Returning to OZ

Next Friday marks the first big screen return to fantasy author L. Frank Baum's magical land of Oz in 28 years, the last Oz-based feature film being Walt Disney Pictures' box office-bomb/cult classic RETURN TO OZ in 1985.  On March 8th, Disney is taking on the Land of Oz once again, this time with significantly higher ambitions and a budget estimated at $170 million more than their disastrous 1985 attempt.  The new film, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL is a prequel to the original Oz story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was published as a novel 1900 by American author Baum.  The 1949 film adaptation, THE WIZARD OF OZ, was not the first film version as there had been several before, but it became the definitive version and today is widely considered among film scholars as the "Greatest Fantasy Film" of all-time.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer began production on the film in 1938 after Walt Disney Studios' SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS was released in 1937 and quickly became the highest-grossing film of all-time up to that time in history.  Disney's SNOW WHITE proved that a children-friendly (such as it was) feature adapted from fairy tales and folklore had lucrative audience appeal for film audiences, and the other studios wanted a piece of that pie.
In the Beginning
Timid about gambling on fantasy at the box office, even after Disney's unprecedented triumph, MGM commissioned script treatments and revisions that at first removed most of the magical elements in the story and often leaned toward a rather dark interpretation.  Although only three writers received screen credit in the final film, the number of writers who contributed significantly was closer to twenty, including a large portion written by the brilliant but notoriously alcoholic Herman J. Mankiewicz, who would go on to co-write CITIZEN KANE with Orson Welles just a couple of years later.  About nine months after work began, the completed script was finally submitted, but even on the film set, the script continued to receive revisions, additions and deletions.
During the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood, the film industry worked under the "studio system", wherein the "star" actors/actresses were all under contract with a specific studio and their contracts could be bought, borrowed or traded like sports team players.  The premier child star of the day was, without a doubt, Shirley Temple, and although producer Mervyn LeRoy stated otherwise, most sources indicate that Temple was the original pick to play Dorothy.  In any case, LeRoy was almost certainly pressured by MGM executives to cast Temple, but she was under contract with 20th Century Fox.  The documentary, THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: THE MAKING OF A MOVIE CLASSIC states that Temple did receive an unofficial audition, but it was decided that her style of singing did not fit the role.  As with many aspects of the production, many rumors and legends persist, one of which suggests that a deal existed for MGM to loan major stars Clark Gable and Jean Harlow to Fox in exchange for use of Temple before the deal fell through, but that story has been largely debunked, especially considering that Harlow died before MGM bought the rights in 1938.  Whatever the case, a young up-and-coming starlet recently under contract with MGM, was cast.  Minnesota-native and formerly a vaudevillian actress, Judy Garland (born Frances Gumm), who had previously appeared in a number of Mickey Rooney vehicles and had a distinctly jazzy style of singing, was reportedly the first choice of the film's producers, but finally was cast in the role after Temple was unavailable.  Garland was probably too old for the role at 16, but her famous blue-checkered dress was chosen in part to blur her figure, and her breasts were wrapped to be less prominent.  She was originally intended to also don a blond wig, but that was decided against before filming started.
The casting of the other roles and even the position of director saw a number of tumultuous changes as well.  Ray Bolger had been cast as the Tin Man and Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Scarecrow, but their roles were swapped after Bolger petitioned for the Scarecrow role in order to better display his fluid mannerisms.  Ebsen, who would later become famous for playing Jed Clampett in the popular television show The Beverly Hillbillies, began filming as the Tin Man, but was hospitalized for a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum powder makeup, and production was stalled temporarily before Jack Haley was brought in to replace him.  Iconic comedian W.C. Fields was originally cast as the Wizard, but after negotiations over pay fell through, MGM contract player Frank Morgan was cast, and Gale Sondergaard, later blacklisted in the 1950's as one of the "Hollywood Ten", abandoned her role as the Wicked Witch of the West over disagreements over interpretation and was replaced by Margaret Hamilton.  Filming began under MGM contract director Richard Thorrpe, but after two weeks of filming, LeRoy decided that Thorpe's schedule-concerned approach was negatively impacting the performances and tentatively replaced him with George Cukor, who never shot any scenes, but set what the final tone of the film would be before being moved to work on MGM's epic project, GONE WITH THE WIND.  Victor Fleming then took the director's reigns and saw the film to completion along the lines of Cukor's vision.
The Legacy
At $2.8 million to produce, distribute and market, the film was one of the more expensive films at the time and only made about $3 million in return, but received positive reviews.  It wasn't until the film's re-releases, the first being a decade later in 1949, that the film made a significant profit.  Today, the film is considered one of the greatest of all-time with the U.S. Library of Congress declaring it the most-watched film of all-time (although, admittedly, I have my money on Disney's SNOW WHITE), Rotten Tomatoes listing it as the best-reviewed fantasy film of all-time and the American Film Institute naming it the Greatest Fantasy Film of all-time, the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as the Greatest Movie Song of all-time, three different lines included in the 100 Greatest Movie Quotes, the Wicked Witch of the West as the fourth Greatest Movie Villain and the tenth Greatest Film overall.  Perhaps most significantly, the film was among the first selection of 25 films chosen for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1989 for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
THE WIZARD OF OZ has proven to be one of the most influential films of all-time and proved to be the harbinger of some of the most successful and significant film franchises of all-time, particularly exuding influence on George Lucas' STAR WARS (1977) and Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY (2001-2003) by establishing the foundations of "film world creation", basically the practice of introducing a novel universe in film including various fantasy-world creatures, environments, sciences, usually through use of special effects and creative makeup.  It was made when the 3-strip Technicolor color system was still new and was rarely used in features, though it was frequently used by Walt Disney Studios for animated shorts and their new animated features, but it was expensive and sometimes cumbersome to use.  In a time when color film was a novelty, the filmmakers had the remarkable insight to use the color film as a storytelling device, the effect of which has done a lot to create a timeless feeling to the feature.  Although re-releases and televised events until 1989 played the film with the Kansas scenes in black and white, the original and current version of the film has the scenes shot in sepia, to a superior effect.  The sepia-toned Kansas sequences create a rustic atmosphere that grounds those scenes in the real world of rural Texas with a cinematic quaintness, atmospheric, but paling in comparison to the vibrant world of Oz.  The scene when Dorothy first awakens in Oz is certainly one of the most cleverly crafted shots in the history of cinema as the tornado ends in sepia and the next shot is in color, but lowly lit to mask the effect until Dorothy opens the door to an Oz composed of bright and saturated colors.  The color film technology is used to the utmost potential with a red brick road that spirals with the yellow brick road, lush greenery, Glinda arriving in a pink bubble and a wicked witch with minty-green skin.  The Silver Slippers from Baum's book were changed to what are probably the most famous pieces of movie wardrobe of all-time, the Ruby Slippers, because the producers believed the ruby red colors would really pop in Technicolor.
The Anything but Humble and Still Apologetic Opinion
To be entirely honest, I must confess that I am not particularly fond of THE WIZARD OF OZ.  I do enjoy watching the film, but most particularly out of appreciation for the craft and obvious influence on so many movies since.  For myself, it rebounds a bit before it can really sink in, partly because I find certain elements of it to be more creepy than endearing.  I'm not referring to what's supposed to be creepy, like the flying monkeys or the witch, etc., but elements that most read as charming or otherwise appealing, such as the Munchkins, or more specifically, the Lollipop Guild.  I just think those little guys are creepy as hell, and I thought so when I was a child, too.  Their pent-up mini-masculinity a overly crafted male pattern baldness is just plain unnerving.  Other Munchkins are also very creepy, including, but not limited to, the Cleric, the Lullaby League and the Mayor.  The Cowardly Lion has also always lacked an appeal for me.  His appearance feels almost feminine in what assume is suppose to be regal, while his half-hearted, stylized pseudo-masculinity sometimes enters a slightly awkward territory.
Now I know I'm bound to catch hell for this, but a particularly bothersome thing for me is Judy Garland as Dorothy (I am so sorry to the gay community!).  She was a talented actress and a very fine vocalist, but I have the hardest time suspending my disbelief in order to accept her as a child.  She was 16 at the time, and I always see that.  It's a little unnerving to see her skipping about with her dog and perky performance as a character who's basically a young girl, and the effect feels similar to that of a woman role playing a 'little girl'.  I'm sorry, that sounds pretty harsh, but those issues are relevant to my unpopular opinion of the film.
But to a certain extent, I can get past those things, because I do like the film, but I don't really love it the way I'm "supposed" to.  On the other hand, I do love the craftsmanship onscreen, especially regarding the roles of the Scarecrow and the Wicked Witch.  The Scarecrow, as played by Ray Bolger, is a fantastic performance filled with very loose mannerisms as you'd imagine a walking, talking man made of straw might have.  Although there are many great examples of movie makeup throughout, I make special note of the Scarecrow makeup and costume with straw poking out all over and well-placed padding, and a collar that hangs down from where the burlap head has been "tied" and matching "burlap" face paint.  The Wicked Witch, as played by Margaret Hamilton is one of the most iconic film performances of all-time, building on witch stereotypes to ultimately define our modern perception of the classic witch with green skin, a gnarled nose and that distinct cackling.
And In Conclusion 
THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ will obviously display various influences from the 1939 classic, but a more likely influence will probably be Tim Burton's lackluster but visually bombastic ALICE IN WONDERLAND from 2010, a film which proved very lucrative, and like SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS in 1937, has resulted in a great deal of influence by opening the floodgates to the public domain properties of fairy tales with blockbuster potential such as RED RIDING HOOD (2011), MIRROR, MIRROR (2012), SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN (2012) and just last January, HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS.  Unfortunately, Burton's ALICE was a disappointingly poor film, utilizing an overdone "prophecy" plot line as an excuse for an out-of -control production design, special effects, action and a role for Johnny Depp.  However, the films that paved the way for it were great films, and the most significant influence appears to be mixture of the NARNIA franchise and the LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY, which in turn influenced the NARNIA films heavily, and a film that is a direct descendant of THE WIZARD OF OZ.  And while I have no illusions that THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OZ will hold a candle to its cinematic ancestors, here's hoping it will be a fine film adventure.