In the books (a whole series), Oz was a real place - MGM felt audiences were too sophisticated to accept this so they made it Dorothy's dream. MGM purchased the rights to the first book but then Disney bought the other 13. Return to Oz was carefully crafted to not tread too hard on the MGM version but was a very close adaptation of the second two books - Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, particularly Ozma. All the bizarre things in Return really date back to the crazy imagination of the author, L. Frank Baum. People really into the Oz universe, myself included, feel Return is the closest adaptation, including depictions of the original characters as in the original Edwardian illustrations of John Neill. Return to Oz is one of my most favorite movies, but then so is the MGM version. PS - the books have long been in the public domain and are available - for free - on Google books (make sure you get the version with the original illustrations). As children's books, they are an easy and enjoyable read.
When the scarecrow gets his diploma, he rattles off a very impressive but absolutely absurd garbled version of the famous Pythagorean theorem. In 1939, most high school graduates had had this formula drilled into their head and would have caught the joke. (The real formula is about a right triangle - one with a 90 degree angle - and involved the squares of the dimensions. The scarecrow's version is about the square ROOTS of the numbers and of an isosceles triangle, one with all three sides the same.)
The author of the novels, L. Frank Baum had his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, live with him and his wife for quite some time. She was a rabid women's suffragette and feminist, and her influence shines through the books. (Some today quip that the movie was a typical "chick flick," where two women fight to the death over a pair of shoes.) Baum's Oz had four witches, two good (north and south), two evil (east and west), who jointly held all the power, even though the wizard was the nominal ruler who had NO power.
In the 90s on the Bob and Tom radio show, I heard them talking once about how gay people liked Judy Garland. And like one might call a group of elephants a "herd" or a group of quail is called a "covey," then a group of homosexuals should be called a "Garland." As in, "a garland of homosexuals." That's been stuck in my mind all these years. "A garland of homosexuals." Never mind my children's birthdays.
I was surprised to see how low the view count is for this, your reaction is hilarious. And now you know where the phrase "Friend of Dorothy" originated for gays back in the day lol
Thank you so so much! I did read a little about it afterwards 😂 I was scratching my head at the beginning wondering if I had that much to say at all, but after the "people do go both ways" I realized that the theme of the video fell right on my lap 🗣
@@JCinewoo Also the Mayor of the Munchkins announces Dorothy will be remembered by all the Munchkins and their descendants and a guy behind him includes "If any!"
Dorothy in the books is supposed to be a girl of 8-10. Judy was 16 but the studio strapped in her chest and had her try to play a 14 yo. (You will hear rumors that they wanted Shirley Temple to play Dorothy but couldn't get her. However, others say Garland was the pick from the start as Temple didn't have the vocal range.) Garland does a great job of being so innocent and incredulous. Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz is the right age and really does a great job. One of the things that many adaptations seem to forget is that these were children's books, and the magical world is seen from their perspective. Oz, the Great & Powerful made it an adult story. Other versions like the Muppet one and the Wiz movie have Dorothy as a young woman in her 20's.
I wasn’t sure if you were being insulting or not with all of the gay jibes. The film definitely resonates with gay people But your comments seemed condescending
Hi, thanks for commenting. While that wasn't my intention, I thought about it and looked back at my jokes. I did lean a lot into certain stereotypes that I found to be more "from gays to gays" than anything else, but in that, I see where you're coming from. Sorry that it felt off, I'll keep in mind what you expressed here.
You should watch return to oz. That one is nightmare fuel.
Oh I had that one on the list even before Wizard 😶🌫 I'll do it sometime next year
@@JCinewoo sounds great! I’ll look forward to it!!
In the books (a whole series), Oz was a real place - MGM felt audiences were too sophisticated to accept this so they made it Dorothy's dream. MGM purchased the rights to the first book but then Disney bought the other 13. Return to Oz was carefully crafted to not tread too hard on the MGM version but was a very close adaptation of the second two books - Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, particularly Ozma. All the bizarre things in Return really date back to the crazy imagination of the author, L. Frank Baum. People really into the Oz universe, myself included, feel Return is the closest adaptation, including depictions of the original characters as in the original Edwardian illustrations of John Neill.
Return to Oz is one of my most favorite movies, but then so is the MGM version.
PS - the books have long been in the public domain and are available - for free - on Google books (make sure you get the version with the original illustrations). As children's books, they are an easy and enjoyable read.
@ cool, I didn’t know really any of that. Thanks for sharing!
When the scarecrow gets his diploma, he rattles off a very impressive but absolutely absurd garbled version of the famous Pythagorean theorem. In 1939, most high school graduates had had this formula drilled into their head and would have caught the joke. (The real formula is about a right triangle - one with a 90 degree angle - and involved the squares of the dimensions. The scarecrow's version is about the square ROOTS of the numbers and of an isosceles triangle, one with all three sides the same.)
The author of the novels, L. Frank Baum had his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, live with him and his wife for quite some time. She was a rabid women's suffragette and feminist, and her influence shines through the books. (Some today quip that the movie was a typical "chick flick," where two women fight to the death over a pair of shoes.)
Baum's Oz had four witches, two good (north and south), two evil (east and west), who jointly held all the power, even though the wizard was the nominal ruler who had NO power.
In the 90s on the Bob and Tom radio show, I heard them talking once about how gay people liked Judy Garland. And like one might call a group of elephants a "herd" or a group of quail is called a "covey," then a group of homosexuals should be called a "Garland." As in, "a garland of homosexuals."
That's been stuck in my mind all these years. "A garland of homosexuals." Never mind my children's birthdays.
Back in the day, when we had to be very discrete, the label of "Friend of Dorothy" was code.
I was surprised to see how low the view count is for this, your reaction is hilarious. And now you know where the phrase "Friend of Dorothy" originated for gays back in the day lol
Thank you so so much! I did read a little about it afterwards 😂 I was scratching my head at the beginning wondering if I had that much to say at all, but after the "people do go both ways" I realized that the theme of the video fell right on my lap 🗣
@@JCinewoo Also the Mayor of the Munchkins announces Dorothy will be remembered by all the Munchkins and their descendants and a guy behind him includes "If any!"
Yes, Judy Garland is effortlessly adorable. People who don’t like Miss Garland cannot be trusted imo 😂
Dorothy in the books is supposed to be a girl of 8-10. Judy was 16 but the studio strapped in her chest and had her try to play a 14 yo. (You will hear rumors that they wanted Shirley Temple to play Dorothy but couldn't get her. However, others say Garland was the pick from the start as Temple didn't have the vocal range.) Garland does a great job of being so innocent and incredulous. Fairuza Balk in Return to Oz is the right age and really does a great job.
One of the things that many adaptations seem to forget is that these were children's books, and the magical world is seen from their perspective. Oz, the Great & Powerful made it an adult story. Other versions like the Muppet one and the Wiz movie have Dorothy as a young woman in her 20's.
I wasn’t sure if you were being insulting or not with all of the gay jibes. The film definitely resonates with gay people But your comments seemed condescending
Hi, thanks for commenting. While that wasn't my intention, I thought about it and looked back at my jokes. I did lean a lot into certain stereotypes that I found to be more "from gays to gays" than anything else, but in that, I see where you're coming from. Sorry that it felt off, I'll keep in mind what you expressed here.
I am but one of many so I can only speak for myself, but I don't have a problem with your jibe-talking.