Wizard of Oz Archives

Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return is Almost Here May 9, 2014

April 12, 2014 by Momstart Leave a Comment

Roger S. Baum’s further adventures of his great-grandfather’s beloved characters are given a new animated life in Summertime’s Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return.

The film is based on "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum and the further adventure stories by his great-grandson Roger Stanton Baum. "Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return" begins when Dorothy (Lea Michele) wakes up in Kansas to find that it has been devastated by the tornado that whisked her to Oz. But soon after, she is magically transported back to Oz by her old friends Scarecrow, Lion and Tin Man (Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi and Kelsey Grammer, respectively). She must work with a new cast of characters to save Oz from an evil Jester (Martin Short) who wants all of Oz under his control. The film also stars the voices of Patrick Stewart, Oliver Platt, Hugh Dancy, Megan Hilty and Bernadette Peters.

The impressive cast is further augmented by Bernadette Peters as the voice of Glinda, the good witch, and Oliver Platt as a wise, argyle-clad owl. The film is directed by Disney animation veterans Dan St. Pierre (also production designer) and Will Finn (also story supervisor). St. Pierre’s feature directing credits include Everyone’s Hero and Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey; Finn co-wrote and co-directed Home on the Range for Disney. The story was adapted by Randi Barnes, with screenplay by Adam Balsam and Barry Glasser. Toon Town vet Bonne Radford produced with Summertime’s Ryan and Roland Carroll–Neil Kaufman, Greg Centineo and Rene Torres served as exec producer.

As you may know, the indie-studio behind the film, Summertime Entertainment, has had an adventure of their own to make it to the film’s theatrical release. Founded by Ryan & Roland Carroll, the brothers teamed with industry expert Bonne Radford (founding member of DreamWorks Animation and Amblin Entertainment) to create a unique, and special film.

Summertime Entertainment has also launched an ambitious slate of transmedia "Legends of Oz" features including a virtual world and really fun apps.

You can learn more about the studio in this Animation Magazine feature from Cannes 2013 http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/oz-revisited/

The Wizard of Oz Twists Over the Rainbow Into The World of 3D

October 5, 2013 by Momstart 2 Comments

Get the Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet on October 1^stWhich means you can get it NOW! Right now you can waltz down the yellow brick road in actual 75th anniversary style. 3D. We received a sample and can’t wait to watch it. We’re going to have to break into our next door neighbors house because they have the 3D tv, we haven’t gone completely 3D yet. But I look forward to it. The Wizard of Oz is a childhood favorite of mine. We watched it almost every year.

The sepia-tone Kansas sequences are startlingly sharp and clear, and the Technicolored world "Over the Rainbow" is truly dazzling. I found myself fascinated by details I had never noticed before: the glittering corn stalks in the Scarecrow’s field; the mirror-like floors of the Emerald City; the polished buttons on the guardsmen’s uniforms. Incredibly, even the individual grains of red sand in the Witch’s hourglass stood out and glistened! All these minor-but-sumptuous visual details served to heighten the magical spell that the film has always woven, enhancing the performances, the story, and the music. They did an amazing job transferring The Wizard of OZ into high definition. It’s a must see for yourself.

Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector’s Edition Product Description

The magic of M-G-M’s wonderfully colorful and unique fantasy has melted hearts for more than seven decades with its indelible melodies and transcendent themes of family, home and the courage to pursue dreams. To celebrate the beloved movie’s 75th anniversary, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has brought The Wizard of Oz into the present and beyond with a brand new kind of magic: a stunning 3D Blu-ray™.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz starred Judy Garland as Dorothy, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion; Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch.

The Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award® nominations1, including Best Picture (Outstanding Production), and captured two Oscars® — Best Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score — plus a special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Ms. Garland.

Oz The Great and Powerful’s Sam Raimi Interview Directing A Classic #DisneyOZEvent

February 22, 2013 by Momstart 6 Comments

Is Oz The Great and Powerful worth seeing in the theater?

Yes

Is Oz The Great and Powerful worth seeing in 3D?

Yes

Do The Actors in Oz The Great and Powerful fit their characters?

Yes

WHY?

Because Sam Raimi put thought into every decision he made in creating Oz The Great and Powerful. We had the chance to sit down with Sam Raimi the director of Oz The great and powerful and pick his brain about creating a prequel to the classic movie The Wizard of OZ.

What’s it like having the weight of the Oz movie on your shoulders?

I had a great sense of responsibility not to tread upon the good name and the beloved classic, “The Wizard of Oz”. That was my biggest fear.

He went on to say that he wouldn’t even read the script for a while. A few weeks went by and he finally read something a writer gave him and he started falling in love with the characters and the world of OZ. He loved the idea of a selfish man with goodness inside him is able to transform into a good man. Which helped him choose the actor James Franco.

At first he wanted Johnny Depp and that wasn’t working out for him and he thought about James. He had a history with James on Spiderman and really felt that James Franco was OZ. He was a man that in the beginning of his acting career was a little bit selfish and looked only at himself but over the years in the industry has grown into a good man with a heart. And that’s actually how he chooses all of his characters. It’s more than an audition for him. Actors will come in and pretend to be someone, he wants to strip all that acting away and find the raw character in each of them.

And that’s what casting’s about for me. Finding the essence of the character in a person……basically, different actors I heard wanted to come in and read and audition for the role. And I’d meet and talk with them. And it went very much like any other process for the actors, for the technicians. We would discuss the work. And if we found that we were talking about the same thing and we’re really connecting, then usually we would bring them aboard for the project.

What about the sets?

I can’t believe that most of the movie the sets are real. I can’t imagine stepping into a china house and the plants, oh man you have to see this movie.

It was important for me to have real places for the actors to touch and see so they could ground the movie. Because it’s such a fantastical adventure, I really needed to ground it more than a regular drama with real human performances. We had to explain the emotions that we understand and can connect to.We also had sets because I wanted a very unique look in Chinatown, a unique look in Emerald City. I wanted the Land of Oz to be this uniquely fantastical place. The dark forest to be a particular type of scary, et cetera. So many worlds within this fantastic world.……James Franco on that yellow brick road. Dappled sunlight happening on that yellow brick road, the CG artists had to continue that world to do just that….They don’t have to create it on their own because I thought I’d lose control of the look of the picture. So I wanted to specifically always have some stylistic element on film and the artist’s job was to extend.

What about the scare factor?

Sam Raimi admitted that this was always at the foremost part of his mind. He had to keep Oz The Great and Powerful a family movie. If you think about The Wizard of OZ there are a few scary parts in the movie. OZ The Great and Powerful has the same types of scary scenes as the The Wizard of OZ.

there really isn’t any violence in the movie. The worst it gets is, the scary baboons that come out of the mist. Then they go looking for our main characters so they hide in the cave. Or there’s a scary witch at the very end. But I thought, I changed the makeup once or twice to make it a little less scary.

Oz The Great and Powerful has an amazing mix of great actors, real sets extended by CGI, fantastic costumes, and the heart of a Wizard. Oz The Great and Powerful flies into theaters March 8th.

My Daughter said, “I got this in Kansas Daddy” – 70th Anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.

October 3, 2009 by Momstart 2 Comments

1000043710DVDLEF The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition was released to Blue Ray on August 11. I just received my copy last week. Having grown up watching the Wizard of Oz I have always wanted my own copy but I never went out and bought it for myself. The WB sent me a copy to review in exchange for this post. I think I would have done a song and dance to get a copy of it instead of just a simple little blog post.

Judy Garland captured my heart years ago and has now returned to capture the heart of my daughter. My daughter is two years old and her comprehension and retention are off the charts. All the moms that talk to her wonder if she’s really only two years old. 😉

She watched this with me and the next day she had a toy that she got the same day we were watching The Wizard of Oz and she told her daddy, “Look what I got Daddy, it’s from Kansas”

I was having a very difficult time not laughing. Of course my husband was confused. He asked me if one of my relatives gave it to her and I said no, she watched the Wizard of Oz with me yesterday.

“So you told her about Kansas”

“no”

“So, she got the phrase from Kansas just by watching the movie?”

“yes”

It was just amazing to share a fun child hood memory of mine with her. I think that’s how we continue to keep older movies and toys alive is by sharing fond memories like this one with our children. I remember watching the Wizard of Oz with my dad every Spring when it was shown on the TV.

Get your copy The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition

The following components

are ALL-NEW and exclusive to this release:

The Dreamer of Oz – which makes its long-awaited home video debut. Also remastered for the occasion, this full-length motion picture was an NBC-TV special event in 1990 and thrilled critics and audiences as it told the back story of author L. Frank Baum, "the Royal Historian of Oz.” John Ritter shines in the title role — the man who defied all odds to create the famous characters and stories. Annette O’Toole beautifully co-stars as his supportive wife, with Rue McClanahan as his challenging witch of a mother-in-law.

Victor Fleming, Master Craftsman — a new feature-length documentary produced specifically for this release about the Hollywood director who, in the same year, miraculously brought both Oz and Gone With the Wind to the screen.

Hollywood Celebrates It’s Biggest Little Stars— a new featurette that stars seven of the original "Munchkins of Oz" and tells the saga of the long journey, culminating in them receiving their own 2007 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The Magic Cloak of Oz — the first release of the complete 1914 silent film, including lost footage never before included in a home video presentation of this feature (produced by Baum himself).

The Patchwork Girl of Oz — another 1914 Baum-produced, feature-length silent film, new to Warner Home Video.

The Wizard of Oz Sing-Along Track — here making its home entertainment debut.

Reproductions of Archival Material — Extraordinary renderings of the original 1939 Oz campaign, exploitation, and press books. These materials constitute a Hollywood "holy grail" for Oz, Garland, and motion picture fans alike and, for decades, have been among the most sought-after and impossible-to-find collectibles.

Behind The Curtain — a 52-page miniature coffee-table book, assembled by pre-eminent Oz historian John Fricke. Encompassing much previously unpublished material, the deluxe volume includes behind-the-scenes Oz photographs, studio memos, and script pages for abandoned scenes and musical numbers.

Exclusive Wizard of Oz Watch — A collectible and numbered 70^th Anniversary watch, incorporating art from the film and enhanced with genuine crystals. Available nowhere else, this beautiful timepiece was created specially for this DVD edition.

And for the Blu-Ray Ultimate Collector’s Edition, the original extended version of “If I Only Had a Brain” performed by Ray Bolger has been remastered in hi-definition especially for this release.

About the Movie

Adapted from L. Frank Baum’s timeless children’s tale about a Kansas girl’s journey over the rainbow, The Wizard of Oz opened at Grauman’s Chinese Theater on August 15, 1939. The film was directed by Victor Fleming (who that same year directed Gone With the Wind), produced by Mervyn LeRoy, and scored by Herbert Stothart, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg. Ray Bolger appeared as the Scarecrow; Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Woodman. Frank Morgan was seen in six different roles, including that of the "wonderful Wizard" himself. Dorothy was portrayed by a 4’11" sixteen year old girl who quickly earned her reputation as “the world’s greatest entertainer”– the incomparable Judy Garland.

The Wizard of Oz received five Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and captured two Oscars^{® —} Best Song (“Over the Rainbow”) and Best Original Score — plus a special award for Outstanding Juvenile Performance by Judy Garland. The film was an overwhelmingly popular and critical success upon its initial release and repeated its ability to captivate audiences when M-G-M reissued the film in 1949 and 1955. The film made a new kind of history with its network television premiere in 1956 on CBS. Nearly 45 million people tuned in for this initial telecast, marking the beginning of an annual tradition. Ever since, The Wizard of Oz has been shown virtually annually on network (and then cable) television; its magical story and heartfelt performances have enabled it to grow from a perennial classic to its current status as a treasured icon of popular culture.