The Wonderful Land of Oz

Production

Mahon told The New York Times that he was planning to get Judy Garland to narrate the film, but the film has almost no narration. Popular rumor is that Jinjur's Army of Revolt is composed of actors who had previously appeared in Mahon's nudie films. This is, however, not the case. The nudie films were made in New York City, while the children's films were made in Florida. Mahon did not bring any of his former performers to appear in the film.

According to Michael R. Thomas, the actress who played Glinda, Hilary Lee Gaess had extreme bouts with stage fright.

Mahon and songwriters Linsenmann and Falco would re-team for Jack and the Beanstalk and Thumbelina, both released in 1970. All three films are owned by Jeffrey C. Hogue.

Cast

Jellia Jamb and Omby Amby also appear, but are uncredited.

Release

The film played in Saturday "kiddie matinee" venues, but was not released on VHS until after it had been issued on DVD, making it something of a lost and often misreported legend. Some sources, such as Allan Eyles's 1985 book, The World of Oz claim that Dorothy Gale accompanied Tip on his journey in this film, but this is not the case. (It is, however, the case in Ozu no Mahōtsukai.)

The film was released on VHS in 2001 and DVD in 2002, as a double feature with Jack and the Beanstalk, by Something Weird Video. That it remained unavailable on VHS until the 21st century may explain the rumors published by Eyles and others.

In January 2017, Rifftrax released a riffed version of the film, after their successful comedic takes on Jack and the Beanstalk and Thumbelina in previous years. The hosts were Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett.

Another oft-repeated error is the claim that the songs are by Loonis McGlohan and Alec Wilder. This is derived from the fact that they wrote music for the Land of Oz theme park in Banner Elk, North Carolina, released on a vinyl record titled The Land of Oz. Their songs were inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, not The Marvelous Land of Oz. The songs for the film were composed by George Linsenmann with lyrics by Ralph Falco. The experimental rock group Daiquiri often performs "I Don't Want to Be a Statue" as part of their act, as has The New Zip Code Rapists.