A Week of the Wizard of Oz

Last updated on 19 June 2019

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

The 12th of August marks the 76th anniversary of the release of the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. I thought it would be fun to celebrate the movie and world of Oz this week by posting something Oz-related every day. I thought we’d kick off the week by having a look at what’s out there in the world that is Wizard of Oz themed or related in some way to the story. Last year was the 75th anniversary, so there are a lot of articles about the internet about those celebrations from last year, and I’ve included those in the links below. I’ve also put together a list of Oz related movies and shows, and some fun facts that you maybe didn’t know.

Web links to interesting things

Huffington post: A 75th Anniversary This Month: The Wizard of Oz! – Jay Scarfone, co-author of the The Wizard of Oz: The Official 75th Anniversary Companion (which was last year), takes a look at the origins of the movie.

CNN: ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at 75: Did you know…? – Todd Leopold talks about a few of the things you may not know about the famous movie.

The Wizard of Oz: Warner Bros – the Offical Wizard of Oz website

The Oscars: Wizard of Oz Anniversary – Even though the 75th was last year, you can still check out some great photos on the Oscars website.

 

The Wizard of Oz related movies, shows and books

The Wizard of Oz (1939) – The original movie, based on L. Frank Baum’s books.

Wicked, by Gregory Maguire (1995) – The story of how the Wicked Witch of the West came to be.

Wicked, the musical production – based on Maguire’s book


Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012) – Dorothy discovers that her books are not based on her imagination, but on repressed memories.

Oz The Great and Powerful (2013) – How the Wizard came to Oz.

Dorothy Must Die, by Danielle Paige (2014) – Amy Gumm is the ‘ther girl from Kansas’. Dorothy is running a muck in Oz, and only Amy can stop her. Read my review of this awesome book here, at Blogger’s Bookshelf. 

Emerald City (2016?) – Possibly a new TV show hitting our screens in 2016. I couldn’t find much info about this so who knows?

 

Five Fun facts

The lion’s costume weighed over 100pounds.

Judy Garland was only 16 when they filmed, and because of California laws, she was only allowed to work 4 hours a day as she was a minor.

In the original book by L. Frank Baum, the magical slippers were silver, but they changed them to ruby in the film because of the colour ‘wow’ factor.

The song “Over the Rainbow” was nearly cut from the movie because the execs thought it made it took long. Image if that had happened?!

The Tin Man’s oil was actually chocolate sauce, because real oil didn’t show up very well on film.

 

Things you can look forward to this week

Tuesday: 10 Wizard of DIY and Decorations Ideas
Wednesday: The 30 Day Wizard of Oz Challenge (created by yours truly)
Thursday: Wizard of Oz Nail Art
Friday: Gifts and Apparel…all Wizard of Oz themed
Saturday: A round up of the week and a free printable!

I hope you guys enjoy the following few days, celebrating the anniversary of the Wizard of Oz with me. See you tomorrow for some awesome DIYs and decoration ideas!