Book vs. Movie Review: The Wizard of Oz

Hello!

Can any of you think of a more famous movie than, The Wizard of Oz (1939)? I do not know a single person who hasn't seen this movie! A lot of people don't know it, but there actually is a book! In fact, there is a whole 14 book series! The movie is one of the first that I remember watching, and the book was the first novel that I read, so both are super nostalgic for me. When my sisters and I were little, we got a costume set, so we loved to act out The Wizard of Oz. My older sister was Dorothy, I was Glinda, and my little sister was The Wicked Witch of the West--and this is based off of hair colors, just to let you all know. My most popular post on this blog is when I imagined a remake of this in 1942 starring Shirley Temple, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, and Donald O'Connor. Anyway, let's get to the reviews!

My guarantee: On ALL of my reviews there are NO spoilers unless I give you warning.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - by L. Frank Baum:

Everything is normal in Kansas until one day Dorothy is whisked off into the land of Oz in a tornado. Dorothy just wants to get back home, so she decides to go to the Emerald City to see the great Wizard Oz. Along the way she meets a lot of friends who join her journey, and help her get there. She has such adventures and experiences, but will she ever get back to Aunt Em and Uncle Henry?

Genre: Fantasy.

Characters: 10! Some of the most famous characters ever!

My favorites: I can't pick favorites, I love them all. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion.

Words: 10, 'A little way off was a small brook, rushing and sparkling along between green banks, and murmuring in a voice very grateful to a little girl who had lived so long on the dry, grey prairies.'

Quotes: 9, "I see we are going to live a little while longer, and I am glad of it, for it must be a very uncomfortable thing not to be alive."

Storyline: 7, there is death, and mention of being chopped apart.

Good For: Any child, any fan of the movie, and anybody!

Age Range: I first read this when I was 7-8, and I still love it now, so I would say anyone could enjoy it!

Overall Score: 9!

Bonus thoughts:

Sigh. This book is so nostalgic for me, but I already said that. I think that a lot of people would be surprised about what is in here, but more on that down below.

VS.

The Wizard of Oz (1939):

Based on: The Wizard of Oz - by L. Frank Baum.

When Dorothy's best friend and dog, Toto, has been attempted to be taken away, she decides to run away. She meets a fortune teller who predicts that her Auntie Em is worried about her, so she tries to go home, only she doesn't expect how long that will take. Her house is carried off in a tornado, with her in it, and stops in the land of Oz. Glinda, the good witch, tells Dorothy to go to Oz, the great wizard to help her. Along with ruby slippers, Toto, a Scarecrow, a Tin woodman, and a Cowardly Lion, they reach the Emerald City, only to find that Oz will only help them if they kill the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants Dorothy's shoes. After they get separated, Dorothy wonders, "Will I ever see Auntie Em again?"

Genre: Musical, Fantasy.

Length: approx. 102 minutes.

Costumes: 10! Just imagine, nowadays the Cowardly Lion (and the Tin woodman probably) would be CGI. But, in 1939 they used real costumes, and make-up and I love it!! They did such a good job. I would only say that the Munchkins need to wear more blue (because it is the best color ever).

My favorite: Glinda's dress is amazing!

Script: 10! 

Crew:

Directed by: Victor Fleming.

Written by: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, & Edgar Allan Woolf.

Starring:

Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale.

Ray Bolger as The Scarecrow, and Hunk.

Jack Haley as The Tin Woodman, and Hickory.

Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, and Zeke.

Billie Burke as Glinda.

Frank Morgan as Oz, and the fortune teller.

Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch of the West, and Miss Gulch.

Clara Blandick as Auntie Em.

Charley Grapewin as Uncle Henry.

Terry as Toto.

Cinematography: 10!! Can we talk about the genius of having Kansas be in Black and White, and Oz be in Color? It is so gorgeous!!

Cinematography by: Harold Rosson, and Arnold Gillespie.

Music: 10, all of these songs are so amazing!! The musical numbers are so detailed!

Music by: Herbert Stothart.
Notes: The "oil" from the oil can, was chocolate syrup!

Quotes: 10! "Toto, I've got a feeling we aren't in Kansas anymore..."

Oscars won: 2: Best Original Song ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), and Best Original Score.

Storyline: 10, there is death, and killing, but it is shown as wrong.
"There's no place like home."

Good For: Every person everywhere!

Age Range: All ages!

Overall Score: 10!

Bonus thoughts:
This movie is so great. I love it! I am getting so happy just thinking about it!!


So, it turns out that 80 years ago today, August 25th, 1939, the movie opened! In celebration of this, Rebecca, who blogs at Taking Up Room is hosting a Wizard of Oz Blogathon!

For this I am comparing in detail the book vs. the movie!
Because of how detailed this is going to be a SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen the movie and read the book.
1. The biggest difference are the famous slippers. Everyone has heard of the "ruby red slippers", but in the book they are the silver slippers. The reason is that with the Technicolor, they wanted the shoes to pop against the yellow brick road, and silver wasn't doing it. Just thought that I'd put that out there first.

2. In the movie it suggests having been in Oz all being a dream because we see each of the main actors as someone in Dorothy's life. This was a really interesting idea because in the book there are only a few pages in Kansas.

3. In the movie having Glinda be part of it all along instead of just at the end. In the book, the Good Witch of the North greets Dorothy when she lands in Oz, and tells her to go to Oz. When Oz can't help Dorothy, she and her friends set off to the South, where the Quadlings live, to find Glinda. In the movie, Glinda appears in a bubble at the end, which is inspiration from book five, The Road to Oz. They have a lot of adventures trying to get to Glinda, one of them being finding a town of porcelain dolls, which they included in the movie Oz the Great and Powerful (2013).
4. While they are on their way to visit Glinda in the book, trees try to stop them and grab them with their branches. In the movie, before they find the Tin woodman, Dorothy makes the mistake for picking an apple, and the tree gets angry and throws apples at her.
5. In the book the Wicked Witch of the West is described very differently than we all imagine her. She also isn't trying to get the slippers all along, only when she kidnaps Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion.

6. They take away the back stories of the Scarecrow, the Tin woodman, and the flying monkeys in the movie (which I thought was boring when I was little anyway). In the book the flying monkeys aren't evil, they just have to do what ever the owner of the golden cap tells them too, and like a genie they have three tasks. This helps Dorothy and her friends out later. Though they didn't put this in the movie, you can see the witch is holding onto a golden cap when she is ordering the monkeys to do her bidding.
7. In the book, while in the forest they are scared of lions and Kalidahs, which are creatures with the body of a bear and the head of a tiger. They knew this was going to be too hard to explain in the movie, so they came up with the phrase, "Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!" to say what they are scared of.
8. I was surprised to read this time around that in describing the Emerald City it says, 'There seemed to be no horses nor animals of any kind,' which is interesting considering that in the movie a big musical number in the Emerald City is about a "horse of a different color". Speaking of the Emerald City, in the book it isn't actually all green! Everyone just thinks that it is because they were green glasses.
9. In the book it takes four days for our heroes to see Oz, because they go in one, by one, and Oz looks different each time. To Dorothy: he was a huge head, to the Scarecrow: a lovely lady, to the Tin woodman: a terrible beast, and to the Cowardly Lion: a ball of fire. In the movie they have them go in together (which is one of my favorite scenes because I love how they would be too scared alone, but are braver with their friends), and Oz is a combination of a huge head and a ball of fire.

10. I love how in the movie how Oz gives them what they want. He gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tin woodman a heart shaped clock, and the Cowardly Lion a badge of honor. In the book he opens the Scarecrow up and pours "brains" (oats) into him, sews a satin heart and puts it in the Tin woodman, and has the Cowardly Lion drink "courage" (no one knows what it actually was). Oz just gives them confidence in who they are.
11. The poppy field is very different in the book. Since Glinda isn't helping them all along, she can't make it snow. Instead, the Scarecrow and the Tin woodman carry Dorothy and Toto out, but they can't lift the Lion. The Tin woodman saves the queen of the field mice from a wildcat, so she calls all mice and after the Tin woodman builds a cart, using string the mice pull the Cowardly Lion out.
12. In the book when the Wicked Witch captures Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion, the Winged Monkeys take apart the Scarecrow, and beat the Tin woodman up so neither of them can move. In the movie, the Witch only takes Dorothy, so the other three come up with a plan to get into the castle of the witch.

When I was little I was shocked at how different they were and how many things were changed in the movie, but when I reread it for this I was thinking about that they made great decisions, actually! They wanted to add musical numbers, and not have too much, so they have a really good balance.


Thank you to Rebecca of Taking Up Room for hosting this! And thanks to all of you for reading this! Do you love The Wizard of Oz as much as I do?

MovieCritic