70 Years of Following the Yellow Brick Road
October 2nd, 2009
Tomorrow commemorates the 70th anniversary of the film version of the Wizard of Oz. For almost three quarters of a century, Judy Garland’s sweet voice has been taking audiences on a magical ride over the rainbow and it’s a story that’s inspired millions to remember that there’s no place like home.
Some of the most memorable characters in history were introduced to the world through the movie. “The Wizard of Oz” was itself an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L Baum. Baum’s Oz novels also inspired the rock musical “The Wiz” in the 70’s, the deliciously terrifying “Return to Oz” in the 80s, Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (which inspired the Tony-Award-winning musical “Wicked”) in the 90s and 2000s and many many others.
We wanted to share our top 5 favorite Wizard of Oz characters with you this week. We hope you’ll chime in down in the comments to let us know what your favorite is:
TIN MAN: If we only had the heart
You’ve got to love a man with muscles whose in touch with his emotional side. It’s hard not to empathize with the Tin Man who just wants to be able to feel. We’d say that the Tin Man is about the ultimate struggle to become human but that would be way too deep for a site about Halloween costumes. Instead we’ll just ask you to pass the oil can.
DOROTHY: There’s no place like home
Dorothy is the center of the Oz story and the sweet heroine whose kindness changes the face of Oz forever. But let’s face it, it was really all about those shoes. What little girl didn’t stand in her mom’s high heels and click them together three times. Say it with me. “There’s no place like home.”
LION: We’ve lost our nerve
Was there ever a cuter king of the forest than the shy, Cowardly Lion? His roar was so fearsome he even scared himself and we couldn’t help loving him for it. Courage is about standing up for yourself and your friends when you’re scared out of your wits and he manages to do it with ease when push comes to shove.
SCARECROW: If we only had the brains
In the books, the Scarecrow goes on to take over for the vanished Wizard and learns to rule wisely and well but we’ll admit our hearts were won by that weak-legged dance, that boneless grace, that carefree attitude and of course the fact that in the Wicked musical…well, we won’t spoil the surprise.
GLINDA and THE WICKED WITCH: Are you a good witch or a bad witch?
We’ve got to give the number one spot to the elder stateswomen of the Oz movies.


Sure Dorothy and her friends traveled the road but it’s Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West (called Elphaba in Maguire’s “Wicked”) that really get the show on the road. Quite literally. It’s Glinda who sends Dorothy on her journey and Elphaba who drives the suspense all the way until her chilling death. [Fun fact: In the original book, Glinda was the witch of the South, and not the same witch who met Dorothy in Munchkin Country.]
Without the witches, good and bad, all you have is a girl stuck in a land with a bunch of small people who like to sing strange songs about lollipops. And that’s not very memorable at all.























