"The Wizard of Oz" Reviewed

Everyone knows about this movie and there are very few who dislike it. "The Wizard of Oz" is a movie by five directors( Norman Taurog, King Vider, Victor Fleming, Mervyn Leroy, and George Cukor) and stars Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as Scarecrow, Jack Hayley as the Tin-man, and Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. Most of theses names may be unfamiliar, but they belong to the faces and characters that we have all grown to love. This movie was the first movie to use colored picture when it was originally released in 1939. This film went on to become one of the most popular, iconic, well known, and influential movies of all time, and for good reason.

"The Wizard of Oz" is based off L. Frank Baum's 1990 novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". The story revolves around a farm girl in Kansas named Dorothy who wishes for a different life, but when a different life is forced upon her, all she wants is to get back home. How does she leave her old life? A tornado sweeps up her whole house and carries it into a magical and whimsical world of witches, wizards, munchkins, and other oddities. Dorothy must then go on a quest to get home by going to see the Wizard of Oz via the yellow brick road. Several encounters lead her to find friends, dangers, and obstacles, along the way. It all leads up to Dorothy and company having to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West. If you felt I left out any key points in my summary, then too bad, because everyone has already seen this movie.

This movie works so well in almost everything it does, including the setting. It creates a vivid, beautiful, and vast world of Oz that was done by mere practical effects, attention to detail, and eccentric characters. It truly grasp's a child's sense of awe and an adult's sense of appreciation. The production of the sets and costumes were truly something to behold at the time. There was another creative choice that was done very well; when Dorothy goes to Oz, the picture goes from sepia to color. This is an amazing choice because it makes the transition to a magical world even more powerful, it makes the land of Oz even more vivid and extreme, and it is a purely amazing way to introduce the concept of colored film. It's almost like a before and after of filmmaking.

The characters in the movie are particularly well know and are still alive in pop culture today. All characters have their own three dimensional personalities that are delivered in a clever and subtle way. Dorothy is the character that the audiences connect with and root for since we all relate to her and she is the main protagonist. We connect with her because we often are forced upon tasks outside our comfort zone and most people don't see eye to eye with the struggles of a scarecrow, tin-man, or lion. She reacts to conflicts and events in a way that most people would and fights for the goal that most people want sometimes: just getting home. The other characters are good too. The Scarecrow, Tin-man, and Cowardly Lion are all very well animated and the actors do a good job of bringing life to their roles by having eccentric and individual personalities. Even though we don't connect with them for the most part, we connect with them in the fact that we look for our\]bilities and assets, just like how they look for their brains, heart, and courage, we look for things like that in ourselves. The munchkins are also cool for bringing popularity and attention to the abilities of little people and for just being super fun. The witches are okay, accept for the fact that the Wicked Witch is your cut and dry stereotypical witch. Yet, she did basically invent the stereotype so I guess it works.

The morals in this story are very memorable and important, for children and adults alike. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to go home" (insert Bon Jovi reference here), "Strive towards your goals", "A heart is not measured by how much you love others but on how much others love you", "We all must look inside ourselves for what we are looking for first", and last but not least "Don't pick apples off of talking trees". The themes are well meaning and stick with the viewers due to the movie's ability to make us care for the characters and their struggles. I also have to give a tip of the hat to all of the musical numbers for being well written, composed, performed, and for just being fun.

My final thoughts on the movie is that it is a must see and no wonder it has stayed relevant for over seventy years. Today, it has sparked many more books, movie prequels and sequels, plays, and even a Broadway musical. It is a timeless classic and I view it as a masterpiece.

Thank you for reading my first review and I look forward to making more content for you and other readers. Now if you don't mind, I'm off the see the Wizard! -skips away down the yellow brick road-

Review by: Conner Wilson