Sept. 2026

Everything Old

Many differences exist between ‘Oz’ book and classic film

by Corbin Crable

As many of you may recall, watching “The Wizard of Oz” on cable television used to be an annual event – your family would get cozy in the living room, grab a bowl of popcorn, and wait for the booming music from the MGM Studio Orchestra, signaling the start of a classic tale that’s been loved by generations of moviegoers (and especially we Kansans).

You might even think you know all there is to know about the 1939 film, based on the 1900 children’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. Whether you’ve seen the film AND read the series of Oz books, however, is likely another story.
The official canonical books in the Oz series numbers 40 – often called the “Famous Forty,” with Baum himself writing 14 of them before his death in 1919. The other 26 were written by a series of other authors, with the final Oz book published in 1963. Audiences the world over love the film for its colorful, joyous messages about the power of self, of friendship, of home.

The Oz books, however, were not only stranger but also much darker (the 1985 sequel, “Return to Oz,” has been described as being closer to Baum’s books than its predecessor, and Generation Xers know that to be true. Did that film give anyone else nightmares?).

Many other differences exist between the original book and the 1939 MGM film. Take a look:

In the film: Dorothy’s iconic ruby slippers were red, made so because director Victor Fleming wanted to show off the wonder of Technicolor.
In the book: Dorothy’s slippers were a shimmering silver.
In the film: The Emerald City and everything in it was green.
In the book: Characters had to wear special pairs of glasses within the city, which made everything appear green and thus more magical.

In the film: The Wicked Witch of the West is the primary antagonist and given plenty of screen time alongside her minions (the Winkie Guards and winged monkeys, of course).
In the book: The Wicked Witch’s role was quite small; she was only introduced for two chapters before being killed off – or, as the Wizard himself says in the film, “liquidated.”
In the film: Dorothy is portrayed as a teenager, around 14 or 15.
In the book: Though Baum doesn’t explicitly state her age, Dorothy is portrayed as a small child, likely around 7 or 8.
In the film: Real-life people such as the farm hands, Professor Marvel, and the wicked Miss Gulch are parallels of the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion, the Wizard, and Wicked Witch in Oz. At the end of the film, when Dorothy wakes up from her slumber surrounded by her family and friends, the viewer is to believe that Dorothy’s experiences in Oz were simply a dream.