Oh, silly hat day...

[kseda]

...I wish I knew how to quit you.

Ahem. I've devoured three and a half of the Baum books in the past week: Wonderful Wizard of Oz, then a compilation which has Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz which I skimmed but need to get back to because the Nome King is hysterical, and now I'm working on Emerald City of Oz. This last one reads as most glorious

Comments

[kseda]

Assorted observations:
1. Screw the Scarecrow, Glitch is Jack Pumpkinhead. You know it in your heart to be true. If anything the Scarecrow resembles my headcanon Ambrose, which should shock just about no one.

2. Speaking of, Scarecrow and Nick Chopper's epic bromance makes me giggle more than it needs to.

3. The Nome King is my new favorite, ever. Or maybe Kaliko, because bitchy Stewards are always entertaining (until they get thrown away).

4. The purpose of traipsing about Oz seems to focus on finding strange and wonderous peoples and breaking all their stuff. And them.

5. Changing Dorothy's speech patterns after the first book is really obnoxious. I'm just saying.

[gkingsley]

#4 FTW \0/ Seriously.

[kseda]

It's hilarious. "Oh, we are going to the land of Waxytaxton, where all the people and all the homes are made of candlewax. We shall take care not to melt them!"

*two hours later our heroes depart to cheerful waves from half-melted folk*

[amedia]

The purpose of traipsing about Oz seems to focus on finding strange and wonderous peoples and breaking all their stuff. And them.

I heard a very interesting paper at the Oz conference by a historian who described the late 19th-century U.S. "rescue" (read: takeover) of Cuba, the Philippines, etc. in some horrifying detail, and then proposed that Baum's description of these incidents was intended both to remind us of what the U.S. was doing and to encourage a different approach. Thus:

Dorothy & Co. damaging the little china people, especially their church = U.S. imperialism damaging indigenous populations, including disrespecting their religion.

Dorothy & Co., bless their hearts, actually LEAVING when requested =/= (as opposed to) U.S. just clamping down harder when indigenous peoples indicate their discontent.

I'm not entirely convinced that that's what Baum was intending to say in the books, but I thought it was a very compelling interpretation nonetheless.

[theredoormouse]

So. Other canons!

"Return To Oz". It is canon that she totally loves the Scarecrow best. Plus, we get to see the Nome King in high heels which is a real Rocky Horror moment for me every time.

I could never really get through the books. I feel like a terrible fan and a terrible librarian for saying that but it's true. Please don't make me turn in my silly hat. I just don't like his writing style. *sad face*

I do, however, fully endorse the use of his maps, but only if you include all the porcelain people. *Nod*

[kseda]

*staples map-hat to your head*Nope, you don't get out of it so easy.

It is canon that she totally loves the Scarecrow best.

I wish I could remember the proper line but "You've come all this way just for a scarecrow" made me giggle. Loads.

I have concluded that someone must make a joke about Glitch being somehow related to the dainty china people, since he's pale like a thing which is incredibly pale. Also easily breakable *eyedart*

[theredoormouse]

*staples map-hat to your head*Nope, you don't get out of it so easy.

You know you're a great friend when I can't tell if I should hug you or rush myself to the emergency ward. <3

I have concluded that someone must make a joke about Glitch being somehow related to the dainty china people

Hear the one about the headcase who's related to the chinadoll people?

[amedia]

I read the second book (which I'm rereading right now, yay) and some of the others as a youngling, and for the rest of my childhood I thought it was perfectly normal for [SPOILERS - SELECT TO READ THE NEXT LINE] heroes to turn into heroines at the drop of a spell.

I didn't remember the author's introduction, which I read (or reread) this time around, in which he describes the flood of letters he got from young readers and movie-watchers begging for more stories about - not Dorothy and Toto - not the Wizard or the Witch - *drumroll* - the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman!!!! Which did, in fact, warp my perception of Tin Man, because I remembered how cute they were together in the books. (Which also seemed perfectly normal at the time.)

[erinm_4600]

TM fits into my general love of Oz rather well, but it's still not Oz...

I think I've hit the full gambit of versions... Oddly, I was thinking about this yesterday, on the way home. FREAKY.

My favorite version of Oz is, hands down, WoO in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995)

Irony: Joel Grey plays the Wizard. which isn't really so much irony, as he replaced Robert Morse, but whatever!

I don't really have a good excuse, past Nathan Lane PWNED Lion...

* Return to Oz has always struck me as being the closest to the books - even if it does scare the holy %$*)*%^)$ out of me, even now.

* I've recently become a bit obsessed with The Wiz. Granted, I'm a white girl from Wyoming, so NYC in the late 70s is a bit past my understanding, but I think the story holds true. plus, I'm a sucker for a musical

* I have to give love to 1939, of course, for Ray Bolger. because, well.. he's Ray Bolger.

*book!Wicked I have issues with, but the general idea behind it I ADORE. Half of history is hiding the truth, etc. stage!Wicked is epic and has a better

[oddsbobs]

I just watched Return to Oz. I liked it. I have no real thinky thoughts at the moment.