L. Frank Baum wanted to create an American fairy tale full of fantastical but heroic characters that connected with his readers. He created Dorothy, the Kansas girl who caught do anything, the Scarecrow, without a brain but full of great ideas, the Tin Woodman, lacking a heart but full of compassion, and the Cowardly Lion, who said he lacked courage but was brave at every turn. These characters set off on an adventure that saw them face and overcome obstacles at every turn, regardless of whether they were from the environment, animals, or people. This wonderful story captured the hearts and minds of its readers from the book’s publishing in 1900 up until today. This universal appeal prompted Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to create a movie version
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The Scarecrow is made into a bumbling, scared character with no original ideas or thoughts to be found. The escape from that same poppy field in the movie is engineered by the Glinda the Good Witch of the North from afar. The Scarecrow freaks out for a second about the poppies before the problem is solved for him. The Tin Man is rusted to uselessness by the snow Glinda calls down and through the whole movie has to be reminded to not cry because it will cause him to rust. So the Scarecrow is made into a witless buffoon and the Tin Man is made into a useless easily scared and rusted comedic character. After Dorothy, the Lion is the most weakened and stripped down character in MGM’s version. The Lion cries constantly, has no bravery, and tries to run away at every turn only to be held back by the Tin Man and Scarecrow. The only time he moves passed his fear in any way is to save Dorothy from the Witch and even then he asks the other two to talk him out of being brave. In contrast, Baum’s version puts aside his fear at every turn, be it to leap over the chasm or confront the monstrous Kalidahs. He was afraid but never let that fear hold him hostage unlike his onscreen
The Scarecrow is made into a bumbling, scared character with no original ideas or thoughts to be found. The escape from that same poppy field in the movie is engineered by the Glinda the Good Witch of the North from afar. The Scarecrow freaks out for a second about the poppies before the problem is solved for him. The Tin Man is rusted to uselessness by the snow Glinda calls down and through the whole movie has to be reminded to not cry because it will cause him to rust. So the Scarecrow is made into a witless buffoon and the Tin Man is made into a useless easily scared and rusted comedic character. After Dorothy, the Lion is the most weakened and stripped down character in MGM’s version. The Lion cries constantly, has no bravery, and tries to run away at every turn only to be held back by the Tin Man and Scarecrow. The only time he moves passed his fear in any way is to save Dorothy from the Witch and even then he asks the other two to talk him out of being brave. In contrast, Baum’s version puts aside his fear at every turn, be it to leap over the chasm or confront the monstrous Kalidahs. He was afraid but never let that fear hold him hostage unlike his onscreen