The Violent Beginnings of ‘The Wizard of Oz’

‘The Wizard of Oz’ is a childhood staple, a family favourite watched in households throughout the country, and the world! However, the book on which the movie was based is far from the innocent, “there’s no place like home”, happy tale we’ve grown up loving.

In 1900 author Frank Baum published ‘The Wizard Of Oz’, a fourteen book series. It’s understandable that not all of the characters and adventures from the books made it into the one hour, forty minute, 1939 movie. In fact the books contain a lot of extra characters, PLUS those who did make the cut are not all as innocent as they seem in the film.

Both the book and the film begin in a similar way with Dorothy embarking on her journey down the Yellow Brick Road. The first ‘person’ she comes across on this trip is the Scarecrow. The lovable character we can all recognise, travelling to see the Wizard to ask for a brain. In the book however, the Scarecrow is not quite as lovable.

When Dorothy sets the Scarecrow free, he has been driven crazy by the crows in the field, and their constant torment. He sets his mind on revenge and snaps the necks of over one hundred crows. Dorothy, unfazed by her new friend’s killing spree continues her mission to the Wizard, with a blood and feather covered Scarecrow.

Another well known figure from the film is the ‘Tin Man’, searching for a heart. In the books his story is a hell of a lot sadder than him just being rusty and in need of a heart. He was once a real man, working as a wood chopper. He fell in love with the servant of a wicked witch, she wanted to keep them apart so she placed a curse on the wood choppers axe, the next time he picked it up, it would chop off each of his limbs and turn them to tin. She then stole his heart and kept it for herself so that the man could never fall in love again!

Throughout the film Dorothy’s main challenge is trying to escape the Wicked Witch of The West. Yet, in the original books she is hardly mentioned at all. In fact, the main villain of the books is the ‘Gnome King’ a half man- half stone person, who’s greatest joy is watching people die a slow, agonising death as he turns them into inanimate objects.

As if the terrifying prospect of being turned to stone isn’t enough, they also have to escape the Princess Langwidere, a spoiled royal, who collects heads and displays them in a glass cabinet. When the princess grows tired of her appearance she simply switches her head with one from her collection, which she gathered from the most beautiful maidens in her kingdom. Unsurprisingly, when she met Dorothy she set her sights on her, for her growing collection.

On top of this, the moments that did involve the Wicked Witch have been vastly altered. One example of this is the moment when she attempts to kill Dorothy; in a beautiful field of poppies. The setting is not so scenic in the book, where the witch sends forty hungry wolves to tear Dorothy and the gang limb from limb. They manage to escape when the Tin man dismembers the wolves with his axe.

The witch does not give up though, In the movie, she sends a group of flying monkeys, which is terrifying enough, yet in the book it only gets worse. The witch sends an awful gang of ‘Wheelers’. These quadrupedal men, with arms and legs of equal length, attached to wheels zooming after Dorothy and the crew in an awful game of cat and mouse.

Finally, after all the trials and tribulations Dorothy makes it to the Emerald City, to see the wizard. In the book it is not the Emerald City they make it to but the village of Bunbury. Here, the buildings are made of breadsticks and even the people living there are edible. This all proves just too tempting for ToTo, who eats a number of the local villagers. The mayor Mr Bunn, was furious and chased Dorothy and her friends out of town, threatening to throw her into the Great Ovens.

Although these are only a small number of the many difference between the books and the film, it is clear from just this, that left unchanged it would have been more like a horror than the family classic it became. I for one, am certainly pleased to have seen the friendlier version!