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Description
Show: The Wizard of Oz (1990 Cartoon)
Episode: 3
Year: 1990

Writer(s): Doug Molitor

Ah, The Wizard of Oz. If ever a wizard a wiz there was a timeless classic movie this would be it. Yes it took liberties from the novel but I think it's better for it, but at the same time to could work as its own series with a mythology that spans over 50 years and more. I can definitely see the potential in an Oz cartoon; since many of the books are public domain you can use quite a lot of material without referencing the MGM movie, but that's sadly where most feel comfortable. Anytime you find anybody referencing The Wizard of Oz, it's usually jabs and such at the movie, it is the most parodied film in existence after all next to Willy Wonka and It's a Wonderul Life.

There have been film media of the Oz series since at least 1902 before MGM did their movie, and even several cartoon adaptations, usually anime. Don't worry, I'll do an atrocity on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return in the future. But that's neither here nor now, we're gonna talk about one of DIC's more ideal endeavors in the way of adaptions. With things like The Super Mario Brothers Super Show and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog they had to take a lot of liberties for franchises still in their infancy, they aren't bad nor is this a bad thing, but still they were very new at the time.

This cartoon was made in celebration of the movies 50th anniversary in 1989, with it coming out a year later. The idea of Dorothy coming back to Oz to help her friends is definitely an idea with potential since despite what people think she's a great character with a lot of spunk! And reviving the Wicked Witch to kickstart the plot was a decent move, though I wish they used villains like the Nome King in her stead, I guess Maragaret Hamilton's portrayal is just too noteworthy to ignore! This cartoon was able to use elements of the movie to its advantage very well, with remixes of the classical music and even the songs in some episodes! They even gave Toto the ability to smell the witch as a detection of her presence or whenever a spell was used. And yes, in the movie Oz was just a head trauma-induced delusion, but I ignore that since it was a last minute change because those guys were idiots for thinking we couldn't buy the premise! Besides Oz is real in the books and most other media! I wouldn't call it a continuation of the movie for that reason though, it's more like a spinoff, because it does alter things from the movie as well.

If Pixar's Inside Out (which I'll reveiw) taught me anything it's that our seemingly negative emotions actually are very beneficial to us as living beings. Each has its place in our lives and is necessary for us to function as people. Anger, sadness, disgust and yes, even fear is important for us all to have. Fear is basically a safety net for us living beings to help keep us in check and try to keep us under control. True, too much fear controlling your life can be bad, which is why you need emotional balance. Without fear we lose our sense of danger and caution, essentially becoming reckless and foolhardy.

This series uses an overarching plot of Dorothy and her friends trying to save the Wizard, who's balloon has been put under the witches curse as it drifts aimlessly though Oz. And as she reeks havoc throughout the land and they must try to destroy her once more. Upon their journey each character has some focus in a different episode or we see an interesting part of Oz and it's mythos. In this case it focuses on The Cowardly Lion, who actually gets the most focus out of Dorothy's companions, since he gets 3 episodes that revolve with him alone. Since the witch also removed their placebos from the end of the film the Scarecrow, TinMan and Lion, while doubtful of their abilities and weakened in a way, all still strive to overcome their flaws and help Dorothy anyway they can like in the movie; this is definitely a nice way of not reverting them.

When the gang happens upon a mysterious carnival to find a fortuneteller who can track down the Wizard the Lion happened upon her first (as the Witch in disguise); he wants to be brave and fierce so the "gypsy" puts a spell on him. Whenever he hears the word "Courage" he flips back and forth between a fearless beast and his regular cowardly self. This eventually leads them to try to find the Wizard in the dangerous Pop-Land, inhabited by evil Jack-in the boxes! You'd think they couldn't be very dangerous beyond being creepy looking, but Disney's Castle of Illusion taught me otherwise! I will also say that while the animation is good even for Dic, it does tend to get poorer with each episode; this ones decent though, especially the scenes with the Wicked Witch and Truckle the Flying Monkey (voiced by Pat Fraley). It's with those two I see how Gruntilda and Klungo of Banjo-Kazooie fame came to be.

All of the denizens of Pop-land are ravenous Jack-in-the-boxes, compared to a village where everybody is made of fragile China that sounds normal. The Witch has been using Dorothy as a way to track down the Wizard since Glinda casted a protective star in the sky to keep him out of her crystal balls sight. And in Pop-Land you never know what will "pop out" next! It eventually gets to where the word courage gets thrown around so much by Lion and the group he can't keep track of whether he's brave or a coward! The Wizard was forced to anchor down near a bute because every time he tries to cast off, the Wicked West Wind blows him off course, and it gets to the point where the Lion honestly tries to fight the witch by himself! Which she takes full advantage of.

I should also mention that in this series, the Ruby Slippers act as a sort of "deux ex machina" giving Dorothy a last resort power up to help them when they need to fight back the witch, or fix a problem. 4 heel clicks activates them, as its more powerful than 3. They can be very unpredictable as she doesn't know how to really use them and don't always work as intended, a staple of shows in the 90s and early 2000s. Anyways, as the gang tries to get out of the way of the witches fire, the Lion buckles under the pressure, believing he can't do anything without the spell. Professor Marvel tells him that a lack of fear is foolhardy, that every hero knows fear. A true hero can master their fear, just as someone like Courage the Cowardly Dog does. To be able to use these "negative" emotions positively is what sets people apart really.

Unfortunately before the Wizard can abandon the balloon he gets blown back. This is gonna be a recurring ending in the show, and unfortunately they never do rescue him; it ended before they could, just like how Pirates of Dark Water ended with only 8 of the 13 Treasures of Rule gathered. The Lion however was able to save the gang from a blazing inferno, all without the spell, and because of this according to Glinda the spell itself was broken. And our heroes continue on their quest once more.

This show only lasted 13 episodes with no resolution, but it had the most effort put into any Oz cartoon I've ever seen! And when DIC of all companies can pull out a surprisingly good adaptation of a classic book series that says something! Someday, somewhere over the rainbow I know, that we get another Oz cartoon, we do so need it. Maybe I'll revisit this show again sometime in the future, I dunno. But I will leave you wth a song from the end of the two-parter, as a hint for a future review:

Like an emerald it sparkles beyond the clouds,
with a message that's sent from afar.
It's a pledge and a sign, that the Wizard is fine,
There is hope when you lot to the star!

Have faith in your heart that we're going to find him someday,
thought the day may be far.
Let it shimmer and shine, it's a heavenly sign,
that he's waving, so long to the star.

I'm not entirely sure who currently owns the rights to this cartoon.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314

Description
Show: The Wizard of Oz (1990 Cartoon)
Episode: 3
Year: 1990

Writer(s): Doug Molitor

Ah, The Wizard of Oz. If ever a wizard a wiz there was a timeless classic movie this would be it. Yes it took liberties from the novel but I think it's better for it, but at the same time to could work as its own series with a mythology that spans over 50 years and more. I can definitely see the potential in an Oz cartoon; since many of the books are public domain you can use quite a lot of material without referencing the MGM movie, but that's sadly where most feel comfortable. Anytime you find anybody referencing The Wizard of Oz, it's usually jabs and such at the movie, it is the most parodied film in existence after all next to Willy Wonka and It's a Wonderul Life.

There have been film media of the Oz series since at least 1902 before MGM did their movie, and even several cartoon adaptations, usually anime. Don't worry, I'll do an atrocity on Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return in the future. But that's neither here nor now, we're gonna talk about one of DIC's more ideal endeavors in the way of adaptions. With things like The Super Mario Brothers Super Show and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog they had to take a lot of liberties for franchises still in their infancy, they aren't bad nor is this a bad thing, but still they were very new at the time.

This cartoon was made in celebration of the movies 50th anniversary in 1989, with it coming out a year later. The idea of Dorothy coming back to Oz to help her friends is definitely an idea with potential since despite what people think she's a great character with a lot of spunk! And reviving the Wicked Witch to kickstart the plot was a decent move, though I wish they used villains like the Nome King in her stead, I guess Maragaret Hamilton's portrayal is just too noteworthy to ignore! This cartoon was able to use elements of the movie to its advantage very well, with remixes of the classical music and even the songs in some episodes! They even gave Toto the ability to smell the witch as a detection of her presence or whenever a spell was used. And yes, in the movie Oz was just a head trauma-induced delusion, but I ignore that since it was a last minute change because those guys were idiots for thinking we couldn't buy the premise! Besides Oz is real in the books and most other media! I wouldn't call it a continuation of the movie for that reason though, it's more like a spinoff, because it does alter things from the movie as well.

If Pixar's Inside Out (which I'll reveiw) taught me anything it's that our seemingly negative emotions actually are very beneficial to us as living beings. Each has its place in our lives and is necessary for us to function as people. Anger, sadness, disgust and yes, even fear is important for us all to have. Fear is basically a safety net for us living beings to help keep us in check and try to keep us under control. True, too much fear controlling your life can be bad, which is why you need emotional balance. Without fear we lose our sense of danger and caution, essentially becoming reckless and foolhardy.

This series uses an overarching plot of Dorothy and her friends trying to save the Wizard, who's balloon has been put under the witches curse as it drifts aimlessly though Oz. And as she reeks havoc throughout the land and they must try to destroy her once more. Upon their journey each character has some focus in a different episode or we see an interesting part of Oz and it's mythos. In this case it focuses on The Cowardly Lion, who actually gets the most focus out of Dorothy's companions, since he gets 3 episodes that revolve with him alone. Since the witch also removed their placebos from the end of the film the Scarecrow, TinMan and Lion, while doubtful of their abilities and weakened in a way, all still strive to overcome their flaws and help Dorothy anyway they can like in the movie; this is definitely a nice way of not reverting them.

When the gang happens upon a mysterious carnival to find a fortuneteller who can track down the Wizard the Lion happened upon her first (as the Witch in disguise); he wants to be brave and fierce so the "gypsy" puts a spell on him. Whenever he hears the word "Courage" he flips back and forth between a fearless beast and his regular cowardly self. This eventually leads them to try to find the Wizard in the dangerous Pop-Land, inhabited by evil Jack-in the boxes! You'd think they couldn't be very dangerous beyond being creepy looking, but Disney's Castle of Illusion taught me otherwise! I will also say that while the animation is good even for Dic, it does tend to get poorer with each episode; this ones decent though, especially the scenes with the Wicked Witch and Truckle the Flying Monkey (voiced by Pat Fraley). It's with those two I see how Gruntilda and Klungo of Banjo-Kazooie fame came to be.

All of the denizens of Pop-land are ravenous Jack-in-the-boxes, compared to a village where everybody is made of fragile China that sounds normal. The Witch has been using Dorothy as a way to track down the Wizard since Glinda casted a protective star in the sky to keep him out of her crystal balls sight. And in Pop-Land you never know what will "pop out" next! It eventually gets to where the word courage gets thrown around so much by Lion and the group he can't keep track of whether he's brave or a coward! The Wizard was forced to anchor down near a bute because every time he tries to cast off, the Wicked West Wind blows him off course, and it gets to the point where the Lion honestly tries to fight the witch by himself! Which she takes full advantage of.

I should also mention that in this series, the Ruby Slippers act as a sort of "deux ex machina" giving Dorothy a last resort power up to help them when they need to fight back the witch, or fix a problem. 4 heel clicks activates them, as its more powerful than 3. They can be very unpredictable as she doesn't know how to really use them and don't always work as intended, a staple of shows in the 90s and early 2000s. Anyways, as the gang tries to get out of the way of the witches fire, the Lion buckles under the pressure, believing he can't do anything without the spell. Professor Marvel tells him that a lack of fear is foolhardy, that every hero knows fear. A true hero can master their fear, just as someone like Courage the Cowardly Dog does. To be able to use these "negative" emotions positively is what sets people apart really.

Unfortunately before the Wizard can abandon the balloon he gets blown back. This is gonna be a recurring ending in the show, and unfortunately they never do rescue him; it ended before they could, just like how Pirates of Dark Water ended with only 8 of the 13 Treasures of Rule gathered. The Lion however was able to save the gang from a blazing inferno, all without the spell, and because of this according to Glinda the spell itself was broken. And our heroes continue on their quest once more.

This show only lasted 13 episodes with no resolution, but it had the most effort put into any Oz cartoon I've ever seen! And when DIC of all companies can pull out a surprisingly good adaptation of a classic book series that says something! Someday, somewhere over the rainbow I know, that we get another Oz cartoon, we do so need it. Maybe I'll revisit this show again sometime in the future, I dunno. But I will leave you wth a song from the end of the two-parter, as a hint for a future review:

Like an emerald it sparkles beyond the clouds,
with a message that's sent from afar.
It's a pledge and a sign, that the Wizard is fine,
There is hope when you lot to the star!

Have faith in your heart that we're going to find him someday,
thought the day may be far.
Let it shimmer and shine, it's a heavenly sign,
that he's waving, so long to the star.

I'm not entirely sure who currently owns the rights to this cartoon.

1001 Animations is from

Regulas314