L. Frank Baum’s OZ, /vs. The Muppets Wizard of OZ.
L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of OZ, /vs. The Muppets Wizard of OZ.
This Is really long, i am sorry for that but i tred to give as much detail as possible.......SORRY!
Even if the Muppets produced an OZ that was exactly like the book, it would not be exactly like it. After all they are the Muppets and are know for the crazy, silly, and strange behavior, they do things that no other characters can or are able to do and get away with, so the film will always be uniquely Therese.
Book: Opening….We get a brief but bleak look into Dorothy’s world on the Kansas farm, we know that Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are poor hard worn farming people who never smile or laugh.
Muppets: Got the hard working and bleak part down, at least in Aunt Em, Hennery provides a kinder somewhat comic relief for the opening. They get the point across, life is hard, and Aunt Em is a hard person. Dorothy has big dreams and wants to get away from Kansas, and her guardians, this is a Hollywood addition that is no where found in the book. This plot device is used in the MGM Film, The Wiz, 1995’s Return to OZ and several others. As the book describes such a bleak existence for Dorothy the reader longs to escape it, even in the first few pages of the book. But a film needs to have motive, a theme to carry the picture along, and help us relate to the characters.
Book: Aunt Em badly frightened by the approaching cyclone tells Dorothy to quickly get into the cyclone caller to escape. Hennery goes to look after the live stock and Toto runs and hides under Dorothy’s bed. Dorothy starts for the cellar, but then goes to get Toto when the house is lifted up into the air.
Muppets: Dorothy does try to get to the cyclone shelter, but cannot part with her Shrimp Toto, and goes back to the house to get him. Remember in both stories Dorothy is a morally good person, and does not wish harm on any one.
Book: The House lands in Munchkin land, not in the city, but in a forest. Munchkin Land is a farming community, and has no major metropolis. The people are smaller than Dorothy, and blue is the favored color. The good witch of the North who comes to make sure the Bad Witch of the East is Dead. Gives the shos to Dorothy, and telles her to go to the Emerald City and seek the Wizards help.
Muppets: They do a great job of burrowing a look from the MGM film but making it uniquely there own. Rats, as Munchkins works really well, especially when they tell Dorothy if she needs help to call on them. (I will explain that later) Blue is the favored color, and it is the good witch of the North who comes to make sure the Bad Witch of the East is Dead. Gives the shos to Dorothy, and telles her to go to the Emerald City and seek the Wizards help.
Book: There are 4 Witches left in OZ, 2 good and 2 bad. The witch of the West and East are sisters and the Witch of the South and north are sisters. The Wicked witch of the West does not try to Destroy Dorothy until she learns that Dorothy has the silver shoes, and the Witch of the West was to get them, and that Dorothy and her friends have come to destroy her. It is implied that once the W. of the West has the shows she can defeat the Wizard who she fears. The Witch of the west does have a magic eye that works like a telescope and can see anywhere in OZ, as well as a horde of wolves, black bees, and crows, along with owning the magic cap that allows her to control the monkeys.
Muppets: making all the witches sisters is perfect the “4 little pigs”, it lends to the story book quality of the film. And as mentioned above the Witch of the West does not play a major roll until Dorothy and friends set out to find her. Piggy the Witch of the West makes reference to her wolves, bees, and crows among others, and then uses the winged monkeys to capture Dorothy and friends.
Book: It is important to note that one by one working together they each are able to defeat the Black bees, Wolves, and Crows….which is why the witch then resorts to use the Winged Monkeys….they are controlled by use of the golden cap. The tin man is lifted into the air and dropped on a very rocky spot where is bent and broken. The scarecrow is un-stuffed and clothing is bundled up and tossed into a tree, Lion Dorothy and Toto are captures and brought to the castle.
Muppets: Witch used the motorcycle cap to command the winged monkeys, a flying motorcycle gang to attack Dorothy and gang. Tin Thing and Scarecrow are destroyed the rest captured and brought to the castle.
Book: When Dorothy and friends fall asleep in the poppy field it is up to the scarecrow and the tin man to save them. They do not fall asleep because they are not really alive, they do not breather air, nor do they need food or rest. The Tin man builds a cart by chopping up a few trees, and thousands of field mice each attached to a string pull the cart carrying Dorothy, Toto and the lion while the tin man and Scarecrow help to push from behind. The Mice are so small the fumes of the flowers will not harm them.
Muppets: In an excellent and really funny way PePe sings the song to call the Munchkins (Rats, AKA field Mice) to come and save Dorothy and Lion. And they carry Dorothy and Lion out of the Poppy filled night club.
Book: The Shoes are silver. The color was changed to ruby for the MGM film, and also the 1985’s Return to OZ.
Muppets: The Shoes are silver.
Book: The journey to the Emerald City is very difficult, and at one pint they have to get a cross a deep canyon. At this point the lion is able to jump across carying them each one at a time on his back. The 2nd canyon is to wife for the lion to leap so the tin man chops down a tree to cross the gulf and they walk across it. Only they are attacked by the Kalids, beasts with bodies like bears, and heads of tigers. The kalids fallow Dorothy and friends on to the tree bridge to cross the gulf and capture and eat our band of friends, but the tin man with such speed chops through the trunk of the tree and the Kalids fall into the gulf and are destroyed.
Muppets: Combine 2 canyons into one, the fallen tree is already in place to act as a bridge and the kalids act as hecklers and really give the lion a hard time. Just as in the book it is team work that saves the day again.
Book: The Emerald City was not built completely out of emeralds; there are also diamonds, gold, silver, and other precious stones. But the Wizard decreed that any one in the city much always wear green glasses to protect the eyes of the people from the gleam of the emeralds. This is one of the ways the Hum Bug Wizard help to make him self appear more magical, for with the green glasses in place the already magnificent city appeared even more dazzling and brilliantly green.
Muppets: This is played up really well, and adds some comic relief as well. How ever it is not discovered until later stores about OZ that the glasses were not needed to protect the eyes.
Book: The Wizard appears to each, Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin man and Lion in a form each can understand. Dorothy A great head, Scarecrow a Beautiful fairy woman, tin man a savage beast, Lion a great ball of fire. The Wizard tells them that in the land of OZ nothing is given with out payment for that gift. So the wizard tells them to go and destroy the Witch of the West.
Muppets: Hey they got it mostly right, there was a beautiful woman who turned into a chicken, a giant head, a beast and a ball of fire.
Book: The wizard fills the scarecrows head (which is a burlap sack) with pins and needles along with a bunch of bran. In that way he will feel the tingle when he is thinking, and the bran holds it all in place. The tin Man gets a little hear cushion (It is implied that this is the kind of thing one finds filled with cedar chips used in drawers to keep moths away) placed inside his breast. The Wizard cut a hole in his tin chest and hung the cushion on a peg inside, then closed up the hole. The Lion drinks a big bowl of a liquid that wizard pours out of a bottle marked courage.
Muppets: The scarecrow got the bran flakes in his head, the tin man already had the door in his chest and got a candy heart, but the lion got a gold microphone….this is completely burrowed from the MGM film.
Muppets: the story of how the Tin thing became a Tin thing is very similar to the story in the original book. And there is more, but with out seeing the Muppets Film again I do not want to speak with out knowing for sure.
if you have question you can contact me @
scarecrow34@hotmail.com
thank you
Andrew
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Thank you. I do know a lot about OZ, but I also want to give others a chance to speak as well.
