The Mysteries of Oz documentary review

 You might have noticed that I lamented that Warner Brothers was not really doing anything to take advantage of the 85th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz and the hype around the film adaptation of Wicked. (To recap, we got a steelbook repack of the 4K edition that offers nothing new for a very premium price.)

The saltiness of my opinion burns even more while watching The Mysteries of Oz, a 3-episode documentary available for purchase exclusively through Amazon Video for $9. Because, why was this on Amazon instead of getting a release on Max? It's not made by Warner Brothers, but given the use of clips from the MGM film, they had to have licensed it.

AMS Films is the producer behind the documentary, doing three episodes instead of a massive nearly 3-hour documentary. It's a good choice as it allows you to pace your experience, while also allowing you to binge it if you wish to watch it all in one go.

The documentary is presented as a countdown of eighty-five questions about Oz, mostly centered around the MGM film. Answering them are a number of familiar faces to me. Representing the current generation of Oz fans are Tiffany Sutton (followtheyellowbrickgirl on Instagram), Sean Barrett (art director for the Land of Oz park), Victoria Calamito (Tori of the Oz Vlog), Nichelle Lewis (Dorothy from the most recent Broadway production of The Wiz) and Tara and EmKay of the Down the Yellow Brick Pod podcast. We also get Jay Scarfone and William Stillman, who have written four well-researched books on the MGM film. There's also drag performer Ginger Minj, who does her answers almost as a standup routine in front of an audience. There's also Books of Wonder's Peter Glassman, Jane Lahr, Bert Lahr's daughter, Ryan Bunch, current president of the International Wizard of Oz Club, and Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and its three sequels, the "Another Day" trilogy, Tales Told in Oz and the upcoming Elphie. Other experts, including Joey Luft and surviving child Munchkin cast members, are also involved.

If you want to know about factual accuracy, nothing really stuck out to me as being inaccurate, so let's get that out of the way. The talking heads do a great job of answering, being concise, giving more context when needed, keeping up the energy very well, as well as the use of relevant film and video clips, images, and even an audio clip of Bert Lahr's hosting the first telecast of the MGM first with Liza Minnelli. (I was very surprised to hear that.)

The documentary does a great job of addressing the myths around the movie as well as more about Oz lore. I wish there had been a bit more about Oz fandom and the international impact of Oz, but hey, even three hours and 85 questions about Oz can't do everything.

In addition to being informative, this was a great celebration of the MGM film and Oz as a phenomenon. It just about makes up for Warner Brothers not really doing anything. Just about.

You can find out more about the documentary on their website.

Also, here's a link to the documentary on Amazon.

Let Cynthia Erivo feel how she wants.

 When tickets for the Wicked movie came on sale, one of the posters that popped up scratched an itch a lot of fans had. Showing Ariana Grande's Glinda whispering to Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba, it clearly re-enacted the classic poster/Playbill cover for the musical.

However, some fans weren't pleased at the tribute to the poster because it didn't mimic the original poster closely enough.

The original poster is a little brilliant in how minimalist it looks. As Wicked would have its cast change, the decision to not clearly depict the original cast members means it would work after they'd been replaced. And as such, over 20 years later, it's still the artwork used to promote the show. When the show opened in London's West End, it even got a remake with more detailed human figures.

Well, it seems some fans got into Photoshop and decided to make the movie poster look more like the Broadway image. I've elected not to use it here. Apparently, who made it is no secret and there's a video where they talk about it, but I do not wish to harass or call them out specifically, I am going to take the charitable reading that they wanted to make it more closely resemble the musical poster and as such did some touch ups in Photoshop and posted it online where it got passed around.

The main edits were putting a shadow over Elphaba's eyes to hide them and make her lips red and twist them into a smirk. Glinda, whose outfit doesn't resemble the poster at all, only got an edit in raising her hand over nose.

Cynthia Erivo shared the fan edit on her social media with a message strongly disapproving of it:

This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful Ai of us fighting, equal people posing the question "is your ***** green

None of this is funny
None of this is cute
It degrades me
It degrades us

The original poster in an ILLUSTRATION. I am a real life human being, who chose to look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer ...because, without words we communicate with our eyes.

Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.

I have only transcribed the text, no editing. I'll also note that her post included the edit as shared by a Wicked Mexican fan account, so not the original artist's posting, but a share by an account representing the fandom.

The reaction to Cynthia Erivo's objection has been mixed and given the internet, can be very shortsighted and even very nasty. Ultimately, people are going to be watching the movie as people will likely be able to eventually stream it or get a cheap DVD copy and not much will be thought about the poster. But right now, some fans are heated up about it.

Some feel Cynthia shouldn't have said anything, implying she's privileged if this is the most offensive thing she's experienced. Others have been more empathetic.

I guess I need to disclaim that I'm a cisgender gay man who describes himself as white, Cynthia is a woman of color who identifies as queer. I am not the same as her. As such, I am referring to how I've heard people of color talk about their experiences, not from a place of authority. As such, if I make a misstatement, I welcome correction in the comments. And I must state, people of color are not a monolith and can have very different experiences.

People of color, especially in the entertainment industry, often feel disadvantaged as opposed to their white counterparts. Dylan Marron, a man with Latin heritage, has publicly stated that he went to a casting call for Home Alone 3 and was clearly turned away for not being white, not even being considered out the gate. Donald Glover's comments on how Hollywood wouldn't consider him for Spider-Man led to the creation of the popular Spider-Man character Miles Morales, which is a nice outcome, but Donald Glover hasn't yet been able to have a featured role in a Marvel movie. (He's appeared in two, so maybe one day.) And too often, when people of color found roles for them asked for, they often have to play stereotypes or criminals.

In an Oz example, the 1925 silent slapstick film The Wizard of Oz includes African-American actor Spencer Bell using his stage name G. Howe Black as the ironically named character Snowball, who plays up many stereotypes for comedy, his character first being seen eating a watermelon. And this was the most we'd seen a person of color associated with Oz until The Wiz opened on Broadway fifty years later.

There are improvements happening, for example, we have stories intended for people of color to tell in film and television, Cynthia Erivo herself coming to prominence in the musical adaptation of The Color Purple, a story specifically about an African-American woman's life in post-Civil War America in the southern states. Still, we've got a long way to go.

As Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo had to wear makeup and a wig for basically every scene she filmed. (As I haven't seen the films myself yet, I can't say this for sure, but given the source materials, I doubt we'll actually see a "de-greenified" Elphaba.) You don't see her actual skin in the film. As such, in the poster, her eyes are the only thing that is 100% her.

This also ties into how women and especially women of color are expected to maintain a certain appearance in public, leading to how often they use makeup, hair care products, hair extensions or even full wigs. Meanwhile, men generally just have to make sure they don't look terrible.

What I'm trying to get at is that as Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo likely feels a lot of pressure as a woman of color starring in a major motion picture in an adaptation of an internationally beloved musical with a built in fan base. If she doesn't like to see how her image is being altered and presented by fan pages online, let her say so. We've heard enough to get that she had a lot of input in how her version of Elphaba would look and be presented.

Film is a collaborative art. I get it's also subjective. We've been expecting Wicked's film adaptation basically since it became a hit on Broadway. We all have ideas on how moments should've been done or how designs should've been done for a big screen version.

But consider that the people who made the decisions of how it should look and actually were photographed are people themselves. Ariana Grande has commented that bringing the musical to life on film was very emotional, so people really put their all into this. To see their work remixed without a thought as to how they might feel can really be a blow.

And consider this. The film is actually just the first part of the story, adapting the first act of the musical, except they've made it just just twenty minutes shy of three hours long. There's a lot in the film that's not in the musical. We've yet to see and fully appreciate just what these efforts are. And as such, that the poster paying homage to the musical's famous artwork isn't an exact mimic should really be expected.

And I'd be a hypocrite to criticize fan edits having done some myself, but they should be done and presented as tributes or imagining ideas, not presented as an alternative to a realized creative vision.

And when people feel something diminishes their own work, maybe instead of telling them they're entitled or that they shouldn't have said anything, maybe try hearing them out with an empathetic heart instead.

Wicked hype and who's sitting it out

 As of this week, tickets are on sale for the long-awaited film adaptation of the musical Wicked. The film is confirmed to run for 160 minutes, 20 minutes shy of three hours. Winnie Holzman better have written the heck out of the story in this new, expanded form because this movie is only adapting the Act 1 portion of the musical with Act 2 making up Wicked: Part 2 next year.

The cast and crew are doing interviews and planning tours, some fans have gotten huge promotional gifts and have even seen the movie early. (Not that they can say anything.)

And there's a ton of merchandise from tie in books to a board game, a Monopoly game, clothing (including a Target exclusive line of clothes designed by costume designer Paul Tazewell), prop replicas, Halloween costumes, Funko Pops, LEGO sets, Squishmallows and dolls.

I decided to get the dolls based on picking up earlier lines of dolls tying in with Oz the Great and Powerful, the 75th anniversary MGM Wizard of Oz dolls, and a doll based on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return as well as customizing my own dolls based on Polychrome, Ozma and Glinda.

Given that the Wicked dolls are likely to be popular, I've been proactive about getting them, preordering them before they can sell out.

Here's what's available: six dolls are available from most retailers, please note that only dolls with the word "deluxe" in the name or description include a doll stand. All other dolls don't, so if you collect Oz dolls for display, either leave them in box or prepare to invest in some stands.

• Deluxe Elphaba (based on the "Defying Gravity" sequence, complete with hat, bookbag, cape and broom)
• Deluxe Glinda (based on the "bubble dress" she wears during "No One Mourns The Wicked, including a crown and wand)
• Singing Glinda (based on her outfit during the "Popular" sequence, the doll plays two clips from the song)
• Nessarose (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her wheelchair)
• Elphaba (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence with her hat and a bookbag)
• Glinda (based on her appearance during the OzDust Ballroom sequence)

Three dolls are exclusive to Walmart stores and being sold online:

• Elphaba at Shiz University (dressed as she appears in scenes in the film as seen in trailers, featuring a striped asymmetrical jacket and a pleated asymmetrical skirt)
• Glinda at Shiz University (dressed as she appears during her arrival at Shiz)
• Madame Morrible (dressed as she appears early in the film)

Two dolls are exclusive to Target stores and are available online:

• Singing Elphaba (dressed as she appears in the latter portion of the film during "One Short Day" and going forward, but without her "Defying Gravity" cape and broom, the doll plays two clips from "Defying Gravity")
• Fiyero (dressed as he appears during the "Dancing Through Life" sequence)

In addition, Mattel Creations online is selling a deluxe two-pack of Madame Morrible and Elphaba as they appear during tutoring sessions as seen in trailers, this is the only Elphaba doll to include the glasses she wears in the film.

With thirteen dolls, the Wicked line is already expansive, and there's a second movie coming next year, and potentially even more merchandise to keep the pegs warm until then.

Personally, I hope the Wicked line gives us a doll of Jeff Goldblum's Wizard, as the character hasn't gotten much love in fashion doll form for any Oz line, with the exception of Oz the Great and Powerful, though James Franco's Wizard might not be the preferred one to include with dolls from other lines.

The soundtrack is releasing November 22, the same day as the film's wide release so you can listen to the songs right after seeing the movie. The tracklist as announced does not include any new songs or tracks from the score, but no Act 1 songs from the musical have been dropped. It'll be available to be streamed from digital music platforms or purchased for your own library, and there are multiple vinyl and CD editions available for preorder.

It's a good time to be an Oz fan, even if you don't care for Wicked, because if the movie does as well as the current hype is suggesting, studios might be open to making more Oz films or television productions. The recent Broadway revival of The Wiz with its new Amber Ruffin-penned book has already had some rumblings about a film version, but as it would be under Universal and they're currently doing Wicked, they'd wait until this one is over and then produce it if they chose to. Maybe Warner Brothers could finally make an Oz film of their own instead of just exploiting the MGM film.

And speaking of the MGM film, Warner Brothers has barely done anything with the fact that it's the 85th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz, which they own the rights to. They will be reissuing the 4K disc and Blu-Ray in a steelbook edition with recycled cover art from the 2005 3-disc DVD collector's edition of the film, featuring the Wicked Witch of the West's silhouette over her crystal ball with Dorothy and her friends visible inside against a green background. It also includes some paper goods the 2005 set included: a reproduction ticket, invitation and program for the premiere of the film with reproduction lobby cards and reproductions of different 1939 posters on cards. Which would be fine if it was selling for about $40 or less, but the price on preorders ranges from $53 (DeepDiscount) to $80 (Amazon), which makes it unattractive for those of us who already own the film in 4K as we've had no indication that there'll be any new content on the discs.

If, say, Flicker Alley released a collection of the Oz silent films restored in high definition, I'd expect to get it for about $45, what they charge for one of their Laurel and Hardy collections, and I'd love to buy that as soon as possible if it was available. But I own MGM's The Wizard of Oz on four DVD sets, a 3D/standard Blu-Ray collection and the first 4K release, and a laserdisc set and a handful of VHS tapes I can't use, but the packaging is pretty. I'm not interested in paying a premium price for essentially no new content.

And this is the only major new thing coming from the MGM film's branding aside from more licensed merchandise. No new books on the making of the film, no exciting publications of production materials, Mattel isn't even reissuing their famous Barbie Oz dolls, trying to see if they can get an even better Judy Garland likeness.

With the closure of the Boomerang streaming service, the recent animated series Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz is now only legally available for digital purchase with a nice bundle price exclusive to iTunes. And may I note, it bummed me out that the series began as a Boomerang exclusive but they never released all of the episodes on that service, keeping the last several for broadcast and purchase only. And no, it's not available to stream on Max. The series got 20 episodes released across two DVDs. There's no announcement of a Blu-Ray release yet.

Frankly, it's just frustrating to see Oz back in a big way in the public consciousness and Warner Brothers doing almost nothing to even exploit the MGM film or other Oz properties they own. Even Books of Wonder plans to begin reissuing the Thompson Oz books in hardcover now that more are in the public domain, and a Baum family member wrote a new Oz picture book. Gregory Maguire has turned out a book about young Elphaba that'll be available early next year titled Elphie, expanding his work for his take on Oz to eight novels and one short story collection.

... Sony/Disney? Can we get a Return to Oz 4K upgrade for next year? I'll preorder and tell my friends.

Did Universal work a deal with Warner Brothers?

Sharp-eared Oz fans noted seven notes in the second theatrical trailer for the first part of the film adaptation of Wicked that released this week.

Close to the end of the trailer, the notes of Miss Gulch's theme from MGM's The Wizard of Oz can clearly be heard, seemingly creating a musical bridge between the 1939 classic and the 2024 film adaptation of a longtime Broadway mainstay.

Tori of The Oz Vlog noted that legally, you can copy up to seven notes in succession from an existing composition in a new one without fear of legal repercussion, and the use of Miss Gulch's theme is exactly seven notes. However, this isn't "Under Pressure" vs. "Ice, Ice, Baby." This is a case where the use of those seven notes from one work is clearly intended to connect it to this new work.

The use of MGM motifs in other studios' use of Oz isn't new. Shirley Temple's adaptation of The Land of Oz for her Shirley Temple Show clearly evoked the MGM film designs for the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and Glinda. The "it was or might have been a dream" motif has been reused in other adaptations. Disney's Return to Oz and Oz the Great and Powerful had cast members who play Oz characters double up as characters seen in Kansas. And Return to Oz even famously paid a lot of money to use the Ruby Slippers so as not to totally alienate audiences who only knew the MGM film.

Turner Entertainment bought the MGM film library in the mid-1980s, only to be merged into Warner Brothers, who has since changed hands many times in the past few decades, and haven't been doing well lately. For every Barbie and Dune Part II, there's more flops and disappointments, such as many of the final offerings of the DC Extended Universe. Add in a CEO who doesn't really seem to like movies, the studio's had some trouble.

That said, it's been said Warner has taken Oz productions to task over the years, making sure the new designs of the Emerald City and the Wicked Witch are distinct enough from the now trademarked designs seen in the MGM film.

When the first footage of the film adaptation of Wicked was seen at CinemaCon, it was reported that the Ruby Slippers were seen. (I have not seen this footage, I will note, I have only heard reports.) Now we have this music quoted in the trailer, and potentially the film score as well.

Did Universal work out some deal with Warner Brothers to use some elements of the 1939 film?

Maybe. We don't know as it hasn't been publicly commented upon yet.

Have they worked together before?

Yes. Some Warner Brothers properties are at Universal Parks, namely the attractions based on the Harry Potter franchise.

This year saw Universal and Warner Brother's co-production Twisters hit theaters, which depending on where you live, is distributed by either company.

They also came together to release a home video package of all of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials on DVD and Blu-Ray together for the first time. This is aided by both studios' releases being handled by their co-owned company Studio Distribution Services now, SDS, who also sell them through Gruv. Through changing hands over the years, the rights for the specials are split between the two studios, with the first several (and Tales of the Wizard of Oz and Rankin-Bass' Return to Oz) winding up with Classic Media, who eventually wound up as part of Dreamworks, now properly part of Universal. The rest of the Christmas specials were bought up by Warner Brothers after Rankin-Bass officially dissolved. (The full breakdown of which Rankin-Bass properties are owned by who are very complicated, I'm only referring to the Christmas specials, do not use my simple breakdown for only part of their library for any legal advice.)

If Warner was approached by Universal, a studio they seem to have a good relationship with, to use elements of the 1939 film, I think we can say they'd be open to it, especially if Universal paid a bit for them. They expect Wicked to be a big box office draw, so a little extra investment would be worth it.

That said, if they really are essentially using those seven iconic notes in their trailer for free with a ruling ensuring there's nothing Warner Brothers can do, that's pretty bold of them.

The Royal Podcast of Oz: Strawberry Shortcake Goes to Oz

 Jay and Sam break down two episodes of the 2003-2008 Strawberry Shortcake animated series: "Toto's Tale," loosely adapting the classic Wonderful Wizard of Oz story, and "Where the Gem Berries Glow," a second adventure in Strawberry Shortcake's version of Oz.

Button-Bright's Pocket & Ozma's Nightstand - Two micro Oz stories

 While in the Pod Squad meeting for Down the Yellow Brick Pod, host Tara asked us to imagine what Oz characters  would have in their pockets or their nightstands and write a little piece. I picked Button-Bright.

I promise, no ChatGPT was involved.

My concept is that Button-Bright travels Oz and often stays with welcoming citizens who open their home to him. So, as he goes to bed...

Button-Bright rolled over in the bed and felt the items in his pocket push against his thigh.

Sitting up and reaching in, he removed a dozen marbles, a shooter, a pack of matches (they had long since been soaked and dried out and were useless), a coil of string and an odd looking pebble he had found that shimmered with all the colors of the rainbow.

Setting them on the bedside table, he laid down again, this time with nothing pressing against him.

Many of these items would be forgotten by the boy, being left for his hosts and their children to find some use for. He'd keep the matches, though.

Fellow attendee Eric Gjovaag sent me his story to post as well, so enjoy another one!

Ozma lay in her bed, blinking repeatedly.

“Darn it,” she thought to herself, “insomnia again!”

It didn’t happen to the young ruler of Oz very often, but when it did it really hit her hard, and she couldn’t sleep all night.

She sat up, reached over to her nightstand, and opened the drawer. 

Something in here may help, she thought.

Then she pulled out the jackknife.

Most of her friends might be surprised at it, but she’d had it longer than just about anything else, and had used it to create Jack Pumpkinhead, back when she was still a boy.

She then knew what she had to do, and rummaged around in her closet.

She put on the shirt, pants, and hat, and stepped out.

Tip was going out to look for an adventure!

The Royal Podcast of Oz: Breaking Down The New Volshebnik Izumrudnogo Goroda Trailer

 Russia should really get out of Ukraine's business and make some good movies like the one Sam and Jay watch and discuss in this episode!

To watch the trailer yourself, go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-d9qg9Ew4

Support the Patchwork Girl of Oz on Kickstarter!

 In a special entry of The Royal Podcast of Oz, Jay sits back as Sam Milazzo talks with comics writer Andy Mangels and artist Anna-Maria Cool about The Patchwork Girl of Oz graphic novel, a project you can back on Kickstarter to help bring it to life!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/andymangels/the-patchwork-girl-of-oz-book-one

Please consider backing this project. There's a wide variety of perks from pins and digital books about the history of the Patchwork Girl to paper dolls to the comic itself, variant covers, and even original dolls based on the characters! Andy and Anna explain in the podcast that the book is going to be a gorgeous volume. You will want to own this book!

The Royal Podcast of Oz: New episodes!

 Well, there's two episodes I haven't posted about on here yet. To stay on top of the podcast, be sure to follow The Royal Podcast of Oz on your favorite podcast service.

Last month, Angelo Thomas and I went frame by frame for the first look trailer for the movie adaptation of Wicked.

Meanwhile, last week, Erica Olivera joined Sam and I to discuss the short film Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man. (This has explicit language. If you know Erica, you get it.)