Tag Archives: The Wizard of Oz

Miniseries Review: Tin Man

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We are nearing the end of Project Fairy Tale and this is my last post on a non-print adaptation of The Wizard of Oz! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

The plot was so twisty on this one that I don’t want to rehash it for you all because I would rather not ruin anything so let’s talk about the new portrayal of old characters and then go forth to Netflix and watch, I say!

I LOVED what SyFy did with these characters.

D.G. was just the right amount of naivety and intellect to make me enjoy her as a character. Though a lot of her parts were cheesefest and wide eyed shock and concern, I still enjoyed her strength and determination.

Glitch (The “Scarecrow”) was hard not to love, for reasons beyond the fact that he was played by Alan Cummings. He was fun and incredibly loyal even though he “glitched” often due to half of his brain being removed by Azkadellia.

Raw (The “Cowardly Lion”) was first of all, in a magnificent costume and makeup. Second, the way SyFy portrayed him and his kind as sort of telepathic viewers was a really interesting addition. He was the sweetest and most tame of the characters which was a fun comparison to The Cowardly Lion from the original tale. In the end, he came into his own and realized that it was important to stand up for his friends and family.

The Tin Man aka Wyatt Cain – Okay first, those blue eyes *swoons* second, Wyatt and Cain are only two of my favorite names, EVER. Third, HIS INDIANA JONES HAT! I can’t even…okay but his character is THE hero, THE good guy. The one who is all conflicted and wants to “go his own way” but realizes that he has a HEART (see what I did there) and therefore must fight for the GOOD of all. Oh he was my favorite.

Azkadellia – She was beautiful and wicked to the point where sometimes I was a little bit scared of her, but I liked it. She also had a killer wardrobe so what’s not to love?

Things that made me LOL, roll my eyes, and basically remember it was a film made by SyFy:

Toto: I didn’t love their rendition of Toto for this particular adaptation. Spoiler alert: There was some shape shifting involved and I really didn’t like the character who portrayed “Tutor” as a human.

Azkadellia and her boob minions: Yeah, you read that right. Az has some pretty awesome minions, some of which are flying monkeys much like the original story. The major difference here that made me go “did that just happen…” is that Az has some nifty symbols tattooed on her upper chest. Therefore, whenever she is ready to make those babies fly she just unbuttons her little jacket, puffs out her..um..chest, gives a shake and BAM flying monkeys GALORE! I mean really SyFy, I know Kathleen Robertson is a hottie but could you not?

The plot was intricate, interesting and in some parts, very sad. In my opinion didn’t drag at all and I wanted to know what was going to happen next throughout it’s entirety. It is definitely a show that I would watch again and it made me want to watch some of SyFy’s other miniseries! I suggest taking some time and watching this adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, it is on Netflix and is only a few hours long!

Review: A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

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lionTitle: A Lion Among Men

Author: Gregory Maguire

Publishing Information: October 16th 2008 by William Morrow

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fairy tales

Series information: Book 3 in The Wicked Years

Format: Hardcover, 309 pages

Source: Owned

Recommended For: Fans who have read Wicked and Son of a Witch and want to see more characters in the Wicked universe.

A Lion Among Men chronicles a battle of wits hastened by the Emerald City’s approaching armies. What does the Lion know of the whereabouts of the Witch’s boy, Liir? What can Yackle reveal about the auguries of the Clock of the Time Dragon? And what of the Grimmerie, the magic book that vanished as quickly as Elphaba? Is destiny ever arbitrary? Can those tarnished by infamy escape their sobriquets–cowardly, wicked, brainless, criminally earnest–to claim their own histories, to live honorably within their own skins before they’re skinned alive?

Here we are again representing all things Wizard of Oz to celebrate Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

I can’t lie, it was hard to pick this one up twelve years after reading Wicked, I couldn’t bring myself to re-read and there was a little bit of confusion as I tried to remember where we were in the story. As I said before, these novels read more like companions while also working toward the major story arc so thankfully once I started reading it wasn’t a major issue that I couldn’t recall specific details from book one and two. A Lion Among Men provides another piece to the puzzle that is Elphaba and Oz. The reader follows Brr as he grows and learns how to be both Lion and “man.” Though I enjoyed the story enough, I did feel a little lost and confused as to why most details were important to the main story. That is, for the most part I was conflicted that we weren’t learning what happened after the huge bomb that was dropped at the end of Son of a Witch or what any of this had to do with Elphaba and her sacrifices. The last quarter of the book, however, tied everything up in a way that had my mouth on the ground. Maguire is a genius storyteller. He invokes so many feelings in a reader and does it so subtly that as I was reading I wasn’t realizing how much the story was affecting me but as the bomb was dropped I was left feeling hurt and raw, as if I was the one betrayed. The reader learns more about Yackle and she provides much comic relief to an otherwise dramatic and serious story, I did enjoy her parts very much though much of the back story on Brr wasn’t as entertaining as I had hoped.

It seems as if Maguire is giving us miniscule pieces to a very large puzzle. Though I was entertained enough to want to read the last book in the series, I have to be honest and say that my main reasoning is because I felt as if I couldn’t abandon the series after coming so far. Overall, I felt as if Maguire took a very long time to tell a not so long story. That being said, I do look forward to sharing my feelings about Out of Oz next week. I found that like myself, many readers were upset at how little this story has to do with Liir or Nor, but I am happy to say that the conclusion of The Wicked Years ties together every open story thread and brings the characters together so that the reader is able to better understand their stories throughout the first three novels.

“A male usually had made up his mind before you began to talk to him -so why bother?- but a female, because her mind was more supple, was always prepared to become more disappointed in you than she had yet suspected possible.”

Movie Review: Return to Oz

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Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.

Back again representing all things Wizard of Oz to celebrate Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

Remember how I told you that we weren’t going to mention “The Wiz?” Well, add Return to Oz to the pile of retellings that we won’t be associating with the perfection that is The Wizard of Oz. I remember watching this movie when I was younger and I always felt as if I should enjoy it because it was somehow related to WoO and I was supposed to love all things associated with my beloved story! Now, years later, I can tell you with not an ounce of guilt that if I never see Return to Oz again, things will be a-okay.

Let’s start from the beginning..

Dorothy won’t stop talking about Oz and it’s inhabitants so Aunt Em decides that the best thing for her is a good dose of shock therapy. She drops her off at a ridiculously creepy hospital (read: asylum) to get some shock therapy. Don’t worry, she promises that she will return in the morning with Toto to bring Dorothy home…instead, a storm erupts in Kansas and the hospital is struck by lightning, making the power go out right as The Nome King Doctor Worley is about to flip the switch for Dorothy’s “therapy.” A random patient helps Dorothy escape her bonds and they run away, jumping into a river to escape Mombi Nurse Wilson. Dorothy wakes up in Oz with her chicken Billina – still not sure how the chicken ended up there but let’s go with it – and they start exploring the land. Dorothy steals finds some lunch pails hanging on a tree and brings about the wrath of The Wheelers, (these are creepy men with wheels for hands and feet.) Thankfully she happens upon a robot man named Tik-Tok who uses his special moves to beat upon those Wheelers and get Dorothy to the castle of Mombi. Turns out Mombi is well, a witch. She isn’t just any witch though, she is a witch who steals the heads off of beautiful girls, keeps them on shelves and changes them much as one would change her dress for dinner. Mombi, of course, locks Dorothy away, but not before telling her that she is going to let her age into a unique beauty and then SURPRISE steal her head. Lucky for Dorothy (again) she rooms up with a nice..um…being…named Jack Pumpkinhead. He tells her that Mombi has some special powder that will bring things to life so little Dorothy decides to make a flying contraption out of a couch and a Gump Head. She then escapes the room, steals the key and potion and Jack, Tik-Tok, Dorothy and Billina escape. Unfortunately they land in the land of The Nome King and he takes them underground and tells them that he will let them go free if they can pass a test. The test is that each will walk into the next room filled with knickknacks and find an item that is actually one of their friends, enchanted. It’s no surprise that Dorothy succeeds which INFURIATES The Nome King. He then becomes a very big and very dark and scary rock man but he is defeated because Billina lays an egg (which just happen to be POISON to gnomes) in his mouth, and the crew escapes. There is a little parade and Ozma reappears, she was the random hospital patient from Kansas, and Dorothy goes home. Toto finds her laying near the river and Aunt Em tells her that when the lightning struck the hospital it went up in flames and everyone escaped except for Dr. Worley. Dorothy and Aunt Em go back home and Ozma appears to Dorothy in her mirror, letting her know that she can visit Oz whenever she wishes. Lucky gal!

This film was described as an unofficial sequel to The Wizard of Oz and it is loosely based on the second and third Wizard of Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz, which was my favorite Wizard of Oz novel. I suppose it is because Ozma of Oz is my favorite that I really loathed this movie. I am not one of those judgy people, but the fact that this movie was made my Disney and rated PG FLOORED me. There is no way that a child would enjoy this movie without being scared and confused and quite frankly, bored. In the book it is not Mombi but Princess Langwidere from the Land of Ev who has her array of heads and I can admit that theme is a tad old for the intended audience but I think it is the dark setting and play on special effects and LOUD NOISES that made me think the film is inappropriate for young children.

I was worried that I was just biased because nothing can compare to the original Wizard of Oz but I really loved Tin Man (which I will be reviewing for you next week) so I feel a little better disliking this one..I do have to say that it definitely has a cult following so it clearly isn’t hated by all and therefore you may not dislike it as much as I did so maybe give it a try! On my end, I will stick to what I know and love and steer clear of this adaptation in the future!

 

Review: Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

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13521Title: Son of a Witch

Author: Gregory Maguire

Publishing Information: September 26th 2006 by HarperCollins

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fairy tales

Series information: Book 2 in The Wicked Years

Format: Hardcover, 337 pages

Source: Owned

Recommended For: Fans who have read Wicked and are looking for further insight into the political and emotional turmoil caused by Dorothy’s arrival.

Liir hid in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Left for dead in a gully, the teen is shattered in spirit and body. But silent novice Candle tends him at the Cloister of Saint Glinda, and wills him back to life with her music.
What dark force left Liir in this condition? Is he really Elphaba’s son? He has her broom and her cape – but what of her powers? Can he find his supposed half-sister, Nor, last seen in the forbidding prison Southstairs? Can he fulfill the last wishes of a dying princess? In an Oz under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enough to grow up? (Via Goodreads)

Another review for Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

As I prepared my review for this book I realized how different this series is from others currently out there. The Wicked Years is a series of four books, but the novels don’t work entirely like a series or entirely like companion novels. They are their own entity, working on their own to tell a different piece of the story, yet also working in tandem to weave together a much larger tale.

Son of a Witch works more as an individual story, telling the story of Liir, Elphaba’s son and how he moves on after the death of his mother. The parts I genuinely liked about this novel were when Lirr was coming into his own. He was recognizing himself as more than “The son of the witch,” and he was cowardly, childish and mean at times but he came into his own and grew as a character. I do have to mention that I am reading Out of Oz right now and I am finding Liir to be much more likable in this novel, but we will get into that when it’s time for that review! I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Liir and Candle and I was happy with the action of this novel, it seemed as if things were continuously moving forward. When I first read Son of a Witch I didn’t know that there was going to be a third book in the series and I was seriously disappointed and confused by the ending. Thankfully we all know that there are two more books after Son of a Witch and with that knowledge I can say that the ending of this novel was genius and captivating.

I enjoyed Son of a Witch as much as Wicked, however it was a different sort of novel, telling the story of the growth of a man and not the fall of a witch.

“Happy endings are still endings.” 

Movie Review: The Wizard of Oz

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Welcome to Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

Okay my friends, be prepared because I am about to fangirl all over the place. I will try my best to be coherent but The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland is one of my top 5 favorite things in the world. I have loads of print companions to the movie and between those, Oz Wikis and IMDB, I have devoured all of the trivia I possibly could over the years, and before we start I am just want to say that no, there was no suicide on set. While in college I took a film class and studied the film frame by frame and I can tell you with conviction that it is a bird on set and not an “angry munchkin” or the like taking a stand against casting for the film. Okay? Okay. Moving on…

I’m not going to sum up the film because it is unfathomable that anyone would be unfamiliar with it and if you are, stop what you’re doing and go watch it right now. You’re welcome.

Instead we are going to go over some less known fun facts about the movie!

  • The song “Over the Rainbow,” performed by Judy Garland, was ranked number 1 in AFI’s “100 Years, 100 Songs” list.
  • The Library of Congress has named The Wizard of Oz the most-watched motion picture in history.
  • While The Tinman is singing “If I Only Had a Heart” you may remember a female singing, “Wherefore art thou, Romeo.” Does that voice sound familiar? It should because it is voiced by Adriana Caselotti, also known as Snow White!
  • This is not the first film adaptation! Larry Semon produced a film in 1925 starring Oliver Hardy (yes, that Oliver Hardy) as The Scarecrow. This version had very little magical elements and was used as a point of reference for the 1939 film.
  • At the time, full on fantasy films did not do well in the box office. It was because of this that the writers and directors of The Wizard of Oz decided to stray from the original plot and make Dorothy’s trip to Oz a dream sequence instead of a literal trip to the land.
  • The script was changed a lot. Originally, there was a spoiled princess in Oz who had outlawed all forms of music, at one point in the film she was to go up against Dorothy in a singing contest.
  • Another scene that was dropped (which gives me the sads) was a point at the end of the film where Hunk (The Scarecrow) is leaving for college and asks Dorothy to write to him. This was supposed to set up a hope in the audience for a romance to bloom between the two characters. Though this was dropped, Dorothy still tells The Scarecrow before she leaves Oz “I think I’ll miss you most of all.” I don’t blame the gal, Hunk is well…a hunk!
  • The film was originally thought to be too long compared to other films of this time, therefore the production team cut many scenes. One of the more popular scenes that was cut was a song and dance sequence titled “The Jitterbug.” The outtake that still exists is actually a “home video” taken by the composer during a dress rehearsal. You can find this outtake on the newest DVD in the featured extras OR if you are old school like me and have the VHS if you watch all the way after the credits, it appears – this was one of my favorite things about watching the movie as a kid. (If you do watch the YouTube video..and you should…you can skip ahead to about 57 seconds in, that’s when it gets good!)

  • Rumor has it that Shirley Temple was up for the role of Dorothy.
  • Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as The Tin Man but within ten days had to be recast as he was in the hospital in critical condition due to the aluminum powder he was forced to wear while in character. No full footage of Ebsen as The Tin Man has ever been released.
  • One of the first directors of the film had Judy Garland dressed in a blonde wig with what has been described as “baby doll makeup” and she played the part in an exaggerated way.
  • Margaret Hamilton (The Wicked Witch) was burned during her exit in her first on screen scene. The grease from Hamilton’s makeup caught fire immediately and burned her badly enough that she was out of the studio for up to six weeks.
  • Due to her injury, Hamilton refused to shoot another scene in the film in which she flies on her broom in a cloud of smoke. Her stand-in performed this scene instead and was injured due to a malfunction in the smoke machine!
  • The “horse of a different color” was actually four different horses covered in different colored (and flavored) gelatin. The cast had to keep the horses from licking themselves in between takes!
  • The famous song, “Over the Rainbow” was almost cut from the film! Producers thought it to be too long and too “old” for the intended childhood audience.

Those ruby slippers!

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I was lucky enough to visit the pair currently on display at The Smithsonian National Museum of American History! While we were there they told us that they need to replace the carpet in front of the case very often because it gets worn from so many people stopping in front to see the slippers! These slippers were auctioned off in 1970 for only $15,000!! One pair was on display at The Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota but they were stolen in the summer of 2005. Another pair is owned by actress Debbie Reynolds. It is reportedly unknown how many other pairs of ruby slippers there are at this time.

So there it is, as I stated in my review of the original novel, it was not my favorite in the series. I could even go as far as to say that The Wizard of Oz film starring Judy Garland is better than the original novel written by L. Frank Baum. I know every single line and sing the songs at the top of my lungs, I have a crush on The Scarecrow and adore Aunt Em, especially when she says, “Almira Gulch, just because you own half the county doesn’t mean that you have the power to run the rest of us. For twenty-three years I’ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now… well, being a Christian woman, I can’t say it!” You go girl!

In truth, this movie was one of the best things about my childhood.

Review: Wicked by Gregory Maguire

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wickedTitle: Wicked

Author: Gregory Maguire

Publishing Information: December 5, 2000 by HarperCollins

Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Fairy tales

Series information: Book 1 in The Wicked Years

Format: Hardcover, 400 pages

Source: Owned

Recommended For: Fans of darker fairy tale retellings with a mix of political intrigue

When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. “Wicked” is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to be the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

Project Fairy Tale continues on the blog with a review of Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked.

I’m not going to lie to you, this is a hard book to read. In fact, when I tried to read it years ago I was still in high school and I could not understand it. I honestly had no clue what was going on. Then I saw the musical (twice) and realized that something so magnificent had to of stemmed from something equally amazing, so I picked the book up again. This time, I was in college and loads smarter than my high school self (HA!) and was able to better understand the layers of this story.

This is not the Oz that readers know and love from the novels by L. Frank Baum. To begin with, The Wicked Witch of the West isn’t so wicked. Instead we see her as a child named Elphaba, her green tinge is explained in a really interesting twist and we watch her attempt to stand up for the rights of citizens of Oz, both human and Animal. As readers we are able to take a glimpse into the lives of Elphaba and Galinda and see how they grew together, and apart. For readers expecting to read a fairytale retelling with the same childish merit as Oz, this book is not for you. In Wicked, things are not so black and white, the characters are layered and most importantly, flawed. This book is not filled with happy endings, in actuality, many of the endings are rather harsh and unnerving. There are conclusions, but mostly there are threads left unraveled  writhing in the wind. There is friendship, but mostly there is loneliness. There is love, but mostly there is heartbreak.

This is not an easy novel to read, it is political, and at times gruesome and downright confusing. However it is also imaginative, dark, and deeply perceptive, as if the book looks right into the deep recesses of your soul. Let it be known that to appreciate Wicked, it takes close, intense reading, and it isn’t a novel that you can pick up and finish in a day. It is a story that you need to process over time to fully appreciate, but if you take the time you will see what a brilliant storyteller Gregory Maguire is and at the conclusion, you will never look at Baum’s Oz the same again.

“Love makes hunters of us all.”

Review: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

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Welcome to the beginning of Project Fairy Tale! If you want to learn more about this fun event head over to my intro post!

I am sure that many of you are at least slightly familiar with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. However, many of you probably don’t know that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is only book one in the original series of 14! Those of you who follow my blog know that I am a collector of Oz books, specifically of any editions from the original series, though I have read a few from the continuations.

The Wizard of Oz series was created by L. Frank Baum in 1900, the last book by Baum, Glinda of Oz was published posthumously in 1920. The series titles are as follows:

  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
  • The Marvelous Land of Oz
  • Ozma of Oz
  • Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
  • The Road to Oz
  • The Emerald City of Oz
  • The Patchwork Girl of Oz
  • Tik-Tok of Oz
  • The Scarecrow of Oz
  • Rinkitink In Oz
  • The Lost Princess of Oz
  • The Tin-Woodman of Oz
  • The Magic of Oz
  • Glinda of Oz

Those of you who are only familiar with the film version of The Wizard of Oz are missing out on some things from the book so in lieu of a traditional and in depth review I am going to provide you with a longer summary than I usually do and then give you some insight to my feelings.

As many of you know Dorothy is a young girl who lives in Kansas on a farm with her little dog Toto, her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Life on the farm is not too thrilling for Dorothy until the day the cyclone appears and whisks both Dorothy and Toto away to the Land of Oz. They are planted right in the middle of the Munchkin Country and soon find that their house has landed on (and vanquished) The Wicked Witch of the West. The Good Witch of the North (Not Glinda) comes to Dorothy and provides her with the silver shoes (not red) from the now dead Wicked Witch. She then tells Dorothy that if she wishes to return home to Kansas she must follow The Yellow Brick Road to The Emerald City and ask The Wizard of Oz to help her.

The journey that follows enables her to cross paths and assist The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman and The Cowardly Lion. These three decide to accompany Dorothy on her journey to see The Wizard, The Scarecrow is in search of a brain, The Tin Woodman desires a heart, and The Cowardly Lion would like some courage. Over their journey they overcome many obstacles, such as one of my favorite Ozian predators: kalidahs, creatures that have bodies like bears, heads like tigers, and claws long and sharp enough to tear a lion in two. The gang survives their meeting with these characters and their trip through a field of poppies and finally arrive at The Emerald City.

At The Emerald City the group finally obtains a meeting with The Wizard, but each meets him alone, and each sees him as something completely different and unique to their wants or fears. For example, Dorothy sees The Wizard as a giant head, The Scarecrow sees a giant ball of fire, The Tin Woodman sees a beautiful woman and The Cowardly Lion observes a beast. After their meeting, The Wizard says that he will help them obtain what they wish if one of them kills The Wicked Witch of the West. The travelers set off to The Winkie Country in search of The Wicked Witch of the West.

The Wicked Witch of the West is very cunning and evil, and she tries her best to kill the group traveling toward her. First, The Wicked Witch sends her wolves to try and kill Dorothy and her friends, the Tin Woodman uses his ax and kills them all. After this fails, The Wicked Witch sends her crows to try and peck the travelers eyes out but The Scarecrow saves them by grabbing them and breaking their necks. The Wicked Witch then sends a swarm of bees after them to sting them to death, the travelers use The Scarecrow’s straw to hide under and the bees die attempting to attack the Tin Woodman. The Winkie soldiers then attempt to attack the crew and The Cowardly Lion succeeds in scaring them off and finally, The Wicked Witch uses the Golden Cap to summon the Winged Monkeys to capture Dorothy.

After The Wicked Witch of the West has Dorothy in her clutches she is able to trick Dorothy into handing over one of her silver shoes. This angers Dorothy and she promptly picks up the closest thing to her, a bucket of water, and throws it over The Witch, which to her surprise, melts and vanquishes her. Dorothy then uses The Golden Cap to summon the Winged Monkeys and carry her and her companions back to the Emerald City.

At the Emerald City Toto reveals The Wizard to be a regular man who has traveled to Oz in his hot air balloon. He provides The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman and The Cowardly Lion with focuses for their heart’s desires. He decides that he will return Dorothy to Kansas by using his hot air balloon and places The Scarecrow in charge of Oz. Unfortunately the hot air balloon leaves without Dorothy and they are forced on another journey, this time to Glinda’s Palace in the Quadling Country. They must again journey through treacherous lands past Hammer-Heads and Fighting Trees.

Once they finally get to Glinda’s Palace, she tells Dorothy that The Silver Shoes have the ability to bring her wherever she wishes to go. Through their travels, The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodman and The Cowardly Lion fought their own battles and won their own rights to rule different kingdoms once Dorothy leaves. She says her farewells, clicks her heels together three times and is returned home to Kansas. The end!

“Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable.”

So, there’s no place like home, right? As a kid, that was not the case for me. Before Harry Potter made its way into my life, these books were my escape and obsession. I used to sit in my tiny bedroom and wish as hard as I could that I would be taken away via silver shoes or magic belt. I own every book in the original series and to be honest this book is actually my least favorite. The series continues in a beautiful way and the lands become broader and the characters deeper and significantly more fun and unique. If you have some time and are looking for some quick reads to remind you why you fell in love with reading in the first place, I suggest picking up some books in this series. Later on in the week I will be reviewing the movie for you (another obsession of mine) and we can talk about the significant differences between print and film then. For now, tell me, have you read any of the Oz books? Do you have a favorite memory or character?

Project Fairy Tale: Welcome!

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Hello! Some of you may remember how I signed up for Project Fairy Tale a few months back and decided that I would be reading, watching, and reviewing all things Wizard of Oz for the month of February, and some of you may have no idea what I am talking about but nonetheless..IT IS TIME. Tomorrow starts the month of February and with that we will be kicking off my month of Wizard of Oz LOVE!

Project Fairy Tale

Here is what I have planned:

Friday February 1: Review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Monday February 4: Review of Wicked By Gregory Maguire

Friday February 8: Movie Review The Wizard of Oz

Monday February 11: Review of Son of  a Witch by Gregory Maguire

Friday February 15: Movie Review Return to Oz

Monday February 18: Review of A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

Friday February 22: TV show review Tin Man

Monday February 25: Review of Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire

Doesn’t that sound exciting? I will have some “regular scheduled” things going on around the blog as well but this is my schedule dedicated to The WoO! YAY!

Project: Fairy Tale

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I have been hearing about Project: Fairy Tale all over Twitter and I finally took a breather and decided to see what the fuss was all about and let me tell you, I am so excited that I did! I immediately wanted in because I am a LOVER of fairytales and their retellings!!! On one hand I wish I had looked earlier because there were a few I would have loved to focus on but it would have been super hard to choose and let’s be serious, my choice is perfect for me..

So here it is, my choice for Project: Fairy Tale is:

The Wizard of Oz!

Are we shocked? Thrilled? Rolling our eyes at the obvious “Alyssa” choice? Me too, to all of those things but mostly I am just wanting it to be the new year so we can start!

I was actually pretty surprised to see how many retellings have been written of The Wizard of Oz. I obviously knew that there is a plethora (p.s. favorite word) of books in the “series” as it has been continued on by a few people but I didn’t know that there were actual retellings out there! Here is my plan…

Read and review the original novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Read and review 1-3 others in that series that are not part of the original 14.

Read and review Dorothy: the Darker Side of Oz by Scott Stanford.

Read and review Wicked by Gregory Maguire and hopefully read the rest of the series, finally.

Watch the movie a million times.

Watch a few adaptations, including Tin Man from the Sci-Fi channel and The Muppet’s Wizard of Oz (side note: I will not be watching The Wiz because it makes me want to throw up in my mouth) and of course, some of the more obscure remakes such as Return to Oz, which traumatized me as a child.

Finally, showing off my AMAZING collection of Oz books. Be super jealous.

So, there we are. Be prepared for in a few months we will be WoO-ing all over this blog!