So my first movie review has to be about my number one all-time favorite. For those that know me, this is no surprise! It’s The Wizard of Oz. I have adored this movie and everything about it for as long as I can remember.
My first introduction to this classic movie was during the holidays when this movie was played on TV. I was at my grandmother’s house, and she would put it on every year on the additional TV in her back bedroom for us kids to watch it while the adults were preparing the dinner. As I sat mesmerized by so many things in the first scene, will Toto make it back to Dorothy? Why is Elmyra Gulch so mean? Is she going to run away? Then a tornado! I mean, I was invested; I needed to know what was next!
Next came what might be arguably the most talked-about moment of this coming-of-age story. The moment where the movie goes from black and white to color, or more accurately, Technicolor. This film, released in 1939, is one of the first iconic movies known to use a pioneering new technique in filmmaking and would change the way we see movies going forward. I often imagine if Dorothy’s shimmering ruby slippers were filmed in black and white, would they be as popular today? Anyway, this moment opened my eyes and made me believe there really was this magical Munchkinland and there could be a place over the rainbow if only we could get there.
As the movie goes along, we meet a cast of characters from the Wicked Witch to Glinda, who seem to be set up as the classic protagonist and antagonist. Dorothy goes on a journey with a little help from some friends along the way. We meet each one, and they all also seem to have a reason to go to see the Wizard; each has an internal affliction that they think the Wizard can fix. The Scarecrow is missing a brain (knowledge), the Tinman is missing a heart (love), and the Lion is missing courage (anxiety/nerves).
Like any good movie, there has to be a villain or two. So as Dorothy and her friends make their way across the land of Oz to find the Wizard, they come across many obstacles to keep them from getting there, including the Wicked Witch. But the party makes it intact, against the odds, where the Wizard sends Dorothy on a mission to retrieve the broomstick of the Wicked Witch, and he will give them what they ask for. The truth is that he has zero “magical abilities,” and he really was just trying to get them out of his hair. At this point, the thought was that this was an impossible mission and they would never return. However, he overestimated this underdog, as they return with broom in hand, and now he finds himself in an awkward position.
The wizard has to then show his true self coming out from behind his mask and admit that he really isn’t special. He is just a person, but in order to fulfill his promise, he provides tokens that are meaningful to each character. These tokens then cause each character to realize the real meaning behind each one was already in them, if only they believed in themselves. The only one who didn’t get that message from the Wizard was, of course, Dorothy. But not to worry, Glinda swoops down in her magic bubble and saves the day. She tells her a quote that is pivotal: “You’ve always had the power, my dear. You just had to learn it for yourself.” She directs her to close her eyes and click her heels three times, and Dorothy chants, “There’s no place like home,” and is able to return back to her regular life.
At the end of the movie, we see Dorothy lying in bed surrounded by familiar faces of her family. The movie uses an inference that her friends that helped her through Munchkinland were created in her imagination as doppelgangers of her family. It gives the realistic explanation that she did this by bumping her head during the tornado. She exclaims, “Oh, Aunty Em, there’s no place like home,” and this whole scene is done in black and white again. This really sets the tone of her reality vs. her imagination.
In my opinion, this is a must-see movie for anyone and everyone, for children of all ages. I’ve seen it countless times and can always find something new and beautiful or magical and meaningful in it. It was filmed in a time when movies were the newest form of entertainment and the thought and choices made for every detail were carefully scrutinized for meaning. So for me, it doesn’t get better! If you love it or hate it, let me know why; let’s dig in.
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