Wizard (Oz)

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The Wizard, on the cover of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Wizard, on the cover of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

The Wizard of Oz (or simply The Wizard) is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and further popularized by the classic 1939 movie.

Contents

[edit] The classic books

The Wizard is one of the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Unseen for most of the novel, he is the ruler of the Land of Oz and highly venerated by his subjects. Believing he is the only man capable of solving their problems, Dorothy Gale and her friends travel to the Emerald City, the capital of Oz, to meet him. Oz is very reluctant to meet them, but eventually they are granted an audience. Every time the Wizard appears in a different form, once as a giant head, once as a beautiful fairy, once as ball of fire, and once as a horrible monster.

Eventually, it is revealed that Oz is actually none of these things, but rather an ordinary, American man who has been using a lot of elaborate magic tricks and props to make himself seem "great and powerful." Working as a magician in the United States, he wrote OZ on the side of his hot air balloon for promotional purposes. One day his balloon sailed into the Land of Oz, and found himself worshipped as a great sorcerer. As Oz had no leadership at the time, he became Supreme Ruler of the kingdom, and did his best to sustain the myth.

He leaves Oz at the end of the novel, again in a hot air balloon. After the Wizard's departure, the Scarecrow is briefly enthroned, until the rightful hereditary ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma, is freed from the witch Mombi at the end of The Marvelous Land of Oz.

In a later Oz book, Oz explains that his real name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. To shorten this name, he used only his initials (O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D.), but since they spell out the word "pinhead", he shortened his name further and called himself "Oz".

In The Marvelous Land of Oz, the Wizard is described as having usurped the throne of King Pastoria and handed over the baby princess to Mombi. This did not please the readers, and in Ozma of Oz, although the character did not appear, Baum described Ozma's abduction without including the Wizard as part of it.[1]

The Wizard returns in the novel Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz. With Dorothy and the boy Zeb, he falls through a crack in the earth; in their underground journey, he acts as their guide and protector.[2] When Ozma rescues them from the underground kingdoms, he recounts his story of becoming the ruler of Oz, and Ozma explains that before the witches usurped her grandfather's throne (an occurrence happening long before the wizard arrived), the ruler of Oz had always been known as Oz or (if female) Ozma.[3] Ozma then permits him to live in Oz permanently.[4] He becomes an apprentice to Glinda, the most powerful magic-worker in Oz. Ozma decrees that, besides herself, only The Wizard and Glinda are allowed to use magic.

In later books, he proves himself quite an inventor, providing devices that aid in various character's journeys. Some of his most elaborate devices are the Ozpril and the Oztober, balloon-powered Ozoplanes in Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz, and intelligent taxis called Salawagons in The Scalawagons of Oz.

[edit] Silent film

The Wizard has appeared in nearly every silent Oz film, portrayed by different actors each time.

[edit] The 1939 movie

In the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, The Wizard's character is similar to that found in the earlier books: a bumbling "humbug." He was played by actor Frank Morgan. The same actor also played several other roles in the movie; including Professor Marvel, the mysterious traveling fortuneteller that Dorothy meets in Kansas, the Doorman at the Emerald City, the Guard at the Gates to Oz's Castle and the Coachman. His face was also presumably used as the projected image of the Wizard. Like Dorothy, the Wizard hails from Kansas, proudly stating that he is "an old Kansas man myself, born and bred in the heart of the Western Wilderness."

[edit] Adaptations

  • In the 1902 musical extravaganza, The Wizard is the usurper of the throne of King Pastoria II, who is returned to Oz by the same cyclone that brought Dorothy Gale. The Wizard was portrayed by a series of "ethnic" comedians. Once Pastoria regains his throne, anyone who sides with the Wizard, including those seeking his aid, are considered guilty of treason and ordered beheaded.
  • In the 1978 film The Wiz, the titular "Wiz" (played by Richard Pryor) is Herman Smith, a failed politician from Atlantic City, New Jersey. This "Wiz" is a "phony" through and through, and does not provide the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion with their brains, heart and courage; instead, Dorothy shows the three that they already possess the qualities they seek.
Maguire presents the Wizard as a con man and a hustler who happened onto a world where he could literally make himself into a king overnight. Pretending to have vast powers and all-encompassing knowledge, he rules over the Emerald City, while secretly requiring people with true magic talent such as Glinda and Elphaba to cast spells for him.
During the course of Maguire's novel and the subsequent Broadway production, it is revealed that the Wizard is indeed behind some of the most horrific and disastrous events in the story, with one of his cohorts being Madame Morrible. The Wizard is revealed the illegitimate father of Elphaba, seducing her mother with a magical green elixir, causing Elphaba's green tone. In the musical, this fact is revealed to the character Glinda, who accosts the Wizard with this information. It is also under the Wizard's direction that the Animals of Oz — most notably the Goat teacher from Shiz University, Doctor Dillamond — are caged and placed under strict control. This cruelty causes the final split between Elphaba and the Wizard, leading to her transformation into the Wicked Witch of the West.
No more than a con man with knowledge of how to work with human emotion and beliefs, this version of the Wizard works to maintain his own position and prestige, regardless of the pain and grief it causes to others, and is not beyond subversion or mandated murder.
The Wizard is portrayed in a slightly better light in the musical, Wicked. Instead of being very amoral, he is carried away by the belief of the people of Oz that he is "wonderful." When he learns that Elphaba is his daughter, he expresses visible sorrow when he learns of her (supposed) death, agreeing with Glinda to leave Oz in his balloon.
In the original stage production, the Wizard was played by Cabaret star Joel Grey, who also played the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a 1995 concert staging of the 1939 film musical.
  • Caliber Comics' Oz comic book series, followed by Arrow Comics' Dark Oz and The Land of Oz featured the Wizard, affectionately known as "Oscar," particularly to Ozma, as a tall, bald, mustachioed man, brooding, powerful, and not at all bumbling.
  • The 2006 comic book The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles features a Wizard who is closer to the benevolent figure in Baum's works. In issue #1, he saves Dorothy and Alice Liddell from a pack of Wheelers, and later accompanies them and Jack Pumpkinhead from Chicago to Kansas.
  • In the 2007 Sci Fi television miniseries Tin Man, a character called the "Mystic Man" (played by Richard Dreyfuss) is one of the former rulers of Central City, the capital of the Outer Zone (O.Z.), and like his counterpart from the book, uses technology to make himself seem more impressive. He is also referred to as "the wizard" and styles himself similarly to the Wizard of Oz, but has been relegated to the main performer of a Central City magic show rather than the "humbug" overlord of the Emerald City. Another character with similarities to the Wizard is D.G.'s father, Ahamo, a fairground worker from Earth who arrived in the Outer Zone via balloon, and later gives D.G. transport in one.

[edit] Cultural reference

  • In the episode Into The Mystic of the television series Sliders a powerful and wraithlike Sorcerer turns out to be just the projection of a normal person, hidden behind a curtain in the room, like the Wizard of Oz did in the 1939 movie.
  • The Season 3 episode of US serial drama Lost entitled "The Man Behind The Curtain" is a reference to the Wizard. His name is also mentioned in the dialogue of the show, with John Locke comparing Ben Linus to the Wizard and saying that he is the one orchestrating events and is "The Man Behind The Curtain".
  • In the episode "It's Christmas in Canada" of the television series South Park, the main characters visit the new Prime Minister of Canada, who takes the shape of a floating head. This turns out to be a projection operated by Saddam Hussein, who was hiding in hole in the wall. This is also similar to the 1939 Wizard of Oz film.
  • The entire episode of "Scrubs", "My Way Home" pays homage to the Wizard of Oz.
  • In 1991, wrestler Kevin Nash was given the name and gimmick of "Oz" by Dusty Rhodes, loosely based on the Wizard, and was billed from "The Emerald City".
  • The character of The Wizard of Oz was shown in Wizard and Glass, the fourth book of Stephen King's The Dark Tower book series.
  • In the Star Trek episode The Corbomite Maneuver, the alien Balok initially assumes a more intimidating appearance behind what was eventually revealed to be a dummy mask. The real Balok was a dwarfish cherubic man (played by Clint Howard). In discussing the deception, however, Balok refers to Jekyll and Hyde instead of the Wizard of Oz.
  • In the Stephen King novel Pet Sematary, a framed picture of the Wizard is the first thing Rachel Goldman sees after her sister Zelda dies. It is explained that Zelda enjoyed the Oz books when she was alive, but when she contracted spinal meningitis, it gave her a speech impediment that prevented her from pronouncing the letter R, so she called him "Oz the Gweat and Tewwible". As a result, Oz the Gweat and Tewwible becomes a metaphor for death, and is used for the rest of the book.
Preceded by
King Pastoria		 Monarch of Oz
Novel/Film		 Succeeded by
The Scarecrow
Preceded by
Ozma Tippertarius

(with Ozma Regent)

 Monarch of Oz
Wicked (novel/musical)		 Succeeded by
Glinda

[edit] References

  1. ^ Michael O. Riley, Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, p 140, ISBN 0-7006-0832-X
  2. ^ Michael O. Riley, Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, p 148, ISBN 0-7006-0832-X
  3. ^ Michael O. Riley, Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, p 145-6, ISBN 0-7006-0832-X
  4. ^ Michael O. Riley, Oz and Beyond: The Fantasy World of L. Frank Baum, p 146, ISBN 0-7006-0832-X

[edit] External links

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