The cast of 'Oz: The Great and Powerful'Image via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
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Mauricio Cueto
Published 40 minutes ago
Mauricio is a Mexican guy who gets attached to cancelled TV shows, likes to read Marvel comics about underdog teams, and has been told one-too-many times he looks like Penn Badgley, specifically in his stalker-y roles. He discovered his passion for pop culture with Power Rangers and the Star Wars Special Edition re-releases. Professionally, he's got a degree in International Finance and has been in the real estate business for almost 10 years now (yikes!). Magically, he's 83% Ravenclaw and 17% Slytherin. Musically, he thinks Jack Antonoff is a multiversal being with the key to create bop after bop.
He specializes in over-analyzing his favorite shows like Glee, Lost, Community, Ugly Betty, and Grey's Anatomy; as well as his favorite actors' performances, like Olivia Colman, Olivia Colman, and Olivia Colman. Just kidding, other faves include Anna Kendrick, Rachel Bloom, Lee Pace, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth Olsen, and Olivia Colman.
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125 years ago, Frank L. Baum published a novel whose legacy would go on to redefine contemporary pop culture. Through its numerous eventual adaptations, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz made an exceptionally lasting impact that produced iconic concepts like the yellow brick road, the ruby slippers, and the man behind the curtain. With The Wizard of Oz’s Sphere re-release, and Wicked: For Good amping up to take over cinemas for the holiday season, this franchise is very much alive and far from over. While many studios have had their own pieces of Oz-related media, another high-profile player has also dabbled in this magical land: Disney.
Ever since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ success, Disney has tried to make Baum’s oeuvre become part of their properties. At first, Disney aimed to turn Baum’s first book into the studio’s follow-up animated film, but the rights were already in Samuel Goldwyn and Louis B. Mayer’s hands. Since then, a complicated history between Disney and the Land of Oz started to brew. The various attempts have produced everything from unfinished films to moderately successful adaptations. Remarkably, the House of Mouse hasn’t been able to fully capitalize on this franchise, but perhaps it’s for the best.
Disney’s First Attempts to Adapt the Land of Oz Were Scattered Through the Years
Even when the first approach failed, Disney didn’t give up on the dream of telling Oz stories. Thus, in 1954, he succeeded in acquiring the rights to the remaining Oz books. By this time, Disney’s ambitions had adjusted to adapting the books into a couple of episodes of the anthology live action TV series Disneyland. One thing led to another, and by the time Disney got his hands on the script draft, he decided to produce it once again as a film – The Rainbow Road to Oz. Actors from the Mouseketeers group were expected to be part of the main cast. Allegedly, due to production costs and lack of confidence in the film’s cast, Disney ended up shelving the film.
Even when having the rights to all but the first of Baum’s books, Disney, now as a company, given Walt died in 1965, didn’t do anything with them for decades. It wouldn’t be until 1985 that Disney would take another shot at the Oz franchise with Return to Oz. While not directly a sequel to the 1939 film, the movie relied on the audience to have a knowledge of Dorothy – played by The Craft’s Fairuza Balk – her friends, and the Land of Oz. Director Walter Burch went for a more mature tone for this film, resulting in a dark fantasy that divided critics at the time, but has gained a cult following since.
By the time Return of Oz was produced, rights didn’t matter much, for Baum’s books had already become public domain. Still, Disney had to get special permission to make use of an essential part of the Oz lore – the famed ruby slippers. Since those were an original creation for the 1939 film, not the books, MGM had to authorize their use. And so they did, after the payment of an undisclosed fee. Regardless of the efforts behind it, Return to Oz stands as one of the underrated 80s Disney films with darker themes that time has forgotten – like The Watcher in the Woods and The Black Cauldron.
Disney Has Since Produced Other Contemporary Adaptations of ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’
20 years after Return to Oz, Disney acquired the rights to another beloved franchise, The Muppets. In an attempt to mesh the Jim Henson creations with Baum’s books, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz was produced. The film, starring Ashanti as Dorothy and Queen Latifah as Aunt Em, was released directly as a TV movie to middling – mostly negative – critical reception. The Muppets franchise has since faced ups and downs under Disney, with two feature films and several TV shows gracing the screens. But the case for The Land of Oz was totally different, as it was shelved once again by the studio for almost ten years.
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Posts By Tyler B. Searle Dec 23, 2023It wouldn’t be until 2013 that Disney would try to turn The Wonderful Wizard of Oz into a blockbuster film. Sam Raimi’s Oz the Great and Powerful served as a prequel story that delved into the origins of these magical characters. The movie boasted a stellar cast that featured Michelle Williams as Glinda, Mila Kunis and Rachel Weisz as the Wicked Witches, and James Franco as the Wizard. While Oz the Great and Powerful was the 13th highest-grossing film of that year, the burden placed upon it was gigantic, as it was expected to make at least as much as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. Thus, at a box office short of half a billion, the intended franchise-starter ended up becoming a one-off that has since faded into oblivion.
‘Once Upon a Time’ Managed to Get Part of the Land of Oz Right
Rebecca Mader as Zelena the Wicked Witch of the West with green skin and pointy black hat in Once Upon a Time.Image via ABC
The long and convoluted history between Disney and Oz is perhaps proof that thestwo e worlds don’t exactly go well together. Still, there is a silver lining to this story, as one hit ABC TV show – that falls under the Disney umbrella – managed to mix The Land of Oz successfully into its narrative. Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis’ Once Upon a Time weaved an intricate story in which many fairy tales interacted. From Pinocchio to the Frozen sisters, seven seasons of the show managed to tell new and bingeworthy stories about these legendary characters.
Through Once Upon a Time’s third season, Disney finally achieved a successful portrayal of the Oz books. While many characters like Dorothy (Teri Reeves) and the Wizard (Christopher Gorham) were part of the show’s ensemble, it was the Wicked Witch of the West who took the spotlight. Rebecca Mader’s Zelena became an essential part of the show’s main storylines, as she was the half-sister of Lana Parrilla’s Queen Regina. Together, they explore how to overcome their past, making Zelena have a full redemption arc. Not only is she one of the best characters of the show, but also one of the best iterations of the Wicked Witch of the West. So, while Disney’s relationship with Oz has been rocky, the good things that have come from it have been enough. That is, until Disney decides to take a shot at it once again.
Return to Oz is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.
Return to Oz
Like PG Adventure Fantasy Family Release Date June 21, 1985 Runtime 109 Minutes Director Walter Murch Writers Walter Murch, Gill DennisCast
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Fairuza Balk
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Nicol Williamson
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The Wizard of Oz
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