Thompson's book for 1931. The title: Pirates in Oz. The cover, a boy and a scruffy, bearded pirate on the rigging of a ship at sea. What does this indicate? Adventure! But will Thompson deliver?
So, where do we begin? Ruggedo, still mute from last time, has managed to leave Oz and is heading south along the Ev coastline. He comes across the the Land of Menankypoo, where he is made the dumb king, as he is mute, but also passes a series of tests pretending to be stupid.
As he explores, he finds a cave, with some magic tools, including a pond that restores his speech, and a Clocker, a Cuckoo Clock man that dispenses wise advice every fifteen minutes.
As Ruggedo is leaving the cave, Menankypoo is attacked by pirates. All the people are thrown into the sea. (They don't die, as Menankypoo is still part of fairyland.) Ruggedo and Clocker decide to enlist the pirates to help them conquer Oz. The pirates agree.
Meanwhile, King Ato, the king of the Octagon Isle, and Roger the Read Bird, receive two unexpected guests. The first is Captain Samuel Salt, who has been deserted by his pirate crew. Still, the appearance of his ship made all the other inhabitants of the Octagon Isle flee in a ship. The second guest is Peter, who got shipwrecked, and has found a flask marked simply "Do not open." Captain Salt decides to take Ato, Peter, and Roger as his new crew, and they set sail.
Along their journey, Captain Salt encounter strange and interesting islands. All of these are plenty of fun to read about, actually. Eventually, they add Pigasus, a winged pig, to the crew.
They arrive at Menankypoo, where they discover the Octagon Islanders arrived and joined the pirates, who are going to conquer Oz, as Clocker has devised a way to cross the desert. The flask accidentally opens, and it makes Captain Salt's ship fly. They use it to go to Oz, while Pigasus carries Peter to the Emerald City. They find Ruggedo has already captured the Magic Belt and is holding Ozma and her court at his mercy.
Pigasus and Peter go to attack Ruggedo, but he renders them motionless with a magic stick. The most good they do is Pigasus swallowing Clocker's cuckoo, rendering him unable to dispense advice.
Meanwhile, Roger theorizes that closing the flask will make the ship go back down, so they land in the Emerald City, and it is Captain Salt who grabs Ruggedo and Roger removes the Magic Belt and restores it to Ozma. She turns Ruggedo in a stone jug and restores everyone else, including the other pirates and the Octagon islanders, who he had turned into cobblestones.
The Octagon Islanders are all returned home, and all the pirates are turned into seagulls, Ozma explaining that this will allow them to enjoy the sea while being unable to harm anyone, and Clocker is rebuilt to have gentle intentions. Captain Salt is made Royal Discover and Explorer of Oz, who will claim new countries for Oz. Ato decides he will spend half his time serving as Captain Salt's cook. Meanwhile, Peter returns home.
Overall, Pirates in Oz is a fun story, introducing some lovable new characters. I actually found myself laughing aloud at Pigasus' introduction. Captain Salt is one of Thompson's better characters: he's a pirate who doesn't ruthlessly pillage, take prisoners, or even make people walk the plank. He's a good natured "bad guy."
My only concern is that now Thompson has had less harsh punishments for her villains, but now transforming them all seems a bit off for Ozma. Consider that Ozma spent her early years transformed. Furthermore, transformations do not reform character, and just dehumanizes the character, literally.
And we'll see a bit more of that...
Anyways, go ahead and give Pirates in Oz a read.
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Peter vs. Speedy
Most of the young Americans who journeyed to Oz in L. Frank Baum's books were girls, with Button-Bright being the major exception. In Ruth Plumly Thompson's books, however, more American boys made their way into Oz. The first such was Bobbie Downs, renamed Bob Up by his companion Notta Bit More. He is a sad, solemn boy, raised in a Dickensian sort of orphanage that didn't even allow laughing. Like Notta, he's a bit over the top, so it's not too surprising that Thompson never used him in a major role after that. She does much better with her second American child character, Peter Brown. He appears in three of her books, and his last name actually isn't mentioned until the last of these. I've already said a bit about him in this post, but I really didn't go into much detail. I'm not sure we ever find out what happened to Peter's parents, but he lives with his grandfather in Philadelphia, Thompson's own hometown. He is an active, athletic kid, primarily interested in baseball, but also interested in other outdoor pursuits. He has been on camping trips, and knows how to milk a goat and prepare simple meals. Peter is quite concerned with how his peers view him, and has some typically masculine aspirations, being secretly excited at the prospect of being a Nome general and a pirate. While I'm not sure the jock stereotype existed in the twenties, and Peter doesn't come across as anti-intellectual (and he's read an Oz book before visiting the magical country), he still comes across as a little too typical-boyish for me to identify with him very much.
Right in the midst of the books with Peter as a protagonist comes another boy hero, known as Speedy. His real name is William, but his last name is never stated. He lives with his uncle, who appears to have been largely based on William J. Hammer, a friend of Thompson's father whom she called "Uncle Billy." In Speedy in Oz, it is revealed that Speedy's Uncle Billy's full name is William J. Harmstead, and that Speedy was named after him. Ruth Waara's Umbrella Island in Oz gives Speedy the last name Harmstead as well, while March Laumer calls him William Rapidan. Speedy's parents died while exploring the South Seas, so he is now in the custody of Uncle Billy, and dwelling in Garden City, Long Island. Like Peter, he is quite active, and in fact his nickname comes partially from his own skill at baseball. Uncle Billy is a scientist and inventor, however, and some of his intellectual interests seem to have rubbed off on his nephew. While Speedy finds paleontology a boring idea, he comes to temporarily serve as a wizard's assistant, a job that I'm not sure Peter would have wanted. When The Yellow Knight of Oz was up for discussion, J. L. Bell made another interesting observation, which is that Peter never really leaves his masculine comfort zone. His only female companion, aside from the Bananny Goat who is written out of the story rather quickly, is the somewhat tomboyish Scraps. Speedy, on the other hand, has female companions in both of his adventures, and he develops crushes on both of them. I suppose you could say Speedy is like Peter with stronger hormones, or something like that.
The fates of both boys remain up in the air, which I suppose is appropriate for Peter, who mentions more than once that he wants to be a pilot. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, though, as a lot of children have career aspirations that they don't actually see through when they grow up. As for Speedy, there's a strong hint at the end of his own book that he will eventually return to Umbrella Island and marry the princess, but there's no official confirmation that this ever came to pass. Assuming the two of them didn't relocate to Oz or elsewhere before the United States entered World War II, they're both of the right age to have served in the war. Speedy has its title character actually considering joining the Navy, but again, who knows whether this ever actually happened? I like to think that people who have visited Oz remain somehow connected to the land, so I doubt either character's fairyland adventures ended even if they did decide to remain in the Great Outside World and become adults.
So, since Thompson's American boy protagonists improved throughout her term as Royal Historian of Oz, does that hold true for the books she had published later? Unfortunately, not really. Tompy Terry from Yankee is a prodigy at both marching band AND sports, giving the impression of someone who is just too perfect. Enchanted Island's David Perry is pleasant enough, but we never really get that much of a sense of his character. He plays hockey and likes dogs better than cats, but those are minor details.
Right in the midst of the books with Peter as a protagonist comes another boy hero, known as Speedy. His real name is William, but his last name is never stated. He lives with his uncle, who appears to have been largely based on William J. Hammer, a friend of Thompson's father whom she called "Uncle Billy." In Speedy in Oz, it is revealed that Speedy's Uncle Billy's full name is William J. Harmstead, and that Speedy was named after him. Ruth Waara's Umbrella Island in Oz gives Speedy the last name Harmstead as well, while March Laumer calls him William Rapidan. Speedy's parents died while exploring the South Seas, so he is now in the custody of Uncle Billy, and dwelling in Garden City, Long Island. Like Peter, he is quite active, and in fact his nickname comes partially from his own skill at baseball. Uncle Billy is a scientist and inventor, however, and some of his intellectual interests seem to have rubbed off on his nephew. While Speedy finds paleontology a boring idea, he comes to temporarily serve as a wizard's assistant, a job that I'm not sure Peter would have wanted. When The Yellow Knight of Oz was up for discussion, J. L. Bell made another interesting observation, which is that Peter never really leaves his masculine comfort zone. His only female companion, aside from the Bananny Goat who is written out of the story rather quickly, is the somewhat tomboyish Scraps. Speedy, on the other hand, has female companions in both of his adventures, and he develops crushes on both of them. I suppose you could say Speedy is like Peter with stronger hormones, or something like that.
The fates of both boys remain up in the air, which I suppose is appropriate for Peter, who mentions more than once that he wants to be a pilot. This doesn't necessarily mean anything, though, as a lot of children have career aspirations that they don't actually see through when they grow up. As for Speedy, there's a strong hint at the end of his own book that he will eventually return to Umbrella Island and marry the princess, but there's no official confirmation that this ever came to pass. Assuming the two of them didn't relocate to Oz or elsewhere before the United States entered World War II, they're both of the right age to have served in the war. Speedy has its title character actually considering joining the Navy, but again, who knows whether this ever actually happened? I like to think that people who have visited Oz remain somehow connected to the land, so I doubt either character's fairyland adventures ended even if they did decide to remain in the Great Outside World and become adults.
So, since Thompson's American boy protagonists improved throughout her term as Royal Historian of Oz, does that hold true for the books she had published later? Unfortunately, not really. Tompy Terry from Yankee is a prodigy at both marching band AND sports, giving the impression of someone who is just too perfect. Enchanted Island's David Perry is pleasant enough, but we never really get that much of a sense of his character. He plays hockey and likes dogs better than cats, but those are minor details.
Friday, December 03, 2010
More Magic Sled!
If you haven't heard the latest podcast yet, I got some extra links!
David Maxine on the Hungry Tiger Press blog offers not only the complete text, but all the illustrations the story has ever had!
Here's my examination of the story from last year, when I went through all of the Santa Claus stories by the authors of the Famous Forty (and their adaptations).
The story "The Magic Sled" was selected very early on out of a small number of Oz-related Christmas short stories. Instead of sending out casting requests, Mike Conway was contacted to narrate again, and reprise the role of Santa Claus, the same task he'd had in last year's Christmas podcast.
I'd already thought of having one of my little brothers voice Bobby, and it happened to be my baby brother Daniel, who visited one day. His dialogue was recorded in less than ten minutes with only a couple re-takes.
I'd contacted Kim McFarland and another Oz author to voice Bobby's mother. Kim almost immediately recorded her lines and sent them to me. The other person was unsure of how to record, so when I informed them that Kim had already recorded, I graciously let them drop out.
The editing of the story was finished in a half hour, with my introduction and conclusion added, as well as a score behind it.
So, the podcast is up and ready for you to share this holiday season. Merry Christmas!
David Maxine on the Hungry Tiger Press blog offers not only the complete text, but all the illustrations the story has ever had!
Here's my examination of the story from last year, when I went through all of the Santa Claus stories by the authors of the Famous Forty (and their adaptations).
The story "The Magic Sled" was selected very early on out of a small number of Oz-related Christmas short stories. Instead of sending out casting requests, Mike Conway was contacted to narrate again, and reprise the role of Santa Claus, the same task he'd had in last year's Christmas podcast.
I'd already thought of having one of my little brothers voice Bobby, and it happened to be my baby brother Daniel, who visited one day. His dialogue was recorded in less than ten minutes with only a couple re-takes.
I'd contacted Kim McFarland and another Oz author to voice Bobby's mother. Kim almost immediately recorded her lines and sent them to me. The other person was unsure of how to record, so when I informed them that Kim had already recorded, I graciously let them drop out.
The editing of the story was finished in a half hour, with my introduction and conclusion added, as well as a score behind it.
So, the podcast is up and ready for you to share this holiday season. Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Good Knight, Everybody
Since I've been confirmed as a writer for this blog, I might as well write something, right? I've been making Oz posts on my LiveJournal and then my WordPress for some time now, and I feel like I'm running out of topics. Since Jared recently wrote about Yellow Knight, however, I feel it might not be a bad idea to revisit this post on Sir Hokus of Pokes that I made last year. I updated it a bit as well, and left out the parts on Ploppa. Let me know what you think of this idea.
Sir Hokus of Pokes is known by that name due to his spending several centuries imprisoned in the dull, sleepy city of Pokes. It's there that Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion find him during the events of The Royal Book of Oz, and help him to escape at long last. He's an impulsive old man, always wanting to go on a quest or slay a monster, and often looking at things through the lens of medieval romance. Sort of like Don Quixote, actually. Unlike seventeenth-century Spain, however, Oz actually has giants and dragons. They're just not quite what the good knight expects.
Sir Hokus is quickly accepted as part of Ozma's court, and makes at least token appearances in most of the first few Thompson Oz books. There are several references to his being seven centuries old, and strong hints that he originated in King Arthur's England. Arthur is generally thought to have lived in the sixth century or so if he existed at all, but this was some time prior to the era of knights in armor. Over the years, the Arthurian legend came to incorporate a lot of anachronistic material, and the castle with the Round Table and all that is probably much closer to the thirteenth century or so, which would make it about right for Hokus' seven centuries. It doesn't really matter in the end, however, as Yellow Knight reveals that the knight isn't from Merrie Olde England after all, but rather from a long-lost kingdom in the Winkie Country. The book confirms that Hokus is 700 years old, but the kingdoms of Corumbia and Corabia had only been enchanted for 500. The neighboring sultanate of Samandra is also said to have inhabitants who were up to seven centuries old, so some Oz scholars have taken this to mean that Ozites gained immortality sometime around the early thirteenth century. This doesn't really fit too well with other references throughout the series, however. Are we supposed to believe, for instance, that Nick Chopper's account of his life in Wizard, which includes his parents dying, spans 700 years? Also, would Prince Corum really have waited until he was 200 years old to leave his kingdom in search of a bride? Immortal or not, that's a little difficult to swallow. And why would Hokus not have remembered Oz and been surprised by the Cowardly Lion's talking when he was an Ozian native with a talking horse?
In addition to these questions, a lot of fans object to the ending of Yellow Knight because it essentially destroys the character of Sir Hokus. Is a handsome young knight in a familiar land anywhere near as interesting as a blustery old knight out of his element? Thompson obviously had fun writing Hokus, so why eliminate the character by giving him a happy ending? John R. Neill apparently felt the same way, because his books bring back the old Sir Hokus. Is this a continuity error? Well, not necessarily. Since Thompson seems to have thought of her books as occurring roughly one per year, that means about ten years passed in between Yellow Knight and Wonder City, which would be plenty of time for Corum to have aged back into his familiar appearance. Since aging is optional in Thompson's Oz, that would leave open the question as to why he wanted to, but maybe he didn't even think about it. After spending so many years as the aged knight, he might have naturally lapsed back into that role. And just because Neill's books never mention Marygolden doesn't mean she isn't still around. Interestingly, when Thompson returned to Oz with Yankee, she mentions Sir Hokus (not the Yellow Knight) as a resident of Ozma's palace. It looks like even she might have regretted changing him at the end of Yellow Knight.
Sir Hokus of Pokes is known by that name due to his spending several centuries imprisoned in the dull, sleepy city of Pokes. It's there that Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion find him during the events of The Royal Book of Oz, and help him to escape at long last. He's an impulsive old man, always wanting to go on a quest or slay a monster, and often looking at things through the lens of medieval romance. Sort of like Don Quixote, actually. Unlike seventeenth-century Spain, however, Oz actually has giants and dragons. They're just not quite what the good knight expects.
Sir Hokus is quickly accepted as part of Ozma's court, and makes at least token appearances in most of the first few Thompson Oz books. There are several references to his being seven centuries old, and strong hints that he originated in King Arthur's England. Arthur is generally thought to have lived in the sixth century or so if he existed at all, but this was some time prior to the era of knights in armor. Over the years, the Arthurian legend came to incorporate a lot of anachronistic material, and the castle with the Round Table and all that is probably much closer to the thirteenth century or so, which would make it about right for Hokus' seven centuries. It doesn't really matter in the end, however, as Yellow Knight reveals that the knight isn't from Merrie Olde England after all, but rather from a long-lost kingdom in the Winkie Country. The book confirms that Hokus is 700 years old, but the kingdoms of Corumbia and Corabia had only been enchanted for 500. The neighboring sultanate of Samandra is also said to have inhabitants who were up to seven centuries old, so some Oz scholars have taken this to mean that Ozites gained immortality sometime around the early thirteenth century. This doesn't really fit too well with other references throughout the series, however. Are we supposed to believe, for instance, that Nick Chopper's account of his life in Wizard, which includes his parents dying, spans 700 years? Also, would Prince Corum really have waited until he was 200 years old to leave his kingdom in search of a bride? Immortal or not, that's a little difficult to swallow. And why would Hokus not have remembered Oz and been surprised by the Cowardly Lion's talking when he was an Ozian native with a talking horse?
In addition to these questions, a lot of fans object to the ending of Yellow Knight because it essentially destroys the character of Sir Hokus. Is a handsome young knight in a familiar land anywhere near as interesting as a blustery old knight out of his element? Thompson obviously had fun writing Hokus, so why eliminate the character by giving him a happy ending? John R. Neill apparently felt the same way, because his books bring back the old Sir Hokus. Is this a continuity error? Well, not necessarily. Since Thompson seems to have thought of her books as occurring roughly one per year, that means about ten years passed in between Yellow Knight and Wonder City, which would be plenty of time for Corum to have aged back into his familiar appearance. Since aging is optional in Thompson's Oz, that would leave open the question as to why he wanted to, but maybe he didn't even think about it. After spending so many years as the aged knight, he might have naturally lapsed back into that role. And just because Neill's books never mention Marygolden doesn't mean she isn't still around. Interestingly, when Thompson returned to Oz with Yankee, she mentions Sir Hokus (not the Yellow Knight) as a resident of Ozma's palace. It looks like even she might have regretted changing him at the end of Yellow Knight.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
The Royal Podcast of Oz: The Magic Sled
For our Christmas episode, we present Jack Snow's short story The Magic Sled, a story about a little boy named Bobby who receives a sled for his birthday just before Christmas.
Narrated by Mike Conway, with the voice talents of Kim McFarland and Daniel Davis. Music by Kevin MacLeod.
As always, you can listen at the podcast site, or use the player below:
Narrated by Mike Conway, with the voice talents of Kim McFarland and Daniel Davis. Music by Kevin MacLeod.
As always, you can listen at the podcast site, or use the player below:
Sunday, November 28, 2010
The Yellow Knight of Oz
Thompson's 1930 book focuses on one of her first memorable characters: Sir Hokus of Pokes. Although he was mainly a supporting character, Sir Hokus was actually one of my favorites. A bluff, old-fashioned knight who would always try to be the hero? What's not to love? Of course he needs to be the focus.
Wait... It's not called Sir Hokus of Oz? Oh, it's The Yellow Knight of Oz. So, who's this yellow knight?
The book starts with Sir Hokus planning an adventure, but everyone in the Emerald City plans to go with him. Not wanting the company, he steals out alone. He travels through Marshland inhabited by giant turtles and frogs, and ruled by an ugly woman named Marcia. With the help of a giant turtle named Ploppa, he escapes.
Meanwhile, in the little kingdom of Samandra, the Sultan has had his Seer Chinda looking for the Comfortable Camel for ten years. In an argument, Chinda reveals he just discovered the Camel is in Ozma's court now. So, the Sultan sends Tuzzle the Grand Vizier to collect the Camel. Arriving at the Emerald City, Tuzzle does the smart thing: just asking for the Camel back! However, the Camel cannot be found. They send Tuzzle back, promising to send a message when the Camel returns. After he leaves, they go to check the Magic Picture, but it's gone. The Wizard says he has a magic searchlight that can find anything but decides against using it unless the Camel, Sir Hokus, and the Magic Picture don't turn up soon.
... Seriously? Yeah, Wiz, security must not be a big issue anymore.
Meanwhile, a young boy named Bill, but better known as Speedy, is testing his uncle Billy's rocket, which they plan to use to go to Mars.
Don't you love how little we knew of space exploration in 1930?
Anyways, it launches with Speedy alone and it crash lands in Subterranea, a country of quiet people under Oz. During a subter-rain, Speedy gets lost and finds a golden statue of a princess named Marygolden. It has fallen over, so Speedy starts to put it upright when it comes to life as a real flesh and blood princess. Using an umbrella, they escape Subterranea.
Meanwhile, Sir Hokus is joined by the Comfortable Camel and they eventually come across a deserted overgrown city. Finding a pack of dates in the Camel's saddle bag, Hokus eats one and tosses it away, but it hits a vine and transforms it into a Jester named Peter Pun. As the three journey on, the Comfortable Camel is captured by Chinda.
In Samandra, the Camel cannot talk anymore, but the Sultan is outraged that the Camel has lost his saddle bags.
Thompson returns to Speedy and Marygolden, who find themselves in Quick City, where Speedy is made King of the Quix. These people, as they wear special hats, age rapidly and then repeat their aging in just a few moments. It's actually one of Thompson's more amusing side-creations.
Escaping Quick City, Speedy and Marygolden arrive in a forest, where Speedy turns a horse chestnut into a chestnut horse named Stampedro, who says he belongs to the Yellow Knight. They soon are joined by Sir Hokus and Peter Pun, who go to Samandra to retrieve the Comfortable Camel. This they manage to do, but Hokus is separated from the rest, and they take the Sultan's dog Confido.
Confido, now being able to talk, is bribed into spilling all of the Sultan's secrets. He transformed the countries of Corumbia and Corabia, and Confido knows how to undo the enchantment, using date seeds that grow from a magic tree he instructs them to grow. He gives them the instructions, and the kingdoms are shortly restored. However, Stampedro demands the Yellow Knight be restored. But the Yellow Knight cannot be disenchanted until exactly ten in the morning. The Queen of Corumbia must eat the smallest date on the tree, and fling it from the tallest tower in the castle.
When this is done, the date seed strikes Sir Hokus, who turns into Prince Corum, the Yellow Knight. Backtracking, Thompson reveals the knight who Hokus fought and sent to Pokes all those years ago was really the Sultan of Samandra.
The Sultan is captured, and with a quick arrival by Ozma, the Wizard, and Dorothy. They see to the Sultan's punishment (return his stolen goods, all magic tools confiscated, and restricted to Samandra) and see Corum married to Marygolden, who was his bethrothed. (Before you ask, Thompson mentions that Sir Hokus hid the Magic Picture so the people in the Emerald City wouldn't come after him, but the Wizard found it.) The Camel stays with Corum, while Speedy returns home to Uncle Billy.
The Yellow Knight of Oz feels like it could have been more than what it was. Sadly, most of the story is about disenchanting things, which isn't too exciting. Yes, Ozma of Oz also had dispelling enchantments as a major plot point, but it felt more exciting there because there was also a large chance of danger for our heroes.
And Thompson winds up making one of her best characters into a character that isn't so interesting. And here, he drops out of Thompson's books. We never get to see what kind of character Prince Corum is, whether he became a completely different person, or if Sir Hokus was a part of his character exemplified. And the final problem is that if Thompson was going to do this, why place it ten years later? Ah, well.
The redeeming factor of Yellow Knight is Speedy, another adventurous child character to move the plot along, and guess what? He'll be back later!
Wait... It's not called Sir Hokus of Oz? Oh, it's The Yellow Knight of Oz. So, who's this yellow knight?
The book starts with Sir Hokus planning an adventure, but everyone in the Emerald City plans to go with him. Not wanting the company, he steals out alone. He travels through Marshland inhabited by giant turtles and frogs, and ruled by an ugly woman named Marcia. With the help of a giant turtle named Ploppa, he escapes.
Meanwhile, in the little kingdom of Samandra, the Sultan has had his Seer Chinda looking for the Comfortable Camel for ten years. In an argument, Chinda reveals he just discovered the Camel is in Ozma's court now. So, the Sultan sends Tuzzle the Grand Vizier to collect the Camel. Arriving at the Emerald City, Tuzzle does the smart thing: just asking for the Camel back! However, the Camel cannot be found. They send Tuzzle back, promising to send a message when the Camel returns. After he leaves, they go to check the Magic Picture, but it's gone. The Wizard says he has a magic searchlight that can find anything but decides against using it unless the Camel, Sir Hokus, and the Magic Picture don't turn up soon.
... Seriously? Yeah, Wiz, security must not be a big issue anymore.
Meanwhile, a young boy named Bill, but better known as Speedy, is testing his uncle Billy's rocket, which they plan to use to go to Mars.
Don't you love how little we knew of space exploration in 1930?
Anyways, it launches with Speedy alone and it crash lands in Subterranea, a country of quiet people under Oz. During a subter-rain, Speedy gets lost and finds a golden statue of a princess named Marygolden. It has fallen over, so Speedy starts to put it upright when it comes to life as a real flesh and blood princess. Using an umbrella, they escape Subterranea.
Meanwhile, Sir Hokus is joined by the Comfortable Camel and they eventually come across a deserted overgrown city. Finding a pack of dates in the Camel's saddle bag, Hokus eats one and tosses it away, but it hits a vine and transforms it into a Jester named Peter Pun. As the three journey on, the Comfortable Camel is captured by Chinda.
In Samandra, the Camel cannot talk anymore, but the Sultan is outraged that the Camel has lost his saddle bags.
Thompson returns to Speedy and Marygolden, who find themselves in Quick City, where Speedy is made King of the Quix. These people, as they wear special hats, age rapidly and then repeat their aging in just a few moments. It's actually one of Thompson's more amusing side-creations.
Escaping Quick City, Speedy and Marygolden arrive in a forest, where Speedy turns a horse chestnut into a chestnut horse named Stampedro, who says he belongs to the Yellow Knight. They soon are joined by Sir Hokus and Peter Pun, who go to Samandra to retrieve the Comfortable Camel. This they manage to do, but Hokus is separated from the rest, and they take the Sultan's dog Confido.
Confido, now being able to talk, is bribed into spilling all of the Sultan's secrets. He transformed the countries of Corumbia and Corabia, and Confido knows how to undo the enchantment, using date seeds that grow from a magic tree he instructs them to grow. He gives them the instructions, and the kingdoms are shortly restored. However, Stampedro demands the Yellow Knight be restored. But the Yellow Knight cannot be disenchanted until exactly ten in the morning. The Queen of Corumbia must eat the smallest date on the tree, and fling it from the tallest tower in the castle.
When this is done, the date seed strikes Sir Hokus, who turns into Prince Corum, the Yellow Knight. Backtracking, Thompson reveals the knight who Hokus fought and sent to Pokes all those years ago was really the Sultan of Samandra.
The Sultan is captured, and with a quick arrival by Ozma, the Wizard, and Dorothy. They see to the Sultan's punishment (return his stolen goods, all magic tools confiscated, and restricted to Samandra) and see Corum married to Marygolden, who was his bethrothed. (Before you ask, Thompson mentions that Sir Hokus hid the Magic Picture so the people in the Emerald City wouldn't come after him, but the Wizard found it.) The Camel stays with Corum, while Speedy returns home to Uncle Billy.
The Yellow Knight of Oz feels like it could have been more than what it was. Sadly, most of the story is about disenchanting things, which isn't too exciting. Yes, Ozma of Oz also had dispelling enchantments as a major plot point, but it felt more exciting there because there was also a large chance of danger for our heroes.
And Thompson winds up making one of her best characters into a character that isn't so interesting. And here, he drops out of Thompson's books. We never get to see what kind of character Prince Corum is, whether he became a completely different person, or if Sir Hokus was a part of his character exemplified. And the final problem is that if Thompson was going to do this, why place it ten years later? Ah, well.
The redeeming factor of Yellow Knight is Speedy, another adventurous child character to move the plot along, and guess what? He'll be back later!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Royal Podcast of Oz: A Chat With Miriam
I chat with Oz fan Miriam Goldman, an Oz fan with some interesting and unique views on Oz books, movies, events, plays, and even video games! Warning, this is a little long...
As always, you can listen or download at the podcast site or use the player below:
As always, you can listen or download at the podcast site or use the player below:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Selig's Silent Oz Musical Anniversary
In 1910, the first of 4 Selig Baum short films was released: "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz" on March 24 or 26.
Even though it's late, I - Sam Milazzo - have made an Anniversary Tribute to this black-and-white 1 reel/1000 ft short film with music graciously permitted by Joe Cascone.
I have sharpened and brightened the actual video, as well as fixed up a few frames that were 'out of order'. Any more info can be seen in the description.
The Selig Baum films that followed were "Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz" (April 19), "the Land of Oz" (May 19) and "John Dough and the Cherub" (December 19). It would be truly wonderful if the other films were found and released, along with a restoration, together with "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz".
The video can be seen here on YouTube.
The short film can be purchased on DVDs "the Wizard of Oz: 3-disk Collectors' Edition" (2005), "the Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary 4-disk Ultimate Collectors' Edition" (2009), the "More Treasures from American Film Archives 1894-1931" and maybe a few others.
You can buy Joe Cascone's new CD here!
Thanks go to Joe Cascone for graciously letting me use his music, and Thanks to Blair Frodelius for helping me with the dates for these films' releases.
Happy One Hundredth Anniversary, Selig Polyscope Co's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and others!
Even though it's late, I - Sam Milazzo - have made an Anniversary Tribute to this black-and-white 1 reel/1000 ft short film with music graciously permitted by Joe Cascone.
I have sharpened and brightened the actual video, as well as fixed up a few frames that were 'out of order'. Any more info can be seen in the description.
The Selig Baum films that followed were "Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz" (April 19), "the Land of Oz" (May 19) and "John Dough and the Cherub" (December 19). It would be truly wonderful if the other films were found and released, along with a restoration, together with "the Wonderful Wizard of Oz".
The video can be seen here on YouTube.
The short film can be purchased on DVDs "the Wizard of Oz: 3-disk Collectors' Edition" (2005), "the Wizard of Oz: 70th Anniversary 4-disk Ultimate Collectors' Edition" (2009), the "More Treasures from American Film Archives 1894-1931" and maybe a few others.
You can buy Joe Cascone's new CD here!
Thanks go to Joe Cascone for graciously letting me use his music, and Thanks to Blair Frodelius for helping me with the dates for these films' releases.
Happy One Hundredth Anniversary, Selig Polyscope Co's "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" and others!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
New writer for the blog!
We're expanding our staff here at the Royal Blog of Oz! I invited Nathan DeHoff, an already established Oz blogger who has posted Oz entries to his blogs at LiveJournal and WordPress.
Nathan lives in New Jersey, and has written a number of Oz stories that he put online. He's also appeared in two of our podcasts. So, join us in welcoming him to the team.
Nathan lives in New Jersey, and has written a number of Oz stories that he put online. He's also appeared in two of our podcasts. So, join us in welcoming him to the team.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
I'll be right back!
Last Sunday, my motherboard on my computer went screwy and wouldn't use my peripherals, including the monitor, mouse, and keyboard. I've ordered a replacement, but it only just shipped today. Right now, I'm using my sister's computer, trying to be respectful of their property.
As just about all of my Oz projects were on my computer, I'm officially taking a break from them. Which is nuts because I've got a backlog of Thompson books to blog about! Right now, I have all of her Famous Forty books, except Ozoplaning and Captain Salt. Actually, I ordered a copy of Captain Salt, but even though the seller was based in America, they'd only ship to the UK, forcing me to get help from a UK friend! (Got a few of them...) They told me they haven't received it yet.
Right now, I'm only lacking Neill's books from the Famous Forty. I'd also like to get A Runaway in Oz, Thompson's Enchanted Island, and Cheerful Citizens.
Podcasts are in the same boat. I'm arranging an interview later this month, as those are easier to edit. Sam and I recorded a couple podcasts, but these will take longer to edit, so they should be out in January and February. Which is a good thing, as I plan to be moving during that time and would have even less time for editing then...
SO, until I get that motherboard in the mail, and even more importantly, get it installed, I bid you adieu for now, and maybe Sam will blog once or twice while I'm gone.
... Actually, something I thought about... Would it be more interesting to have multiple writers writing Oz blog entries on one blog so you'd get a nice variety of topics? Or would it be confusing as each writer would need to specify in each entry who they are because they'd have conflicting opinions? (Believe me, Sam and I don't see eye to eye on everything!)
As just about all of my Oz projects were on my computer, I'm officially taking a break from them. Which is nuts because I've got a backlog of Thompson books to blog about! Right now, I have all of her Famous Forty books, except Ozoplaning and Captain Salt. Actually, I ordered a copy of Captain Salt, but even though the seller was based in America, they'd only ship to the UK, forcing me to get help from a UK friend! (Got a few of them...) They told me they haven't received it yet.
Right now, I'm only lacking Neill's books from the Famous Forty. I'd also like to get A Runaway in Oz, Thompson's Enchanted Island, and Cheerful Citizens.
Podcasts are in the same boat. I'm arranging an interview later this month, as those are easier to edit. Sam and I recorded a couple podcasts, but these will take longer to edit, so they should be out in January and February. Which is a good thing, as I plan to be moving during that time and would have even less time for editing then...
SO, until I get that motherboard in the mail, and even more importantly, get it installed, I bid you adieu for now, and maybe Sam will blog once or twice while I'm gone.
... Actually, something I thought about... Would it be more interesting to have multiple writers writing Oz blog entries on one blog so you'd get a nice variety of topics? Or would it be confusing as each writer would need to specify in each entry who they are because they'd have conflicting opinions? (Believe me, Sam and I don't see eye to eye on everything!)
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