“True courage is in facing danger when you are afraid…”
Almost everyone knows the story of Dorothy visiting the land of Oz from the movie, but the movie was based on a series of books written in the early 1900s. In the original book, Dorothy still travels to Oz via a tornado, but she receives a pair of silver shoes to wear instead of ruby slippers. That is just one of several differences between the books and the movie.
I first read the original books in middle school and was fascinated by the differences in the books and the movie I had grown up loving. Then, after college, I read some of the Wicked series books by Gregory Maguire and found them to follow the story of the original books. Wicked the musical is based on his books. I felt I had a better grasp on the entire background story when I saw the play since I had read the original books. Some of my children are interested in seeing Wicked, so I’m encouraging them to read the original books first.
Another major difference in the books and movie is that the flying monkeys are only under the control of the Wicked Witch for three wishes and then they are free. For a while, Dorothy has control over them. Dorothy and her friends have to cross a desert to try and defeat the Wicked Witch. The scarecrow, tin man and cowardly lion also have different background stories in the books.
If you are planning to see Wicked or love the Wizard of Oz movie, you should consider reading the original series to learn more about what the play and movie are based upon. I plan to read a few more in the series with my daughters later this year.
What is your favorite thing about the Wizard of Oz? Share on the blog!