Outsiders from Oz - Out NOW

My first Oz book is now available for sale in paperback. Early next week, we will be releasing a clothbound edition.

When a restless Ozma is told about a mysterious hole that has appeared in Jack Pumpkinhead's pumpkin patch, she takes a brief leave of duty to investigate. Meanwhile, Button-Bright and the Wizard are going to Glinda's Palace to examine a watch that belonged to Button-Bright's father. But when they find themselves stranded outside of Oz, they must rely on the assistance of the locals for a return. In her journey, Ozma finds an old but familiar acquaintance who seems to have forgotten her. Button-Bright and the Wizard meet some new friends who will be familiar to dedicated Baum readers. And what will happen when they encounter an old enemy who everyone seems to have forgotten about?

You can get a copy here for $10. If you use the coupon code LASSO, you'll get 15% off! (Expires March 4th.)

The Outsiders from Oz - in layout NOW

I've just got the final illustrations for The Outsiders from Oz from Shawn Maldonado and we are laying out the book right now!

So, very, very soon the book will be ready to order at last!

So, here's one last teaser image:

The Royal Podcast of Oz: MGM's The Wizard of Oz (Part 2)

Jared and Sam conclude their discussion of this classic Oz film and we hear opinions from other Oz fan.

As always, you can listen and download at the podcast site, or use the player below!

       

   
   
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Disneyland Records: The Tin Woodman of Oz

And now for the last Disneyland Oz Story and Songs album: The Tin Woodman of Oz.

I presume the Tin Woodman was the last released of these albums. The Disneyland Wizard, Songs from the Wizard, Cowardly Lion, and Tin Woodman all are copyrighted 1969, but the Songs from the Wizard album doesn't have songs from Tin Woodman on there, suggesting it was released afterward, or they just opted not to include the songs on it. Second is that there's an article in The Baum Bugle about these albums (where I've gotten a lot of information from), and it covered this album last. Finally, the story itself was obviously adapted to conclude this little series of an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz and stories about each of Dorothy's first three friends in Oz.

The story opens with a celebration in the Emerald City, when they overhear a young man singing about how he'll find his true love. He enters and introduces himself as Woot the Wanderer. And yes, it is a young Ron Howard voicing Woot.

Woot tells about how he had a dream about a girl and he intends to find her because she's his true love. This reminds the Tin Woodman of Nimmee Aimee and he tells his origin story (which was skipped in the Wizard adaptation) and decides he will join Woot and they'll look for their true loves together. The Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion join to look for their own true loves as well.

The story follows Baum's book rather faithfully with the addition of the Cowardly Lion and the looking for the true love plot for the other characters. We have Loonville, and Mrs. Yoop, who sings "I'm Mrs. Yoop, the Yookoohoo." She has a cat, and she turns the Cowardly Lion into a mouse.

The jaguar and Tommy Kwikstep are not present, and neither are the dragons Woot meets in the book.

When Ozma restores everyone, the Lion's shape of a mouse is transferred to Mrs. Yoop's cat, and Woot discovers that Polychrome is the girl he dreamed of, and they sing a song called "I've Found My True Love." They accompany Ozma back to the Emerald City, leaving the Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, and Lion. But soon the Lion meets a Lioness and they leave for the Emerald City.

Ku-Klip and Captain Fyter are not encountered on the trip, but the Invisible Country and the Hyp-po-gy-raf are.

The Tin Woodman finds Nimmee Aimee's home guarded by a Tin Soldier, who fights the Tin Woodman, but the Tin Woodman manages to defeat him. Nimmee Aimee reveals that the Tin Soldier was made by "the same tinsmith who helped you" for her as a replacement for the Tin Woodman when he never came back for her. However, the Wicked Witch of the East enchanted him to keep Nimmee Aimee prisoner and fight the Tn Woodman should he return. Since the Tin Soldier is not a love interest here, and there is no Chopfyt, Nimmee Aimee is happy to accept the Tin Woodman's marriage proposal at last.

The Scarecrow decides he will go back to the Emerald City, despite not having found a "Scarecrowess." However, Ozma whips one up for him, and there's a quadruple wedding as Woot, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion are all wed.

I love the book The Tin Woodman of Oz, but this adaptation waters the story down. One theme in that book was that sometimes the conventional fairy tale ending isn't the happiest. This is not carried over here, with everyone getting married at the end. But I suppose the ideas of the Tin Woodman talking to his old head, a second man-turned-tin, and the confusing and disturbing Chopfyt were just too heavy for a children's record. Still, I feel like more of Baum's tone could have been retained.

Once again, the album opens into a storybook briefly retelling the story (my copy is an early one that erroneously credited the book to Ruth Plumly Thompson). However, I am disappointed in two areas: the "Scarecrowess" could have easily been Scraps the Patchwork Girl, but the illustrator chose not to do that. And we never see a picture of Nimmee Aimee. The girl by the Tin Woodman in the last picture is Dorothy.

Overall, this Tin Woodman of Oz isn't really bad, but when it's compared to the original version, it lacks in many areas.

And that concludes Disney's audio adventures in Oz. I really wish they'd find some way to re-release the Story and Songs albums.

Nathan's Thoughts on the 2011 Oziana

The theme of the 2011 Oziana is possible explanations for mysteries in the Oz series. We begin with David Tai's "Voyaging Through Strange Seas of Thought, Alone," which gives the Glass Cat's inner monologue upon having her pink brains replaced with clear ones and then her original brains restored.

Justice C.S. Fischer's "Blinkie of Oz" presents the possibility that Blinkie from The Scarecrow of Oz is a reconstituted Wicked Witch of the West, a theory I'd come across before. Blinkie is an odd character, first appearing in the film His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. Here, her name was Mombi, but her appearance was that of the WWW. When L. Frank Baum made the story into a novel, he renamed the character Blinkie. In my own story "Reddy and Willing," Blinkie was active during the Wicked Witch's lifetime, so I guess I don't go by the theory that they're the same. I do think the two of them might have ended up one-eyed in a similar manner, though. Odin's giving up one eye for wisdom comes to mind here, especially as Odin is mentioned explicitly in another story in this issue.

Kass Stone's "Jenny Everywhere in Oz" introduces a character who can travel between different fictional universes, an idea I've always liked. Xornom, a character who briefly appears in one of my Oz manuscripts, is of the same basic sort, although quite different in personality. "Jenny Everywhere" also deals with the popular subject of alternate versions of Oz, including ones where the Wicked Witch of the East was actually good. It features the Legion of Glindas, made up of Glindas from throughout the Ozziverse.

I've looked at Mycroft Mason's "The Solitary Sorceress of Oz" before, and think it's an interesting origin story for Glinda, although it doesn't fit with everything we've read about the sorceress' past in other tales.

Admittedly, these are apocryphal stories; there's nothing in it that contradicts the canon, as far as I can tell.

Finally, Jeffrey Rester's "Cryptic Conversations in a Cornfield" presents a take on the Scarecrow's origins that fills in some of the gaps in Ruth Plumly Thompson's Royal Book account. According to Rester's narrative, the Wicked Witch of the East used the Powder of Life on the Scarecrow before the spirit of the Emperor entered his body, but he showed no signs of life because he hadn't had his face painted on yet. I'd say this makes more sense than assuming that the spirit entered a totally lifeless body. In order to reconcile different accounts of the straw man's origin, Rester's story has the Scarecrow assembled in stages, which gets a little awkward. I suppose that's what he had to work with, though, and I appreciate the desire for consistency. The tale gives us a look into the character of the Wicked Witch of the East, who hasn't appeared in that many Oz stories due to her having died right when Dorothy first arrived in the magical land. This is also the one in which Odin's ravens Hugin and Munin make an appearance.

Disneyland Records: The Cowardly Lion of Oz

For the uninformed: you might be thinking "Disney adapted a Ruth Plumy Thompson book?" Well... No. It says on the inside "Based on the book by Ruth Plumly Thompson," but there's Notta sign of Thompson's plot anywhere.

So, this album was the only one in which we had an entirely original story by the folks at Disneyland Records. Oz fans also seek this one out because some of the songs were originally intended for The Rainbow Road to Oz. Those wanting just the songs can also look for them on The Songs from the Wizard of Oz (Plus Songs About the Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion) album, in which they appear on the B side, albeit in a different order.

This was the hardest of the four Story and Songs albums for me to track down. I'd only once seen it on eBay and had had to pass on it then. Their Wizard of Oz and Tin Woodman (next time!) seem to be easy to find, while Scarecrow (which one fan told me he considered the rarest), I saw a copy at the Winkie Silent Auction last year and found two different copies online when I bought mine. I managed to find Cowardly Lion through an Amazon seller who had a really low price for it. Not only was the low price a draw for me, but I seriously couldn't find it anywhere else. Well, if any are rare, I'm glad to say I own one copy of each in my collection!

Now, onto the story. The Cowardly Lion lives in his palace, which he sings about in "Living A Lovely Life," which seems to have been one of the Rainbow Road songs. Then one day, he hears the Oz-alarm go off, alerting him that there's "Trouble in Oz" (another song), so he heads to Glinda's palace, where she tells him that Duke Grimwald of the Prattling Country (a neighboring country of Oz, I may have gotten the name wrong) has had Prince Paul turned into a puppet by Smarmy the Witch. The prince is prisoner of a puppeteer named Glarm, and Glinda wants the Cowardly Lion to find and rescue the Prince before Grimwald declares war on Oz so he can discredit the Prattling King Maydor and become king himself when he "rescues" Paul.

The Cowardly Lion sets out and meets a girl named Forget-Me-Not who forgets everything, including her own name. She's puzzling over an Ozphabet book, which the Cowardly Lion explains to her in the song "The Ozphabet." H is for Scarecrow, because he's hay-filled (which we know is inaccurate because the Scarecrow thinks hay is an inferior stuffing material); T is for Woodman, because he's made of tin; G is for Tea, because it's green; C is for Lion, because he's cowardly (or cute).

Forget-Me-Not is reminded that she saw a puppet show in a nearby town, so she joins the Cowardly Lion in his search. However, Smarmy pops up and defies the Lion, making him fall into a pit, and she sings "Just Call Smarmy." But Forget-Me-Not helps the Lion out when the witch leaves, and they soon enter the town.

They find the puppet show (which is performing a song called "The Puppet Polka"), and identify the puppeteer as Glarm. They make a tree outside the town their base and sneak back at night to find the Prince. Using a puppet-scope (one of many tools Glinda provided), they are able to identify the Prince and take him back to the tree.

At the tree, Forget-Me-Not discovers the doll she's been carrying with her and left at the tree to mark it as her base has had sap dripping on it. However, the doll begins to talk and says it's an enchanted Princess Flora, Prince Paul's fiancee. She further identifies Forget-Me-Not as a daughter of a Prattling courtier.

So, they decide they need to get the antidote for the enchantments from Smarmy, so they go back to Glarm, who tells them Smarmy is in his wagon. But when they foolishly enter, they are locked in and are told by an outside Smarmy that they will all be turned to puppets. However, the Lion whips out an Ozmagnatron that pulls Smarmy and Glarm through a hole into the wagon, knocking them out cold. A bottle marked "Antidote" falls out of Smarmy's pocket and is used to restore Paul and Flora.

Tying up the two villains, they head to Glinda's. Paul, Flora, and Forget-Me-Not are returned home, but not before King Maydor declares an Oziday, which is a holiday anywhere else. (In the Ozphabet, you find it under J for "joyous.") The Lion tells Glinda he wasn't so sure of himself at times, but she assures him with the song "If You'll Just Believe" (another Rainbow Road song) that she believed in him all the time.

If you remember my blog about Thompson's actual book The Cowardly Lion of Oz, I didn't like it that much. So, I think Disneyland Records did all right by opting not to adapt it.

Still, I do have to wonder if they licensed it as Thompson's name is on the record. While it's true anyone could title a story The Cowardly Lion of Oz, they would have no problems using it as long as they didn't use Thompson's material. But her name is on there! Still, Thompson had long thought Disney would find Oz a perfect venue, so if they did do any rights handling with her, she probably would have been thrilled. However, this is just speculation here.

The songs are pretty fun and enjoyable, but I think Side 1 has too many. "Living a Lovely Life" is too quickly followed by "Trouble in Oz." In fact, Side 1 doesn't have much of the plot, either. In the 11-page picture book the album opens into, the entire plot of the first side is told on the first two pages.

But overall, it's a pretty good story, Disney's The Cowardly Lion of Oz. Though it does beg the question, what on earth is the Cowardly Lion going to do with a lifetime pass to Disneyland?

(Sorry for the image quality. Since my scanner is not large enough to scan a record album, I had to photograph instead.)

The Inspiring Power of Oz

Of all the fantasy series ever written, it is hard to imagine one that has proved so influential as the Oz books.

First off, the Oz books have something few other books have. C. Warren Hollister described it as a "3-dimensionality." Despite the more modern criticisms of little character development, the characters seem to come to life right off the page because they are so well defined. When Baum finally adopts the title of "Royal Historian of Oz," you don't think twice, you know he deserves it. Many Oz fans cannot bring themselves to truly think Oz does not exist, and the few who do wish it did.

Another exciting element in the Oz books is how the world of Oz develops. In the Oz books, Oz is part of a fantasy world that is explored more and more throughout the series unfolding with new lands, characters, and adventures. When fans of the books discover the existence of Baum's other fantasies that take place in the world of Oz, they often seek them out to see other parts of this world unfold.

Unlike today's fantasies (Harry Potter, I'm looking at you) back stories are not set up in earlier Oz books, instead you're told what you need to know in each book. This isn't something that is done now, as book series are often designed to be developed into multimedia franchises. But back in the early part of the 20th century, it was too pretentious for an author or publisher to expect every reader to have read every book in a series and then keep track of these bits of continuity. The Oz books were designed as standalone stories that were also a series.

To be sure, there are continuity errors in the Oz books, but fans don't mind. It makes them think, and in some cases, it feels like historical documents that contradict each other in small ways.

It is, in fact, the engaging nature of the Oz books which is why they have been adapted so many times and why so many additional Oz books have been written by fans. When one reads the Oz books, they can picture the story in their imagination, and sometimes these depictions are so vivid, the reader cannot help but bring them out in their own way.

Characters, places, and other items stick out from the history of the world of Oz and creative readers will often pick up on these and develop new stories based on them, unfolding the world of Oz even further. Some who read the Oz books notice these and are inspired to redevelop them in ways completely independent of established history with mixed results.

That is why the Oz books are one of the most endearing and longest-lasting series of books ever. The world of Oz and its people appeal to our imaginations so much that they are welcomed eagerly in their many forms.

"Dorothy and the Witches of Oz" Louisville Premiere!

Tonight I attended the Louisville, Kentucky premiere of Leigh Scott's "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz" movie! It was amazing. I had already met Leigh Scott, Al Snow, and Barry Ratcliffe; but today I got to meet Ashe Parker, who has a couple of small parts in the movie. The first thing she said to me was, "do you have an accent? Lemme hear you talk." We are both from Kentucky, and she has a nice little country twang to her voice unlike me. We got our picture taken together... sorry for the blurriness, folks. Taken on a cell phone...

Barry and Al were at a table set up for signing posters and postcards, so my friend and I went over there to get an autograph. Barry immediately recognized me and announced that I had arrived. Then Leigh Scott came over and gave me a copy of the soundtrack for the movie that he had promised me awhile back. We all got our picture taken together, but sadly, I don't have it. There was a photographer there taking photos of everything, but I don't have those yet. So, you'll have to settle for a cell phone picture of just Leigh, Al, and I.

Yeah, no one was really focused on taking the picture... maybe the ones the photographer took will look better?

Anyhoo, after the picture, I talked to Al a bit. Fun fact for you diehard Oz fans, Al has actually read all of the Oz books! He asked me which ones were my favorites, and which ones I've read and haven't read. Really cool guy, but a little intimidating...

By that point, it was 7:15, and the movie was about to start. The movie started a few minutes late, because they had to wait for everyone to get into the theater. Barry gave a nice introduction, and the movie started!

Let me just say without spoiling much, that the beginning blew me (and everyone else in the audience) away completely. It was really an unexpected surprise, and I loved it! I think that Oz fans that get to see the movie will really respond well to that, too. They cut about 20 minutes out since I've seen it, and I really liked seeing the movie on the big screen and the audience's reaction.

The event was pretty successful. The theater was pretty much full, and everyone was excited to see it. There were some great questions in the Q&A, and you could tell a couple people really did their homework. Leigh talked about the sequel a bit, and explained the references in the movie to Wonderland and Neverland.

After the movie, as I was walking out, Leigh stopped me and asked what I thought of the movie. We talked for a bit (and I mean a couple of seconds), and then it was over. An awesome night!

Mara, Daughter of the Nile

From all the comments Eloise McGraw got about this book, I assumed it was a fan favorite.

Mara, Daughter of the Nile was published in 1953 and is one of three books Eloise McGraw wrote that took place in ancient Egypt. (And if you're wondering, no, that's not the first edition cover. That's my copy.)

Mara is a slave girl suddenly bought from her old master and made a spy for the new queen of Egypt. However, on her journey, she meets the young Sheftu and he convinces her to spy for him and Thutmose III, the step-brother of the queen who, Sheftu and a large band of Egyptians feel, should be the Pharaoh.

After settling into the court of Queen Hatshepsut, serving Thutmose's bride-to-be Inanni (who soon befriends Mara), Mara decides to become a double spy. But as she gets tangled up in her spying, she falls in love with Sheftu. But soon Mara's double spying is discovered and her life is at stake!

To be honest, this proved slow reading for me. Maybe I wasn't in the mood, but it didn't really pick up until that part I left off at there in my summary. Or perhaps I'm not extremely fond of McGraw's earliest works. (I've yet to finish Moccasin Trail.) It's a good story and all, but it was just slow reading for me, and I'm normally a voracious reader.

Meeting the "Witches" cast!

Wait? Angelo blogging on a Thursday? And doing something other than a "weekly update" blog?

Yeah, you heard right! I'm blogging today because I got to meet a couple people from the new movie "Dorothy and the Witches of Oz"! Al Snow, Barry Ratcliffe, an Leigh Scott are all in town for the premiere of the movie tomorrow night here in Louisville. They stopped by my school today to talk up the movie to the 3rd-7th grade kids.

I'm in 8th grade for those who don't know, so my mom (who happens to be the Spanish teacher) came and bailed me out of class so I could go watch! Let me just say, it was surreal. I'm so used to seeing Barry and Al on screen that it was kind of weird meeting them in person.

As soon as I came in, I was greeted by Al and Barry, who were very nice. Then, Leigh came over. For those who don't know, I talk to Leigh a lot online, and we're pretty good friends. I had a total geek out moment here and was a little overwhelmed. I got a movie poster and a premiere invitation from Leigh, and we even got a photo taken together!

Barry was hysterically funny throughout their little presentation, and he really got the kids into it. They handed out posters, and took questions from kids. All of the kids seemed really excited for the movie, and most had great questions. Others... not so much. Like, "Did you all write the Oz books too?" and "Are there any people from the original Oz movie in this one?"

Tomorrow night, I'll be attending the premiere event here in Louisville. Word is that they've changed and cut some things (and one big difference) since I've seen it, so I will writing another blog on the event, and my thoughts on the final product of the movie.