“The Wizard of Oz” has long been heralded as one of the greatest films of all time. From its beautiful music to its stunning visuals that stand the test of time, it is a movie that attracted audiences to fantasy in film. Even so, I think the movie is a bit overrated. Sure, it changed the landscape of the film industry, but if you go back and watch the movie without nostalgia glasses on, there are multiple glaring issues that, luckily, similar films have managed to avoid over the years.
One of the biggest problems is the film’s writing. While the movie has plenty of great ideas, such as the reveal of the truth behind the Wizard of Oz, they are poorly executed. For example, at the end of the film, when the Wizard offers to take Dorothy back home and she accepts, suddenly Toto jumps off the air balloon, and they remain stranded in Oz. But don’t worry, Glinda the Good Witch is here to save the day with some magic slippers, so what was the point of the hot air balloon anyway, and why does the Wizard need to leave Oz? Why does the Wizard have to be from Kansas? Why can’t he just be a normal man who built his way to the top through dishonest means? The film’s script completely ignores these questions.
Additionally, the film’s characters are lacking in complexity or depth. Let’s take the main character, Dorothy, for example. Dorothy comes to Oz at the beginning of the story after being caught in a tornado and transported to Oz, accidentally killing the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy wants to go home. She then eventually goes home. This is the only character development she receives in the story. I feel like I’m watching a character so flat that I could accidentally sneeze and she would fly away into the wind.
Now let’s compare her to a character who is put through a similar story, but is infinitely more interesting and complex than Dorothy could ever be: Chihiro Ogino from Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated film “Spirited Away.” Similar to Dorothy, Chihiro is brought into a mysterious world and is immediately struck with a desire to return home, but she has the added goal of saving her parents, who have been turned into pigs. As Chihiro spends more time in this beautiful world, she creates connections, grows stronger, and becomes a better person. In the end, you can really tell she’s devastated about leaving this world behind, but she needs to save her parents. Chihiro is an interesting character to me, whereas Dorothy simply has one goal. She meets other characters, such as the Tin Man and the Scarecrow, but returns home without having learned from them or having been impacted by them. It doesn’t feel like she’s any different than how she left, and it doesn’t feel like after the movie is over she is going to go on and do something interesting besides work on the farm.
But let’s not get this mixed up. I still enjoy this movie despite its flaws. One of the best aspects of the film is its visuals. The choice to make Kansas black and white, as opposed to the vibrant color in Oz, is an exceptional idea, and one that helped ease filmgoers of the 1930s into color film. The sets in the film and the costumes are also quite fun. They really play up the idea that the characters in Oz are parallels to characters in Kansas, like the wicked witch being the evil lady in Kansas, which is on the next level of commitment that I love, even if it sacrifices realistic character designs for the lion specifically.
I should also mention that the film has an amazing soundtrack. There is not one bad song. Iconic ballads like “Somewhere over the Rainbow” to simple jingles like “We’re Off to See the Wizard” have long been classics. Even lesser-known songs such as “If I Only Had a Brain” are bunches of fun.
“The Wizard of Oz” is a classic that shaped many things that would go on to be refined as the years have gone on in the film industry. That being said, it is not the best or even close to the top of its genre, due to its lackluster script and poor characters. Even so, it is still a good watch, and if you know someone who has not seen it, you might as well show them what it is about.
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