The Wizard of Oz (TV series)

Updated on Oct 18, 2023

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Theme music composer Tom Worrall Original language(s) English		Country of origin United States
Genre Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy, Musical Written by Elana Lesser Cliff Ruby Doug Molitor Voices of Charlie Adler Pat Fraley Liz Georges David Lodge Tress MacNeille Alan Oppenheimer Hal Rayle B.J. Ward Frank Welker

The Wizard of Oz is an animated television series produced by DIC Entertainment in 1990 to capitalize on the 51th anniversary of the 1939 film version. The series featured thirteen episodes and premiered on ABC, starting on September 8, 1990. It also aired on YTV from 1990 to 1995 in Canada. Reruns aired on Toon Disney from 1998 to 2002.

Series premise

Dorothy has decided to return to Oz with Toto using the ruby slippers that showed up on her doorstep. Upon arriving there she reunites with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion, she learns from Glinda the Good Witch that the Wicked Witch of the West has been resurrected by her evil winged monkeys and that the Emerald City has been taken over by her. The Wizard is in his hot air balloon, which is under a spell that causes it to be constantly blown around by an evil wind. Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion set out to rescue him and defeat the Wicked Witch once and for all. Author Jeff Lenburg mentioned an aspect of the series wherein Dorothy has to learn to believe in oneself.

The Ruby Slippers

To combat the idea that the slippers would provide Dorothy with ultimate power against the Witch, they didn't always work correctly, apparently because she wasn't entirely sure how to use them. They often didn't do exactly as she asked, acting unpredictably. In the second episode, she clicks her heels four times to correct the Witch's damage to the Emerald City, as to imply that a fourth click has more power than three. Glinda often told her to only use them as a last resort.

Similarly, the Wicked Witch's crystal ball was unpredictable, often only working 'once a day'. The episode "Crystal Clear" explains that this was caused by the ball's creator having intentionally stabbed/cracked it with a carving knife, during the witch's theft attempt, in order to prevent her from using its full potential.

The Wicked Witch does manage to get the slippers once in the series. However, Truckle manages to steal them from her, and she is unable to use their power to their full advantage. The Cowardly Lion also gets to wear them briefly.

Similarities to the 1939 film

The series incorporated visual elements from the 1939 film version, including the Scarecrow's diploma and Dorothy's ruby slippers. At the same time, the character of Dorothy was designed with an appearance similar to those of Ariel from Disney's The Little Mermaid and was not intended to resemble Judy Garland, as well as Dorothy's dress being a solid blue as opposed to the gingham style from the film. In addition, the series incorporated music from the original film, including a slightly altered version of "We're Off to See the Wizard". Toto, as in the film, also seems to be able to "smell" the Wicked Witch or her spellwork, even when she's in disguise. A reversal of the archetype from the film was that Dorothy got herself from Kansas to Oz by clicking her heels in her slippers and saying "There's no place like Oz".

Differences from the 1939 film

While the series is mostly based on the 1939 film, there are some issues with the canon of it. In the film, it is largely implied that Oz was a head-trauma-induced delirium, instead of a real place, while in the series it was a real place. The only sequel that depicts Oz as a dream is the 1974 animated film Journey Back to Oz, where Dorothy once again has a head injury before finding herself back in Oz. The program could only be a spinoff, partly because it violates the rule of the ruby slippers, that they could never come off the feet of their wearer, as long as he / she is still alive.

Principal voice actors

Liz Georges - Dorothy Gale

David Lodge - Scarecrow

Hal Rayle - Tin Man

Charlie Adler - Cowardly Lion

Frank Welker - Toto, Hyena (ep. 6)

Tress MacNeille - Wicked Witch of the West, Miranda (ep. 10)

B.J. Ward - Glinda

Alan Oppenheimer - Wizard of Oz

Additional voices

Jack Angel -

Hamilton Camp -

Pat Fraley - Truckle the Winged Monkey

Bibi Osterwald -

Rob Paulsen -

Ken Sansom -

Susan Silo - Munchkin Mayor

Candy Candido - talking apple tree

Crew

Susan Blu - Voice Director

Ginny McSwain - Casting Director

VHS releases

The Wizard of Oz was first released on VHS in 1991 by Turner Home Entertainment, shortly after the series ended. 11 episodes of the series were released on VHS between 1991 and 1995.

VHS releases:

The Rescue of Oz ("The Rescue of the Emerald City Part I" & "The Rescue of the Emerald City Part II")

Fearless ("Fearless")

Crystal Clear ("Crystal Clear")

Ruby Slipper Slip Up ("The Lion that Squeaked" and "We're not in Kansas Anymore")

Danger in a Strange Land in 1991 ("Time Town" and "The Day the Music Died")

We're Off to Save the Wizard in 1991 ("Upside Downtown" and "A Star is Gone")

The Marvelous Milkmaid of Mechanica

The Rescue of the Emerald City Part 1

The Rescue of the Emerald City Part 2

DVD releases

DVD releases:

The Rescue of the Emerald City in 2002 ("The Rescue of the Emerald City Part I", "The Rescue of the Emerald City Part II" and "The Day the Music Died")

The Continuing Story in 2003 ("Time Town", "We're not in Kansas Anymore", "Crystal Clear" and "Fearless")

We're Off to Save the Wizard in 2005 ("Hot Air", "A Star is Gone", "Upside Downtown" and "Dream a Little Dream")

The complete series, dubbed into Serbian, was released on 4 DVDs in 2006 for the region of Serbia and Montenegro.