THE WIZARD OF OZ BOOK TO FILM COMPARISON

:''For the film, see The Wizard of Oz (1939 film);''
:''For other senses of this title, see The Wizard of Oz.''
'Difference between the book ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and the 1939 film version ''The Wizard of Oz''' are numerous, but largely minor. The film's basic plot is not very different from the original novel, ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', but quite a bit less detailed. One of the most prominent differences is that, in the book, the enchanted shoes Dorothy wears throughout the story were silver. This was changed to ruby to show off the film's sophisticated color technology. Another is that the Tin Woodman's name is changed to simply the Tin Man, although he is obviously a woodsman.

Contents

Kansas

The Land of Oz

Tone

Character

Kansas

The frame story of Dorothy on the farm in Kansas is nearly absent in the book, taking up only a handful of paragraphs at the beginning and end. The schoolteacher Miss Gulch, the three farmhands (Hunk, Hickory and Zeke) and the bogus but kind-hearted fortuneteller Professor Marvel do not appear in any of Baum's books.

The Land of Oz

Baum originally provided complex back stories for all the characters and locations, which are largely omitted in the film. The book featured several sub-plots (including a confrontation with the belligerent Hammer-Heads and a visit to a town with inhabitants and structures constructed of China) that, though of interest, weren't integral to the main plot. Numerous other abridgments occur. For example, the mice have no involvement with the band's escape from the poppies in the movie - a snowfall is used instead.
In the movie, the Good Witch Of The North is given the name "Glinda" and returns to show Dorothy how to use the ruby slippers to go home. In the book, however, the Good Witch of the North's name is not given, and she does not know how to use the power of the silver shoes, which is why Dorothy must journey to visit Glinda, the Good Witch Of The South, who does know their secret. The faux point, or "moral", in the movie is about having to learn never to desire anything outside her own back yard, which is not present in the book.

Tone

The book is undeniably darker and more violent--in some places even gruesome--in great contrast to the movie. In the book, the Tin Woodman uses his ax to chop the head off a wildcat, forty wolves, and the limbs of animate trees. In the movie, the only time he wields his axe is to chop through the door of the room where the witch is holding Dorothy captive. Similarly, the book's Scarecrow twists the necks of forty crows sent by the Wicked Witch of the West.
Some fans of the books feel the ending of the movie strongly goes against the nature of the original. In Baum's novel, there is no hint that Oz is anything but a real place, to which Dorothy returns in later adventures (she eventually moved to Oz permanently and was joined by her aunt and uncle).

Character

Another significant difference between the novel and the film is the portrayal of Dorothy Gale, whose character was aged several years and, some fans feel, weakened. Sally Roesch Wagner, director of The Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation, describes the film's Dorothy as "a very watered-down version of the character"^[1] and presenting Baum's Dorothy as a youthful version of his abolitionist feminist mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Gage, something hardly apparent in the film.
The book, like the film, illustrates that the three friends already have the qualities they desire, but aren't aware that they do; and the wizard goes to much greater lengths to ensure that they believe they have obtained exactly what they desire. To give the Scarecrow a brain, he detaches the Scarecrow's head and empties the straw out, replacing it with a mixture of bran, pins and needles and straw to hold it in place. When he gives the Tin Woodman a heart, he cuts a hole in the Tin Woodman's breast with tinsmith's shears, puts a red satin heart stuffed with sawdust into the breast and then patches it with a soldering iron. Lastly, he gives the Cowardly Lion a green drink, telling him that once he drinks it, it will be courage.
In the movie, The Wizard notes explicitly that the trio had the qualities they desired all along, but didn't recognize them. To reinforce that idea, The Wizard gives them tokens to confirm and symbolize those attributes. The Scarecrow gets a diploma called "The Honorary Degree Of Th. D (Doctor Of Thinkology)", a ticking clock shaped like a red heart for The Tin Man, and a medal with the word "Courage" on it for the Cowardly Lion ("You are now a member of the Legion of Courage!"). That message of self-reliance and resourcefulness presumably would have resonated for an audience that was weary from ten years of economic depression.