"The book is a film that takes place in the mind of the reader." ~ Paulo Coelho

Friday, February 19, 2021

Inklings // February 2021

Happy winter to all of you!

I know that it's been winter for awhile and is still going to be for a long time (at least where I live), but it's something to celebrate! Another thing to get excited about is Heidi's monthly link-up, Inklings!
This is Heidi of Along the Brandywineʼs monthly link up to talk about favorite scenes from books and movies.

How it works:
1. At any time during the month, on your own blog post a scene from a book or film that matches the prompt, including a link back to the original post in your post.
2. Leave a link to your post in the comments section of the monthly post and she'll post all your links with the next prompt.
This month we are working with:

Prompt: A snow scene in book or film

Check out what Heidi did HERE

I am beyond thrilled at this prompt! Snow is my favorite thing ever! Because of that I wanted to find something that properly demonstrated it. Sometimes in books or movies a scene with snow is a disaster, so I didn’t want that! I keep meaning to use scenes from books, but I drift towards movies because they give such a neat visual!

The thing that comes into my mind first is obviously The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, both book and movie. I dearly wanted to use that, but I decided to find something else. My other thought was a song, but I wanted to dig deeper. I had such a complicated system for picking, but I finally decided to go classic and use an older movie, one showing the benefits of snow!

My pick is from the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939). There is also a book, which was one of my childhood favorites, but this part was very different and didn’t involve any snow! While what happened in the book is fine, I’m biased towards the film version because of my obsession.


SPOILER ALERT! I will be talking about a surprise that happens in the movie The Wizard of Oz (1939) so if you haven’t seen it then read no further!
 This is such a famous movie, is there really anyone who hasn’t seen it? If not, then let me know in the comments!


We start off with the Wicked Witch of the West trying to stop Dorothy and her friends from getting to the Emerald City. She cackles while saying one famous line: “Poppies, poppies, poppies will put them to sleep!”


The scene changes into a field of poppies. Our four travelers come upon it and see the Emerald City at last! They are so excited that they decide to run towards it. They go for awhile but then...


Dorothy: “Oh, what’s happening? What is it? I can’t run anymore, I’m so sleepy.”

Scarecrow: “Here, give us your hands and we’ll pull you along.”
Dorothy: “Oh no, please, I have to rest for just a minute. Toto, where’s Toto?”

The answer is, he’s asleep.

Scarecrow: “But you can’t rest now! We’re nearly there!”

Our poor Tin Woodman starts crying.

Scarecrow: “Don’t cry! You’ll rust yourself again!”
Cowardly Lion: “You know, come to think of it 40 winks wouldn’t be bad.”
Scarecrow: “Don’t you start it, too!”
Tin Woodman: “We ought to try and carry Dorothy.”
Scarecrow: “I don’t think I could, but we could try.”

As they step away from the Cowardly Lion he falls backwards, asleep.


Tin Woodman: “Oh, look at him! This is terrible!”

Scarecrow: “Here, Tin Woodman, help me!”

Together they try to move Dorothy but fail.

Scarecrow: “Oh, this is terrible! Can’t budge her an inch! This is a spell, this is!”
Tin Woodman: “It’s the wicked witch! What will we do? HELP! HELP!”
Scarecrow: “It’s no use screaming at a time like this! Nobody will hear you!”
Tin Woodman: “HELP! HELP!”

Another picture comes to focus over the top of the scene, Glinda!


Scarecrow: “It’s snowing!”

Tin Woodman: “No, it isn’t.”
Scarecrow: “Yes it is! Maybe that’ll help!
Tinwoodman: “Oh, but it couldn’t help.”
Scarecrow: “It does help! Dorothy, you’re waking up!”


Both Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion wake and sit up, covered in snow.

Cowardly Lion: “Unusual weather we’re having, ain’t it?”


They laugh but then see the Tin Woodman standing still.

Dorothy: “Look! He’s rusted again! Oh, give me the oil can, quick!”

Still covered in snow, they get to work helping the Tin Woodman moving.

Wicked Witch: “Cursed, cursed! Somebody always helps that girl! But shoes or no shoes I’m still great enough to conquer her...”

That’s not enough to damped our spirits as we head back to our adventurers.

Dorothy: “Come one, let’s get out of here. Look, the Emerald City is closer prettier than ever!”

A song begins and everyone bops along as they continue onward!



Is this scene a tad dramatic? Maybe, but I love it all the same. It also reminds me that the Scarecrow is my favorite! I love how level headed they are. Even though there isn’t an excessive amount of snow (also known as the right amount), it is so helpful! I love seeing them covered in it!



There you have it! I will stop obsessing about snow for now, but if any of you love it as much as I do then tell me! Or, if you don’t like it then tell me and I’ll try to convince you otherwise. Did anyone else get a straight shot of nostalgia with this scene? It really has been too long since I saw this movie! Thanks for reading!

MovieCritic

14 comments:

  1. Great entry!! And hee, I've read but actually haven't seen Wizard of Oz (so per N&S on mine this month that's funny timing xD). Anyhow, I've read lots on it but somehow it's just never crossed my path. With your recommendation I shall have to remedy that sometime.

    And I loooooove snow!!! (Well, driving in it is a rather terrifying proposition), but snow drifts and sparkles and PINE TREES. *sheesh, happy sigh* <333

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    1. Thanks, Heidi! Hey, that is funny how we were flipped for our February picks! I just remedied that, so I suggest that you do the same. ;) It's rare to find people who have actually read the book! Did you also read the series? I was obsessed with all 14 books. The movie is charming, so I think you'll enjoy it!

      Yes! <3 Seeing the frost coating everything is so gorgeous that it takes my breath away! *heart eyes* (Yikes, driving. XD My younger sister learned how to drive in the winter so she's a pro, but my older sister and I hate it.)

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  2. From what I've heard, movie snow is one of the hardest things to get right. It's really fascinating learning about all the ways they've created it for screen.

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    1. That's true! Real snow would melt too quickly than multiple takes require, so they have to get creative. Behind the scenes facts are so neat!

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  3. Oh, this is such a great choice! I really need to see Wizard of Oz again.
    I love snow, most of the time, although, since it's February, I'm starting to get a little tired of it.

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    1. Thank you, McKayla! It's been eons since I saw it! I think I'll suggest it the next time that I watch something with my whole family.
      That's understandable! The snow was really starting to melt today and I was sad, but my sister was loving it.

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  4. That has always been one of my favorite scenes. Good choice!

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    1. I love the stark contrast of the red poppies against the white snow! It makes it truly memorable.

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  5. This scene always comes to mind whenever I think of Wizard of Oz.

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    1. It's a staple of the film, right? That's why I was so surprised that it was so different in the book!

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  6. I totally forgot there was snow in this scene! Lovely write-up.

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    1. I used to have this movie memorized but I'm starting to get rusty, myself. Thank you!

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  7. Lovely post! I've never seen the Wizard of Oz movie or read the book, but I have seen the play. Last year, my sister and I took a trip down to Kansas and we stopped at the Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego. It was really cool! We got to see lots of displays from the movie and other behind the scenes things. Also, I usually LOVE snow! However, the weather here keeps getting warm and then cold, so it melts and then ice comes, and then big puddles of water. Otherwise, snow is my favorite winter scenery!

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    1. Why, thank you, Miss K! Wow, seeing a play of it sounds like a great experience! That would be super interesting to see how they did the special effects. One of my favorite facts about the movie is that the "oil" in the oil can was chocolate sauce! Now I'm fascinated and want to visit that museum myself. I love snow, but seeing it melt makes me sad! Especially today when we had bare roads for the first time all winter. I just want to yell, "Come back!"

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"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, where you stop your story." -Orson Welles