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Wizard of oz GO TO MOVIES

The Muppets Go to the Movies (1981).

2277324-lookin198129

Cover of Look-in (1981).

Cast

The cast of The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.

WizardofFOZ

"The Wizard of Foz" excerpt from the Fall 1983 issue of Muppet Magazine.

Book

Muppet Babies' Classic Children's Tales

Muppet Babies Wizard of Oz

"By the Book"

Mb animation cell yellow brick road

Muppet Babies animation cel.

Kansas2

Baby Piggy as Dorothy in a 1993 coloring book.

Wizardofoz-lookandfind

Look and Find Muppets

Tinwoodman

Fozzie as the Tin Woodman on The Muppet Show (1980).

Ozplush

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz plush.

Storybook Fun 001

Sesame Street Storybook Fun

Storyland favorites

Zoe as Dorothy on the cover of a 2004 coloring book.

25-rosieodonnell-793408

Rosie O'Donnell as the Glinda-inspired Good Hope Fairy in Stars and Street Forever!

Farscape-dorothygale

Aeryn Sun as Dorothy Gale in "Revenging Angel"

AroundTheMall-Muppets-MissPiggy-RubySlippers

Miss Piggy with Dorothy Gale's ruby slippers at the Smithsonian in 2013.

Muppet King Arthur - Tin Man

Tin Woodman makes a cameo in Muppet King Arthur.

CookieOfOz

"The Cookie of Oz"

Seaworld sesame street community theater wizard of oz

SeaWorld

BestFriends-WOZ

Best Friends book

The Wizard of Oz refers to a series of books written by American author L. Frank Baum, the first of which, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was published in 1900. Baum wrote thirteen sequels to the original novel, and a total of forty books written by a variety of authors belong in the series' canon. None of the sequels, however, have reached the heights of popularity achieved by the first book, which has been adapted for the stage and screen on multiple occasions.

The Wizard of Oz is still one of my favorite movies.
It was the first movie I ever saw.
Jim Henson[1]

It has been stated that the popular 1939 MGM musical The Wizard of Oz was Jim Henson's favorite film,[2][3][4] and the Muppets have made numerous references to it over the years. While most of these references have been based on the film, the Muppets' 2005 adaptation, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, was based more on the original novel, as indicated by such inclusions as the Kalidahs, and the silver slippers as opposed to the ruby ones worn in the film.

Synopsis[]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz tells the story of a Kansas farmgirl named Dorothy Gale who is being raised by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry when a tornado sweeps through their home and airlifts it, with Dorothy and her dog Toto inside, to the Land of Oz. When the house lands in Munchkinland, it crushes the Wicked Witch of the East and liberates the Munchkins she had enslaved. With guidance from the Tattypoo, the Good Witch of the North, Dorothy travels down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City where she hopes the Wizard will be able to send her back home. Along the way, she befriends the Scarecrow, the Tin Thing, and the Cowardly Lion, destroys the Wicked Witch of the East's surviving sister, the Wicked Witch of the West, exposes the Wizard as a fraud, and meets Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, who shows her how to return home.

References[]

The Muppets[]

  • In the 1970 special Hey Cinderella!, The Fairy Godmother offers to equip Cinderella with special shoes which can take her and her dog back home to Kansas. Later on, the Fairy Godmother accidentally makes Cinderella disappear, and upon reappearing, she assumes that she was just in Kansas.
  • In episode 506, Fozzie dresses as the Tin Woodman when he mistakes the Muppets' presentation of Alice in Wonderland for The Wizard of Oz. Amid the chaos in the finale, the cast eventually breaks out into "We're Off to See the Wizard," with Rizzo the Rat as the Wizard.
  • The Fall 1983 issue of Muppet Magazine features a comic spoof called "The Wizard of Foz."
  • During a 1984 appearance on The Merv Griffin Show, Animal is asked if he's seen The Wizard of Oz. Animal reacts to several named characters, but says he didn't see it. Kermit assures Merv Griffin otherwise.
  • The audio version of One Frog Can Make a Difference embellishes on the original text with added voices and sound effects. During the segment on the recipe for "Black Flies à la Kermit," one fly finds itself an ingredient in the dish. In a common conflation of two scenes from the movie — one in which the witch mocks Dorothy's cries for "Auntie Em" and another when the witch is melting — the fly delivers its final words in anguish by screaming, "Auntie Em!"
  • Kermit appeared in the 1996 TV special Smithsonian Fantastic Journey commenting on the museum's exhibit for Dorothy's slippers worn by Judy Garland in the 1939 film. Against "We're Off to See the Wizard" as a backdrop, he paraphrases a line from the movie, "There's no place like home, Auntie Em." 17 years later, Miss Piggy posed with the slippers on the occasion of a collection gifted to the Smithsonian by the Henson family.
  • Kermit's Swamp Years makes several references to The Wizard of Oz. Mary cites the film as her inspiration for studying science. Krassman also references the film when he says to Mary, "I'll get those frogs. And their little dog, too [laughs]." And again when he says of Mary, "If she only had a brain."
  • Dr. Teeth gifts the Tin Woodman his heart in a brief cameo appearance from Muppet King Arthur #3.
  • At a press conference for The Muppets, Kermit cites The Wizard of Oz as one of the first movies he ever saw that inspired him. "Sort of set me down a yellow brick road, so to speak," he says.

Muppet Babies[]

  • The Muppet Babies episode "By the Book" adapted the story with the spoof characters Pigorothy, Rowlf-Rowlf, Kermit the Scarefrog, Fozzie the Cowardly Comic, and Gonzo the Tin Weirdo.

Sesame Street[]

Episodes and Inserts
  • In Episode 0207, Bob demonstrates the use of a magnet, showing how it doesn't attract to people like Rico. He comments that he hopes Rico's hands aren't made of steel; otherwise he'd be the Tin Man.
  • Oscar can be heard singing a tune to the melody of "The Merry Old Land of Oz" as he dusts his trash can in Episode 0554.
  • Oscar the Grouch tells his niece Irvine the story of "The Wizard of Blaahs" in Episode 2254. It follows the adventures of a little Grouch girl named Dirtothy who travels to the land of Blaahs which is made entirely out of trash.
  • In a sketch from Episode 2285, Elmo talks about exploring and states that you can explore the jungle "with lions and tigers and bears." And then, caught up in the reference, he yells "oh my!" too loudly.
  • In Episode 2700, Oscar plans to watch a movie with Grundgetta. After finding a dogsitter for Preposterous he quickly leaves for the theater, excitedly saying, "Gonna see The Wizard of Oz!"
  • After a while imaginary car ride in Episode 3001, Telly gleefully shouts "There's no place like home!" over and over once they reach Sesame Street.
  • Gordon dances a duck dance in Episode 3137 in exchange for a hat formerly owned by Dorothy's Aunt Em.
  • In Episode 3853, Elmo tells Maria that the zoo also has "Tigers and monkeys and bears." Maria replies, "Oh my!"
  • In Episode 4100, Elmo tells Maria and Luis that Oscar's "What Happens Next?" show has "science, music, and worms," referencing the cadence of "lions and tigers and bears". Maria replies, "Oh my!"
  • When Gordon, Maria and Alan "wake up" from having been turned into kids again by the Fairy Godperson in Episode 4119, they feel as though they've just been a part of a dream. They look at each other and each say some part of "and you were there, and you, and [you]," paraphrasing the famous ending of the 1939 film when Dorothy wakes up and recognizes her friends from both worlds.
  • In Episode 4184, the Fairy Cookieperson (played by Sandra Oh) appears in a giant floating cookie in similar fashion to Glinda the Good Witch's bubble.
  • Grover announces we'll be seeing some wild animals in Episode 4603, but doesn't notice the lion, tiger, and bear behind him.
  • In an installment of Bert's "Pigeon Patterns" game on Play with Me Sesame, Bert must follow the pattern based on their raincoats. When the rain clears, the pigeons all fly over the rainbow and Bert yells to them "Say 'Hi' to Dorothy for me!"
Other
  • A lyric from a song in Big Bird in Japan recites, "We're off to Kyoto, like Dorothy and Toto," referencing Oz’s main character and her dog.
  • The book Best Friends shows the Muppets playing dress-up at pre-school as characters from the story, including Ernie as Dorothy, Bert as the Tin Man, Big Bird as the Scarecrow, and Snuffy as the Cowardly Lion.
  • Upon accidentally revealing that he was in disguise throughout Sesame Street Stays Up Late, Telly tries to cover up his predicament by yelling "Pay no attention to that beard stuck to that suitcase!" inspired by the "man behind the curtain" line in the classic 1939 film.
  • When Big Bird realizes that he's become separated from Maria in Big Bird Gets Lost, he exclaims, "I have a feeling I'm not in cans anymore!" (meaning the trash cans section of the department store he's in). This is a take on the famous line from the MGM film when Dorothy mentions to Toto that they're "not in Kansas anymore."
  • Zoe appears dressed as Dorothy in the coloring book Storyland Favorites and in the theatrical short A Brief History of Motion Pictures. In the latter, Zoe is heard yelling "Auntie Em!" when a Muppet tornado destroys the set. A cow is seen being swept up in the whirlwind, much like the scene in the 1939 film.
  • Upon his arrival in Grouchland (in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland), Elmo references Dorothy's line to Toto when they arrive in Oz, "Elmo doesn't think he's on Sesame Street anymore." Adding to the reference, Grouchland's Grouch Mayor — with his fobwatch, top hat, and green, high-collared coat — dresses similarly to the Mayor of Munchkinland from the MGM movie.
  • The film is referenced heavily by one of the Super Foods (the bread) in the resource video, Food for Thought. As she launches into her song about a rainbow of foods (which spoofs "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"), she exclaims, "Hold onto your ruby slippers, 'cause we're not in Kansas anymore!" She also claims to have learned the song from "Judy Garlic" (a pun on Judy Garland, who portrayed Dorothy in the 1939 film).
  • In Elmo's Musical Monsterpiece, when Abby transports the gang to a magical, musical version of Sesame Street, Elmo says, "Elmo's got a feeling Elmo's not on Sesame Street anymore."
  • Elmo quotes "There's no place like home" and clicks his heels together in a March 2017 Vanity Fair video.
  • In a post on Sesame Street's social media accounts in June 2023, the caption reads, "Flowers, butterflies, and Baby Bear, oh my!"

Others[]

Jim_Henson_on_The_Wizard_of_Oz_CBS_Feb_20_1990

Jim Henson on The Wizard of Oz CBS Feb 20 1990

Jim Henson introduces a 1990 broadcast of the film on CBS.

  • In one "Land of Gortch" sketch, King Ploobis and Scred "hit the sauce" and visit the Mighty Favog. Scred, drunk, states that he and his little dog Toto want to go back to Kansas. The Mighty Favog, fed up with them, sends a giant bolt of thunder and remarks, "The Mighty Oz has spoken."
  • Jim Henson appeared in a montage of celebrity introductions for a February 20, 1990 broadcast of the film. He cites it as the very first film he ever saw, and still his favorite, and credits it for opening the way for the fantasy film genre. Other celebrities appearing in the introduction include John Forsythe, Leonard Maltin, Lindsay Wagner, Marlee Matlin, Tony Danza, and Angela Lansbury.
  • In the Farscape episode "That Old Black Magic," after Rygel claims to have revived Crichton, Crichton replies, "Yeah. Of course you did. Oh, it's not Kansas. And you're way too homely to be Auntie Em. Come here, Toto."
  • Jokes have been made over the years about performer Frank Oz's name; one notable example occurs during dialogue between the Wizard and Kermit (as the Scarecrow) when they meet in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.

Connections[]

  • Jason Alexander voiced the Nome King and Mr. Bibb in Tom and Jerry: Back in Oz (2016)
  • John Alexander played the Cowardly Lion, a Wheeler, and an asylum attendant in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Robbie Barnett played a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Sean Barrett voiced Tik-Tok in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Frances Bergen played Glinda the Good in the Shirley Temple Storybook episode "The Land of Oz" (1960)
  • Ailsa Berk played a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Milton Berle voiced the Cowardly Lion in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Mel Blanc voiced Sawhorse and the Book in the Shirley Temple Storybook episode "The Land of Oz" (1960) and voiced the Crow in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Zach Braff voiced Finley and played Frank in Oz the Great and Powerful (2012)
  • Denise Bryer voiced Billina in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Bill Cobbs played the Master Tinker in Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
  • Lyle Conway voiced the Gump and was creature design supervisor in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Sue Dacre was a supporting puppeteer in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Jessica DiCicco voiced Wilhelmina and Patchwork Girl on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (2017 animated series)
  • Peter Elliott played a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Chris Eveleigh was a designer on Return to Oz (1985)
  • Bill Fagerbakke voiced Scarecrow on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (2017 series)
  • Faz Fazakas played the Tin Woodman in Bil Baird's off-Broadway marionette production (1968)
  • Olga Felgemacher played Dorothy in Bil Baird's off-Broadway marionette production (1971)
  • David Greenaway was a supporting puppeteer in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Lorne Greene played the title character in the English dub in the anime adaptation, The Wizard of Oz (1982)
  • Joel Grey played the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (TV, 1995)
  • Margaret Hamilton played Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film, and voiced Auntie Em in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Jess Harnell voiced Lion and Lyman the flying monkey on Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (2017 animated series)
  • Brian Henson voiced Jack Pumpkinhead in Return to Oz (1985)
  • James Monroe Iglehart voiced The Jitterbug in Tom And Jerry: Back To Oz (2016) and Mr. Stuffley in Dee & Friends in Oz (2024)
  • Mila Kunis played Theodora the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
  • Gary Kurtz executive produced Return to Oz (1985)
  • Nathan Lane played the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995)
  • Lesja Liber handled fabric design for the animatronic characters in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Swee Lim was a supporting puppeteer in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Paul Lynde voiced Pumpkinhead in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Pons Maar played the lead Wheeler, Nome messenger, and an asylum attendant in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Jean Marsh played Mombi/Nurse Wilson in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Andrea Martin voiced the Hungry Tiger in Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016)
  • Ethel Merman voiced Mombi in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Liza Minnelli voiced Dorothy in Journey Back to Oz (1974)
  • Ella Mitchell played Evillene as a replacement during the original Broadway run and in the 1984 revival
  • Jerry Nelson played Toto and the Wizard in Bil Baird's off-Broadway marionette production (1968)
  • Stephen Norrington puppeteered the Gump and was a designer in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Chris Ostwald was a designer on Return to Oz (1985)
  • Rob Paulsen voiced the Tin Man in Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz (2011) and Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016)
  • Tim Rose puppeteered Tik-Tok and was senior designer in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Deep Roy played the Tin Man in in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Neal Scanlan was a mechanical characters technician on Return to Oz (1985)
  • Colin Skeaping played a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Michael Sundin played Tik-Tok in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Philip Tan played a Wheeler in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced Scarecrow Jr. in The Oz Kids (1996)
  • Frank Welker voiced Toto and Winged Monkeys in The Wizard of Oz (1990 animated series)
  • Mak Wilson puppeteered Billina in Return to Oz (1985)
  • Jonathan Winters played Lord Nikidik in the Shirley Temple Storybook episode "The Land of Oz" (1960)
  • Exclusive sneak peeks of Oz the Great and Powerful were shown inside the Muppet*Vision 3D theater[5]

Sources[]

  1. Jim Henson's Fantastic World
  2. Daughter Lisa Henson shares his passion, and was one of the fans interviewed for Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz, a special feature on an October 2005 DVD release of the movie.
  3. "Watching this exciting, magical movie led Jimmy to dream of one day creating his own fantasy adventures that would keep audiences -- and himself -- enthralled." —Jim Henson: Puppeteer and Filmmaker by James Robert Parish, 2006
  4. Henson recalls that his favorite movie was probably The Wizard of Oz. His parents told him that the MGM lion scared him as a child. —Meet Jim Henson by Louise Gikow, 1993
  5. Get a Sneak Peek at ‘Oz The Great and Powerful’ at Disney California Adventure Park During ‘Limited Time Magic’ - DisneyParks Blog

See also[]

Wikipedia has an article related to:
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