Tin Man, The Lion, and The Scarecrow, have similarities to Dorothy. Each of them need something, Dorothy needs to go back home, The Tin Man needs a brain, The Scarecrow needs a heart, and The Lion needs courage. The film also progresses from the beginning to the end, as well as the characters. Dorothy starts at one spot, follows the yellow brick road and eventually makes it to her destination to see The Wizard of Oz, gets what

When closely examining this scene, it translates clearly into a perfect example of what Debora Cartmell and Imelda Whelehan call “classic adaptaion” (6).1 This theory surrounds the premise that the adaptation stays as true to the novel as possible so that the audience would, “… have an ‘authentic’ version regardless of whether they’d ever actually read it…” (4). Initially, this takes place when Dorothy and Toto begin to interact and talk with the scarecrow.

According to Russell E, the major differences between Frank Baum’s novel and Victor Fleming’s film adaptation are as follows: in the original novel the Land of Oz is described as being a real place but in the film, the Colorful Land of Oz comes into existence only when the protagonist Dorothy dreams of it. Another major shift and change was that in the novel, Dorothy seems or is described as being around eight to ten years but she appears much older in the film adaptation, although, she acts a bit childish and manipulative. Dorothy as seen in the novel comes about three women who are magical and helps her along the course of her journey. They are known as Glinda , she is the Good Witch of the South, the Good Witch of the North and the Queen of the field Mice, whereas, in Fleming’s film the only help in which Dorothy receives are from the Good Witch of the North known as Glinda. There are also other shifts, alterations or changes between the novel and the adaptation as seen in Baum’s novel, the minor character that appears at the end of the story who is the Wicked Witch of the West, in the film she is the main witch who is chasing Dorothy and her dog Toto in the wonderful and Colorful Land of Oz. Another difference was in the novel

The book, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900, was the inspiration behind the movie the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The problem, though, is that the movie does not follow the book at all. Most of the movie plays off the ideas and characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while following a general plot of Dorothy’s quest to the Emerald City. The biggest, and most important difference between the book The Wizard of OZ and the movie edition is that in the movie, Dorothy is simply dreaming, and in the other, she was carried to the land of OZ because of the tornado that swept through Kansas. The Wizard of Oz the movie portrays the story as a dream that Dorothy is having, with people in her life showing up as characters in the dream. This is a clever twist on the story plot, and it provides a little more entertainment, for the viewer, than the first chapter of the book, which gives a dull description of the Kansas prairie.

“I will get you my pretty, and your little dog too!” The Wizard of Oz is probably one of the best known movies of all time, and it is a timeless classic. Generations all remember the little farm girl Dorothy who is swept away to the mystical land of Oz. While in Oz, she encounters the Wicked Witch of the West who will stop at nothing to destroy Dorothy. On the dangerous journey, Dorothy teams up with a brainless scarecrow, a heartless tin man, and a cowardly lion to reach to the Emerald City to find a way back to Kansas. The Wizard of Oz is known to be a family fun, musical fantasy which teaches people everywhere that there is no place like home.

On the very first page of Oz Baum actually states that his wish was to

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a fictional adventure/fantasy that was written by L. Frank Baum in 1965. L. Frank Baum was born near Chittenango, New York in 1856. Frank grew up with a heart condition so he couldn’t play physically like other children so he developed a creative side, so he decided to write stories.

Whenever books are adapted for film, changes inevitably have to be made. The medium of film offers several advantages and disadvantages over the book: it is not as adept at exploring the inner workings of people - it cannot explore their minds so easily; however, the added visual and audio capabilities of film open whole new areas of the imagination which, in the hands of a competent writer-director, can more than compensate.