A Wizard Of Oz Film Series? Yay? Nay?
I wonder if there will ever be an actual film series of the Wizard Of Oz Books? I've actually been thinking about this topic for some time now and wondered if anyone else has too?
Most folks of cause would automatically think of the 1939 adaptation whenever the words "Wizard Of OZ" is uttered or maybe even the original book it's based on but quite a lot of people nowadays don't even realise the original book actually had an awful LOT of sequels (I think there's like 50 or more of the OZ Book sequels) written by the exact same original author L. Frank Baum (later on his grandson took over the writing duties after he had passed away). I didn't know about the sequels either until a couple of years ago and since then I have been curiously fascinated by them.
What's really interesting is that in some of the books, Dorothy Gale wasn't the main character, in fact she wasn't even in the 2nd book! In the 2nd book a boy named Tip was the main character who in the end
There's actually a lot more about the books I could talk about but I'd be here all day, the above is just the gist of it.
The more I think about it the more I think it actually has great potential to create an interesting, imaginative film series or hell even a TV series of the OZ books thanks to the technology of today but sadly I don't see it ever happening due to too much name association with the 1939 classic and the risky costs it may ensue. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the 1939 adaptation to bits, one of my favourite films but I can't help but feel that version may have contributed to making a successful OZ film/TV series having very little chance of ever becoming a reality without the series constantly being compared to the 1939 version. Just look at the attempts at creating the sequels already. Film-Makers have tried but failed to live up to the same standard of the 1939 classic. The only OZ sequel I could think of that has actually garnered a lot of fans resulting into earning a Cult Classic status is the 1985 film "Return To Oz" (not going to lie, that film is awesome! Scary but awesome). Ironically "Return To Oz" is actually a lot closer to the books' darker tones than the 1939 version is and yet the 1939 version is still held up in higher regards! (Note: Not a criticism, honest!)
Wow I'm talking way too much! Apologies.
So what do you folks think? Do you think an OZ film/TV series following the original books would be a good idea? Or would it be too expensive and just never be as good as the 1939 version? Are there any other books you folks think may actually make good film adaptations but fear they may be impossible to make and never see another light of day again?
Really hope this posting of mine makes sense.
Most folks of cause would automatically think of the 1939 adaptation whenever the words "Wizard Of OZ" is uttered or maybe even the original book it's based on but quite a lot of people nowadays don't even realise the original book actually had an awful LOT of sequels (I think there's like 50 or more of the OZ Book sequels) written by the exact same original author L. Frank Baum (later on his grandson took over the writing duties after he had passed away). I didn't know about the sequels either until a couple of years ago and since then I have been curiously fascinated by them.
What's really interesting is that in some of the books, Dorothy Gale wasn't the main character, in fact she wasn't even in the 2nd book! In the 2nd book a boy named Tip was the main character who in the end
turned out to be the hidden Princess Ozma Of OZ the whole time 
! Hell I'd even go as far as to say Scarecrow and Tin-Man were more like main characters than Dorothy was in a lot of the books. The Cowardly Lion sadly became more of a minor character in the books with an odd cameo here and there (but then to be fair what else could they really do with him?). It's also implied in the books that Glinda and the Wizard have an interest in each other and may have even been together at one point.There's actually a lot more about the books I could talk about but I'd be here all day, the above is just the gist of it.
The more I think about it the more I think it actually has great potential to create an interesting, imaginative film series or hell even a TV series of the OZ books thanks to the technology of today but sadly I don't see it ever happening due to too much name association with the 1939 classic and the risky costs it may ensue. Don't get me wrong I LOVE the 1939 adaptation to bits, one of my favourite films but I can't help but feel that version may have contributed to making a successful OZ film/TV series having very little chance of ever becoming a reality without the series constantly being compared to the 1939 version. Just look at the attempts at creating the sequels already. Film-Makers have tried but failed to live up to the same standard of the 1939 classic. The only OZ sequel I could think of that has actually garnered a lot of fans resulting into earning a Cult Classic status is the 1985 film "Return To Oz" (not going to lie, that film is awesome! Scary but awesome). Ironically "Return To Oz" is actually a lot closer to the books' darker tones than the 1939 version is and yet the 1939 version is still held up in higher regards! (Note: Not a criticism, honest!)
Wow I'm talking way too much! Apologies.
So what do you folks think? Do you think an OZ film/TV series following the original books would be a good idea? Or would it be too expensive and just never be as good as the 1939 version? Are there any other books you folks think may actually make good film adaptations but fear they may be impossible to make and never see another light of day again? Really hope this posting of mine makes sense.
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They probably can't just decide to go ahead and do any of them they wish though. They may need to check the copyright status on some of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_status_of_The_Wizard_of_Oz_and_related_works_in_the_United_States
I was quite surprised to find that L Frank Baum didn't write them all. Most of them seem to have been written by somebody called Ruth Plumly Thompson who appears to have written most of them. Most of which haven't entered the public domain yet.
Seems as though all of L Frank Baum's Oz books are free to adapt though.
I can see this happening as it appears that there is a fortune to be made, especially in this modern day when you consider spinoff merchandising. And big corporations aren't likely to turn their nose up at a potential fortune being made off the back of these books. The brand name is advertising in itself.
Very true but remember money talks. They'll need to make absolute sure it won't be a major flop like last year's OZ sequel "Dorothy Returns".
If they were going to do this and make sure it'll definitely be a success, perhaps they'll need to take years to prepare. They could perhaps try and get some of the book sequels re-released for the modern audience to enjoy and thus garner a new fan interest for the series. Remember when the Harry Potter films were released, they were shown and promoted around the same time the books were still fresh in people's minds and hence helped contribute to a financial film series success! So who knows? That could be one way of doing it successfully.
As for gaining copyrights, I don't think they even need to do ALL the books! They could just do the the ones with more popularity surrounding them and more adaptable to make on screen.
Whether there is a big enough market to fund such a show is a diffrent mater.
Agreed! I really liked "Return To OZ".
Again as awesome as the 1939 classic is, it is it's own entity which is best left alone now. They'll need to try and take themselves away from that version and come up with something entirely new and follows the original first book more closely. If that means creating a re-boot than so be it.
Dammit why did you have to mention Game Of Thrones?! I now have a very horrible image of the Dorothy/Scarecrow shipping stuck in my head! So wrong!
It really is isn't it? :Blush: But still a bloody awesome movie though!
I've read about that! It has a very Sci-Fi setting if I remember correctly? Very interesting concept and take on the OZ Mythos.
I do wonder however if it would perhaps work better as an animated film series - Dreamworks (and Disney to an extent) have shown how impressively you can render CG people now, and both they and the backdrop can be both wondrous and beautiful. I say this because I would otherwise be concerned that a series of Oz films could end up a bit like the Narnia films - hard to adapt.
If you want an actress to play Dorothy in one film, will she stick around for the rest if that role is minor later on? Animation could get around that, and they could still keep it fairly dark in tone. As for the adaptations themselves, perhaps they could cherry pick their favourite stories, or elements of stories to turn them into more film-friendly material? It's an interesting idea though, and the continued success of Wicked is also indicative of how people are willing to see more about these characters
However the trouble with Oz is the source material. The world of Oz doesn't do romance, or death (it's not possible to actually die) and was written for young kids. L Frank Baum chose to adapt the Wizard of Oz, the Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozama of Oz and the Patchworkgirl of Oz as musicals - lightweight and fluffy.
"Come heeeeere - chicken!"
Very true, last time I checked Dorothy stayed a little girl even in the sequels hence why animation might be the best option.
When did I say I had an issue with "OZ The Great And Powerful"?
For your information I happen to like that film too. The reason I didn't mention it is because it was a Prequel and wasn't really based on one of the OZ books anyway and plus just assumed it was one of those stand alone films. But now that you've brought it up I didn't know it's been greenlit for a sequel, how interesting!
Actually the characters can still die in OZ if they step into the Desert Sands or if someone murders them so they're not completely immortal.
Also does it matter if the stories were originally meant for kids? Just because L. Frank Baum intended his books for kids doesn't automatically mean they can't be enjoyed by adult audiences too. Also the OZ books themselves were actually quite dark and got darker as the series went on despite being a children's book series.
Just look at the Harry Potter franchise for example. There's no denying that the Harry Potter stories was always intended for kids but it still managed garner a strong, devoted adult following. It also didn't stop the Harry Potter books and films from getting darker and last time I checked the child fans never seemed to get traumatised by it all did they? ;-) So if the child fans of Harry Potter could manage the darker tones and survive then I'm sure the child fans of OZ can do too.
I would really love to see this happen!
Actually the more I think about it, the more I think the TV Series might be a better option.
In Return To Oz, the Nome King was poisoned by the egg, and once Dorothy was back home, she was told Dr. Worley (aka the Nome King) had died trying to save his machines, so there's scope there to have deaths if they went ahead and did some sort of series.
Don't think romance is really needed - friendship works just as well.