The Oz Anime Series ONLINE!!!

While the film industry at first feared the rise of video hosting sites, they've eventually warmed up to the idea and seen that they can be useful. Hulu, for example, streams licensed content, so you can catch up on your favorite television shows if you've missed them recently. YouTube now streams licensed movies and television shows. And across the pond in the UK, viewers can see their favorites on the BBC iPlayer.

Jaroo, a website that streams animated content, has apparently licensed the PanMedia anime series based on L. Frank Baum's Oz series. I blogged about the series sometime back when I'd been able to see the entire English series. After that, some people asked me to upload it to a file sharing site or send them copies, but now I'm glad I didn't give in, because now they can see the series legally and free of charge.

The series is uploaded at one episode a week, so it should take a year before the entire series is on the site. The site currently has the first several episodes of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" serial, as well as the *cough*terrible*cough* 90-minute abridgement of it.

Oz fans are already asking, "Can an official DVD release be far behind?" The answer still hangs at "maybe." If the series on Jaroo gets enough views, they may consider it. The reason why Cookie Jar (the owners of the English series) didn't release it before is that they didn't feel there was enough of a demand for it. But at least now they have finally released a way for you to see it. Go look!

Some Advice for Self-Publishing Writers: A Reader's View

Self-publishing has always been a way for Oz fans to share their Oz stories. With the rise of the internet and print-on-demand sites such as Lulu, the possibilities for Oz fans to share their stories grew exponentially.

Sadly, this has proved to be a mixed blessing. While you may have Oz fans publishing their stories to share them with the world (or reprint some books), you have other Oz fans who want to set themselves up as "published authors" by using such services.

Let me set something straight: it is not an accomplishment to put a book on Lulu. In fact, major publishers will ignore your work unless you have sold very well. (And don't even think that Hollywood would like to make a movie based on your book.)

Also, I really think that the producer of the work should not be so quick to label themselves as an author. An author produces quality work, and really, a writer should not be trusted to decide if their own work is quality.

Anyone who is writing any book would benefit from bringing in an editor who can critique the work and offer corrections. And the editor's advice should definitely be heeded. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. (Sadly, they often get a lot less.) Just about every professional author still has an editor aboard, and many writers have re-written stories from scratch at the editor's suggestion, realizing that their editor was definitely right and a better story was told because of it.

When it comes to Oz stories, I have one word: research. Stay well-read in Baum and any other books you might be deriving elements from. (Make sure to respect copyright laws!) And even if your book is not intended to work with the entire Famous Forty, there is usually no need to contradict any post-Baum books. (Get a copy of "Who's Who In Oz" for some quick reference.) You might even find it helpful to read up on the lives of the authors of those books, seeing what shaped their stories.

Be very careful when you make claims about continuity. One book I recently read claimed to be in line with Baum but contradicted several points. If the writer had said he was writing a new continuity, then there would have been no problem. If you're keeping in line with Baum, there should be no need to specify that you are.

About these differing continuities: handle them well. Think "will this be a take on Oz that could interest and not offend Oz fans?" "Is this too different from Baum's Oz?" I actually have a bit of advice. If you're going to make an Oz that feels nothing like Baum's Oz, why not make your own world instead of Oz and give yourself even more freedom? (Many fantasy and science fiction writers were clearly inspired by previous authors, including Baum, and some admit it..)

Also with differing continuities: be original with your plot. No one wants a retelling of a good book that already exists in a viable form. A certain book published a couple years ago claimed to be an original sequel to "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," ignoring all other sequels, and even said the reader would need to empty their mind of any other follow-ups to enjoy this book, while the book itself was a glorified re-write of "The Marvelous Land of Oz."

Another thing that irks me is the surprising number of people who want their book made into a movie. When it comes to Oz, not even all of Baum's books have been made into successful movies. (I even noted some time back that there has not been a theatrically-released Oz movie that was a financial success upon the initial release.) And why does the writer want a movie before they've made the effort to make braille and audio editions for the blind? And how about translating it into another language? If the work is so good that it could be a film, why not make the effort to put the work out there as much as possible?

In the end, being an author, even a self-published one, is going to take a lot more work than churning out a story and putting it on a print-on-demand service. You have a responsibility to your readers that should not be taken lightly.

Hey, all

Some of you may have noticed something shocking: I haven't been online much recently! Yep, no posts on Twitter (save a few yesterday), no posts on the International Wizard of Oz Club Forums, and no e-mails.

The reason? No, I haven't sworn off the internet or Oz, the fact is, I just moved in with my sister and her husband (who shall henceforth be called Audrey and Shaun). They do have internet access, but only one modem. We're going to get a router next weekend, so we can split the connection between their computer, my computer, and the Wii (Ah-ha! You knew there was definitely some temptation there...), so until then, I'm limiting my time online to an extreme minimum to be respectful to my new housemates.

No worries, my computer is hooked up and on, so I can still work on Oz projects on it. There's also a few blogs I need to post that I can type up, so there'll be a few ready to post then.

Also, when I signed in to write this, I saw Sam has posted his first blog here. Hopefully he can help keep this blog from going completely dead until then...

See you all next week!

My (Sam's) First Oz Blog on Jared's Royal Blog of Oz

Even though I have been granted co-authorship of posting blogs here by Jared, I still firmly believe this is his property . . . I am merely a guest. Who rarely blogs, if at all.

Plus this way I actually get to see something new on Jared's Royal Oz Blog, while i wait for him . . .

I had been asked "Why not talk about 'Sam's Take on "Wicked"?' and that is reasonable, having read the book . . . but I should make my first Oz Blog on a book from a subject I don't like? Not yet!

So something better . . . Today I went into the city to see Terry Gilliam's "the Imaginorium of Dr Parnassus" (the final film with Heath Ledger). The session was at 12:30 so I had plenty of time before the screening. Bought Brunch (you know: breakfast AND lunch in one), looked around the Queen Victoria Building (what a Christmas tree they put up!! One couple kindly asked me to take a photo of them near the top of the tree - which I did) and did a bit of $pending.
Went into JB-Hifi to see if I could get myself one or two clear double-disk DVD cases - none there! INSTEAD, I found, surprisingly . . . all three 70th Anniversary Editions of MGM's the Wizard of Oz: the 2-dsk DVD (only HERE in Aus it is labelled "sing along version" and the cover is extra decorated with the music symbols), the 4-disk DVD and the Blu-Ray. Looking on both back covers of the larger sets, they did/do have the 52-page commemorative book, but the Blu-Ray also has a CD of the movie/soundtrack . . . . I already have the songs on the 2-dsk Deluxe soundtrack (which my best friend Angelo Scandura got me)

Still deciding and waiting to get the DVD and Blu-Ray of WB's possession of MGM's adaptation of Wizard/Oz.


Hope you all liked my first Oz Blog . . . it was longer than I thought.


Oh and terry Gilliam's movie? It was good, some people around me laughed at some parts of the movie, quite stylish at times (I often wish Oz would be given detailed fashion and style in a faithful presentation, but not too overwhelming to the story) sometimes it brought to mind Alice/Looking Glass . . . IN FACT, the Disney Trailer for Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" finally showed itself on Australian Cinema screens; only this time instead of Johnny Depp/Mad Hatter laughing, came this:

ALICE (audio): That's impossible . . . !
MAD HATTER (shows face): Only if you believe it so.

White Rabbit goes on to point/tap his watch as normal.

A lovely Oz poster!

I don't normally post links to merchandise, but I got a link to this poster e-mailed to me today:

This poster was created for the Winkie Convention this year, used for the back cover of the convention book. (I remember looking at it and wondering where it came from.)

If you're interested, here is a link to where you can buy one directly from the artist, Jed Alexander. It's $14 USD, plus shipping. I'd buy one now if I wasn't moving.

Bits of Oz

Sorry for not blogging in awhile. Haven't had many Ozzy topics on my mind recently.

Something that may be of interest to some readers is that I'm moving in with Audrey and Shaun, my sister and her husband, so we can help each other out. It'll be beneficial to us all. It might even loosen up finances enough for me to finally make it to an Oz convention next year!

I read an Oz book I bought, The Ork in Oz. A pretty fun story, a few faults (including that the author overlooked the Ork's name in The Scarecrow of Oz and gave him a new name, though the name Baum gave the Ork is pretty easy to miss...), illustrations not exactly to my liking, but overall, a good book.

I've also been working on the next podcast and the Oz book I'm writing. I got the plot figured out, and written the first two chapters' first draft. Don't expect me to put the book here, though, as I think it might be a fun story to read in book form. (There will be a free PDF, though.)

I've also been messing about with OpenOffice, free software that includes a word processing program, and been using it to design books to give to my family at Christmas.

And I've taken a few shots at The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, the English translation of the DS game Riz-Zoawd. Nice music, nice graphics, but I've some problems. Coins are hard to find, and weapons and armor upgrades are kind of pricey. ("Money in Oz? What a strange idea! Do you think we are so vulgar as to use money here?") It's difficult to tell where you're going, where you've been, and although the trackball control is interesting, it gets a bit hard to handle.

My biggest problem are the battle scenes. I've played some turn-based battle games before, but this is the strangest I've seen it. You select which characters will fight, what they will do, and let your round of "turns" go from there. I've had times when a character will go in with a pretty high health bar and will "fall" in battle. The lack of being able to control exactly what you will do on each turn and it being unpredictable how many attacks the enemies will make during the round makes it pretty difficult. You can't make the characters defend themselves when they're being attacked, so the cost is heavy. (You can set a character to a defensive mode, but seeing as that would make them do nothing, you'll either have them attack or you'd use another character.)

Welcome to an Oz where money is there, but rare, and death is common.

Probably the most fun is you get to name your characters. My party consisted of Dorothy, Strashee, Lion, and Nick. (The Lion joins you after the Scarecrow here.)

All that Oz and nothing to say...

A little bonus

Here's a little behind-the-scenes clip from the first podcast. (I'm working on getting the next complete episode finished soon.) Visit the site here, or just use the player below, to hear a giggling American, a distracted Aussie, and a tired yet amused Scot:

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Heavy Oz Crossword #2

Sorry folks. I had to update this one. There was a blank square that was placed in a rather confusing location, and one word had one too many spaces, so I took it out. (It should not affect the rest of the crossword.) If you've already printed your crossword, just mark out those boxes by comparing your printed one with the one that's on here right now.

My take on MGM

With the 70th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz winding down, I managed to finally collect my thoughts about it.

MGM's The Wizard of Oz isn't one of my favorite movies, Oz or otherwise, but I do enjoy it. I've read a large percentage of L. Frank Baum's works that I guess my view of Oz is pretty tainted by it... (Which is an odd term, considering that they inspired the MGM movie.)

The MGM movie is a tribute to the themes of Baum's story as much as it is an adaptation. It also pays a large tribute to the popular stage production, in its songs, costumes, and set designs. And it was made suitable for people of the late 1930's, and somehow has managed to entertain and delight audiences to this day.

But it's not my Oz! But that doesn't mean I hate it.

Baum created an entire fantasy world in his works, not just limited to Oz. From bordering countries outside the Deadly Desert to islands to places in the sky to kingdoms under the sea and underground. This world was expansive and opened the doors for many stories, only a few of which I believe he actually got to tell.

Although he made Oz a place where anything could (and did) happen, Baum set rules for his stories that followed logic mixed with nonsense. Somehow, he found the right balance that enchanted readers for 20 years. This is an element I've found missing in many Oz stories after Baum's initial fourteen.

In the MGM film, Baum's amazing world is made into a dream, that, like I mentioned above, owes a lot to stage traditions of musicals and set and costume design. While I can understand the need of this for the film audience of the day, for a well-read Baum enthusiast like yours truly, it's kind of a put-off.

All the same, it is a tribute to Baum's world and how it could be adapted to film, with songs and vibrant color. That's why I don't despise it.

The Wizard of Oz - 70th Anniversary Edition DVD Review

All right, let's jump into this...

MGM's The Wizard of Oz has enjoyed a long life in movie theaters, on television, and, through the past 30 years, home video. From VHS to laserdisc to DVD, it's appeared on every home video format. Just last Tuesday, it made it's Blu-Ray debut, continuing its pattern of continuing on into the next home video format.

However, I did not buy the Blu-Ray, as I am not equipped with HD playback hardware. I did, however, get the DVD.

This is the first DVD release to have the film and special features encompass four discs. Most DVD releases use dual-layer (or DVD-9) discs, which can usually present four hours of high-quality video, but usually, most releases restrict it to about three.

Owners of the 2005 3-disc release will be struck with Deja Vu as they pop in the first disc. The menus are the same as that release, the only new special feature being a singalong feature.

The other difference from this and the 2005 disc is that the version of the movie used is different. This is taken from the new high-definition restoration, but as there is only so much DVD can show, the restoration is likely best appreciated on Blu-Ray. Here, the historic feel of the film is restored by retaining the film grain. However, there have been some touch-ups done. Some wires have been removed. (E.g. The wire animating the Cowardly Lion's tail, which I didn't notice until the 2005 release, was visible during "If I Were King Of The Forest" but has now been removed.) Overall, the way the film looks is excellent, but I'm not ready to pitch my copy of the 2005 release yet.

I found it odd that one special feature on Disc 1 was simply repeated: "Prettier Than Ever: The Restoration Of Oz" relates how the film was restored for the 2005 release. As this is a completely new restoration, the retaining of this feature feels odd.

Another odd thing is that while the supporting cast of The Wizard of Oz is profiled in a series of features called We Haven't Really Met Properly, no biographical information about the star, Judy Garland, is presented anywhere on the set. Also retained is an animated storybook adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, narrated by Angela Lansbury and using the original illustrations by W.W. Denslow, the audio commentary, as well as an isolated score and effects track, and the original mono audio track.

The singalong feature, for most viewers and movie collectors, is not of much interest. You can choose to watch the movie with subtitles that change color in time with the songs, or watch clips with the songs and the subtitles running.

Disc 2 is a complete copy of the second disc of the 2005 editions, down to the menus. All of the special features are the same. As this is also the second disc of the special 2-disc release, it offers an array of special features that would make a 2-disc set satisfying. Notable features are The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic, Memories of Oz, Because of the Wonderful Things It Does: The Legacy of Oz, deleted scenes (though only one, an extended version of "If I Only Had A Brain," is a true deleted scene), test footage, trailers, and a variety of audio-only features.

Disc 3 offers new material for owners of the 2005 3-disc set. First off is a career profile of director Victor Fleming, the director who received the sole screen credit for The Wizard of Oz. Given that it encompasses his entire career, and not just Oz, I was expecting it to also appear on Gone With The Wind's upcoming release. I've since discovered that it is not listed among the features on that release.

Also new is a 10-minute segment covering the Munchkins receiving their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's a great tribute to what may sadly be one the diminutive actors' last big events.

Then, there's the movie The Dreamer of Oz from 1990. This has never been released to home video, but the copy Warner Brothers procured for the release was sadly not of the highest quality. There's a flickering scan line effect going on, and the picture almost looks double-exposed, with one exposure slightly off register, and a little faint. It is a watchable release, however.

The Dreamer of Oz follows L. Frank Baum from the time he met Maud Gage to the success of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is told by Maud Gage Baum at the premiere of the 1939 movie to a reporter who recognizes her. (The 1939 scenes are in black and white, while the scenes retelling Baum's life are in color.) However, the movie is a dramatization of someone's life, and as usual, many points are fictionalized. Perhaps I find these more irritating than most viewers would, as I've done a lot of research about Baum and his works, but I tend to take Dreamer only for entertainment value.

The disc is rounded out with three features from 2005's third disc: the 1910 Wonderful Wizard of Oz silent film, Ted Eshbaugh's 1933 Wizard of Oz cartoon, and a documentary about Baum's life that made its debut on the 2005 set.

Disc four is Warner Brother's version of a DVD set that has been released and re-released by many different companies: it presents the four silent features based on the Oz stories.

The Patchwork Girl of Oz was the first film produced by the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, and here, you get a clean transfer. However, the feature has not been scored, and the elegant title screen, missing or marred in other releases, is shown darkly (although it is seen clearly in disc 3's Baum documentary).

The Magic Cloak of Oz is actually an adaptation of Baum's Queen Zixi of Ix, given a bit of an Oz connection in name only. (The book was part of Baum's extended Oz universe, so it's not too much of a stretch.) Warner's release here now offers the longer version that has been previously only been in private collections and screened at Oz conventions. It is longer with more shots, and some humorous scenes. Sadly, it shares Patchwork Girl's problem of no scoring, and the transfer is rather dark, and some intertitles are very hard to read.

The other two features, His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz from 1914, and the 1925 silent fiasco The Wizard of Oz from Larry Semon, are directly ported over from the 2005 sets, with scorings. An improvement over the last set is that chapter breaks are now present for all the silent features.

There is also a digital copy disc with a standard definition copy of the MGM movie. I have not evaluated this, as I do not have a portable video device and do not intend to keep the movie on my computer.

The four discs are housed in folding case, that lists the special features, is colored mainly in green and silver, and decorated with a photograph, artwork, and some quotes. Each of the discs shows Dorothy and one of her four friends as she met them.

When it comes to new material, some owners of the 2005 3-disc may feel disappointed, or put off of getting this set.

There were several printed materials included with the 2005 3-disc Collector's Edition, but none of these are reproduced here. Instead, we have a scaled-down reproduction of the original lavish campaign book for advertising aid to promote the film, the production budget is reproduced, and there is a 52-page full-color book by John Fricke about the production of the film, something, he even notes, has already been very well documented. My copy had some weird black streaks on some of the pages. There is also the watch in a tin. With a green strap, it has a beautiful faceplate. (My wrists are too large for it, though.)

This is all housed in a lavish box decorated with publicity photographs. The box set containing the DVDs can be lifted out and stored on a shelf (and the 2005 3-disc Collector's Edition can be put in its place).

Overall, a nice package!