Happy November all! This month, Indigenous Heritage Month, we discuss the region of Oz that inhabits many indigenous Ozian denizens. The Quadling Country is located in the Southern region of the Land of Oz. It has been around since the beginning of Oz and the other regions, if not longer, which is around the 7th century. This region has many uninhabited areas that are desolate, mountainous, strange, and dangerous. So, let us begin our tour of the Southern region of Oz, where red is the official color! The Quadling Country is first introduced in Baum's first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her friends discover that they need to go South of the Emerald City toward the Quadling Country to ask Glinda the Good Witch for help. As they ventured South, Dorothy and her friends met some unique and different residents as well as new areas occupied by the strangest of citizens. Let us see who we come across and what new sights there is to see in this red region of Oz.
After identifying some notable sights and residents of this crimson country, I will showcase some of the ways that the Quadling Country has been shown in media adaptations. In Cinar's Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1985), episodes 15 & 16, we see different villages of Southern Oz like the Dainty China Country, the Hammerheads, and Glinda's palace. Below is part 1 of Episode 15, check out the rest online. In Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), we experience the Dainty China Country destroyed, which was also in the Quadling Country, as well as Quadling residents (seen above with Glinda). In Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014), we get to see it in its full glory (seen below), which is absolutely stunning! In addition to the media adaptations, there are some comics and video games that showcase the Quadling Country as well as offer up something which you can bring into your neck of the woods. These are experiences will allow you to feel like you are just one of the Quads! Of note are the Marvel comics, in which the protoganists visit Glinda's palace and other locations in the Quadling Country that are very finely illustrated as seen below. Outside of comics, there are quite a number of games that showcase the Quadling Country. In Fiction Fixers: Curse of Oz, you go through the jungle with the Giant Spider and visit a Quadling Village right outside of Glinda's palace. It is quite fun! Check it out for yourself below. In the game, Emerald City Confidential, you get to visit various locales in Quadling Country, where the buildings and roads are red. Below is one of the first locations you visit in the game, Woot's Wild Arena of the Arcane. Check it out as it's quite hilarious. In addition to that, the PC/Mac game "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", a match 3 game, features a map of Oz that shows the red Quadling Country (shown at the end of post). If you are looking for more, well, I have got you covered. In addition to the adaptations, there is a YouTube channel called The Lousisana Quadling (or the LA Quadling), hosted by David Diket, who showcases many Oz collectibles, festivities, recipes, reimagining of Oz stories, and the like on his channel for others to experience. Be sure to check out his page for it is like a having a museum experience in your home. Now, that I have showcased the 4 main regions of Oz in our year of Geography in Oz, you can always find out for yourself which Ozian region you would live in with The International Wizard of Oz sorting quiz. When you join the club, you get access to this fun and enjoyable sorting quiz as well as club discounts and tons of merchandise to show off your region's pride like the Quadling shirt above.
Well, that will do it for our year of Geography and for next month, we will be starting our Year 4! Wow! Four Years! For Year 4, we will be showcasing the Villains of Oz! Come back next month to see which villain we will discuss first and until then, we'll be seeing you somewhere into the Oz-verse.
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Ghoulish Greetings all! In honor of the spooky season, we will be taking a darker and spookier tour of Oz and its surrounding areas to experience the scarier and more terrifying horrors in Oz. In this post, I will showcase some more notable regions in Oz and its surrounding areas that feature hostile, wicked, deadly, psychopathic, and straight-up villainous inhabitants in Oz and its surrounding areas, even the underground areas. 👻 At each stop of our spooky tour, I will showcase what I consider to be the most blood curdling version of these deadly denizens; then, at the end of the post, I will also include some honorable mentions to this listicle. So, get all your flashlights, spell books, witch repellents, and all around useful essentials for handling the most fearful entities in all of the Oz-verse. ☠️ Kalidahs Starting off in Oz, the very first and most terrifying experience we have in Baum's world is the Kalidahs. These hybrid predators of tiger, eagle, and bear found Dorothy and her compatriots in the Munchkin forests. These bellowing beasts have been featured in quite a number of adaptations, where some are comedic and some are down right spooky. Above, the Kalidahs from the game, Fiction Fixers: The Curse of Oz have the most menacing appearance to me, especially rocking those black mohawks! Which version creeped you out the most? Let me know in the comments below. Deadly Desert & The Wheelers Moving outside of Oz, we will have to carefully cross the Deadly Desert. In Baum's third book, we are introduced to this insidious area of Oz along with some very shocking residents called Wheelers. It is not really stated outright what happens to you in the books when you cross the desert, but there have been many interpretations out there that have given a glimpse into what could happen. In Disney's Return to Oz, I saw the most horrible version of what could happen to someone if they step foot onto this cursed sand as what happened to one of the Wheelers. Check it out for yourself (above). Does that mean the sand is made up of various denizens of Oz? That's just disgusting! Not feeling good about crossing that desert now? Well, we will use Ozma's magical (and ever-expanding) rug to get us across without hopefully not stepping on anyone we know. Eek! 😬 Phanfasms In the areas surrounding Oz, there are some absolutely terrifying realms other than the Nome King's realm. In the south-western side of the Deadly Desert is the realm of the Phanfasms, where the citizens are hybrid creatures of half-human and half-predator animal. These creatures first appear in Baum's sixth book, The Emerald City of Oz, as one of the Nome King's alliances. They were truly a terrifying breed and appeared in the game, Emerald City Confidential (seen above), as by far the most ruthless version of these life-destroying denizens. Run for your lives! 😱 Growleywogs Another alliance that the Nome King had was that of the Growleywogs. These monstrous beasts ate anything in sight, including people, and lived in the south-western area beyond the Deadly Desert. There have been a couple representations of these creatures, but I think Amazon's Lost in Oz, by far, did the most terrifying version of these beasts since they truly are meant to be absolutely horrifying (seen above). Underground Oz Baum's fourth book is by far the darkest book in the Dorothy saga (the first six Oz books), in my opinion, as the protagonists visit Underground Oz and its tumultuous and fear-inducing residents. They first come across incredibly hostile and cold-hearted 🍆 🥔 🥒 vegetable 🥕 🥦 🌽 people, known as the Mangaboos, that want to kill Dorothy and her companions for breaking rules that were unknown to them. (Note: that is a pattern amongst many of the villages, towns, regions, and areas in and around Oz that you will see time and time again). They also come across sound-triggered sociopathic wooden gargoyles and murderous invisible bears. Each of these are excruciating and horrendous experiences for the protagonists as well as for the reader. Underground Oz is really unlike anything in Oz but definitely makes you grateful once you get back to safer and more comfortable areas like the Emerald City. Scoodlers Hopefully, you have kept your wits about you on this life-threatening tour of Oz and its incredibly insidious inhabitants. Since all of these inhabitants live in Oz and its surrounding areas, these denizens have been around since the birth of Oz. Anyways, let's continue our tour and head back toward land. Uh-oh, we have ended up in the realm of the Scoodlers. They love their soup and will put any ingredient into it, including people. Scoodlers are the epitome of two-faced beings: their light-colored side and their-dark colored side, and will do anything to please their queen, including murder! 🔪 Dorothy and her companions come across them in Baum's fifth book, The Road to Oz. Beasts of the West (Honorable Mention) Noting a couple honorable mentions, over in the west of Oz, the protagonists of Baum's first story then come across some more terrifying predators sent to "attack" them. That moment felt more horrifying to me than the witch herself because she had the ability to control crows, wolves, bees, Winkie (or "Vinkus") soldiers and flying monkeys in a way that benefitted her. Some of those beasts could rip you apart if it suited her and that is really what she wanted. Not a truly terrifying group of animals but definitely not beasts that you want to instigate. These scenes are featured in various adaptations; however the illustrations by Greg Hildebrandt above are by those most terrifying (I mean, those wolf eyes?!?). Could you handle these angry beasts? Let me know in the comments below. Man-eating Plants (Honorable Mention) Escaping from the Scoodlers lands us on the alternate yellow brick road, where we will run into my honorable mention of terrifying creatures in Oz: the man-eating plants. These blue-leafed plants were introduced in Baum's The Patchwork Girl of Oz. If you stood still long enough, they would devour you whole at which point you would have sing or whistle to get yourself out of it. Not truly terrifying but just the name man-eating plants doesn't make you want to go near them. Well, now we are safe back in the Emerald City, we can relax and leave all those denizens in our memory. A great way to safely revisit these Horrors of Oz and bring them to your neck of the woods is to check out the many adaptations listed above. There are tons of spooky and haunting elements in this land as much of it is still very much unexplored as well as tons of areas, villages, and towns that were also not very kind to the protagonists in many of the Oz books. But, I wonder, who are the denizens of Oz that give you the heebie-jeebies? Let me know in the comments; and until next time, we'll be seeing you somewhere into the Oz-verse.
This Oztember, we learn about a country in Oz that is not explored much: The Winkie Country, also known as the Vinkus Country in the Wicked saga. We will hit the books and learn all there is to know about this yellow, dusty and barren country. In this post, we will discuss the origins of the country, its notable locales and residents, its legacy in media adaptations and how you can enjoy the country near you. In terms of origins, this country has been around as long as the rest of Oz (c. 7th century) but is not as developed as other parts of Oz. It does not have a yellow brick road, its main color is yellow, and it has very minimal locations of notable interest unlike the Munchkin or Quadling Countries. Although, as the Oz saga grew through subsequent books by different authors, this region seemed to grow exponentially with many different regions and denizens unknown before. So, below you will see the various and notable areas and residents of this yellow country, according to the Baum, Thompson, and Maguire books.
Next, we will discuss the legacy that the Winkie Country has left within media adaptations. Of course, the Winkie or Vinkus country makes its appearance in movies like Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful and Anima Studios' Guardians of Oz, but there are definitely other adaptations that showcase villages and life in this desolate area. In the Cinar anime, when Dorothy and her friends are going to deal with the Wicked Witch of the West, they walk through a Winkie village located at the foot of the hill where the castle resides. The village and surrounding areas are featuring initially in Episode 7 and are featured subsequently until Episode 13. In the game, Emerald City Confidential, the protagonist and detective, Petra, visits Winkie Country and a worn-down western-type version of Winkie Country. Here the Tin resides along with other residents like the Frogman. Winkie Country also appears in other games such as Oz: Broken Kingdom, The Christmas Spirit: Trouble in Oz and Escape from Oz: Bridge to Another World. Can you spot them all? Let me know the comments. In books, the Winkie Country is shown through a wide variety of illustrated texts such as The Wizard of Oz (2015) illustrated by Charles Santore, The Wizard of Oz (1985) illustrated by Greg Hildebrant, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) illustrated by W.W. Denslow, and Marvel's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz comic. What.a legacy! So, now lastly, we will address how you can bring this section of Oz to where you are. Of course, you can always check out one of the adaptations or play one of the games listed in this post, but some other options include exploring the audio versions of the Wicked series to hear about Elphaba's experience as she traverses the Vinkus country or the sights that Oatsie Manglehand's Grasstrail Train sees. Of course, you can check out the Crossover Adventure Productions audio drama of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or The Marvelous Land of Oz to hear about the protagonists journey through the Winkie Country. Additionally, Colonial Radio Theatre did an audio drama that features the journey through the Winkie Country in The Marvelous Land of Oz and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which you can get here. Boomerang's Dorothy and the Wizard also features The Wicked Witch's castle frequently, which is located in the Winkie Country. Can you spot other instances of the Winkie Country in Boomerang's TV show? Let me know in the comments below.
Well, that will do it for our tour of the West of Oz. For more information about the Winkie (or Vinkus) country, click here. Also, Let me know in the comments what was your favorite part of our tour of the Winkie or the Vinkus Country; and, until next time, we'll be seeing you somewhere into the Oz-verse. As we enter into the brunt of summer and its scorching heat, we are going to cross the dry and sandy deadly desert to visit the infamous Nome Kingdom this August. Located West of the Vinkus (or "Winkie") Country, across the deadly desert, lies the entire kingdom of Nomes and their various leaders. We will discuss its supposed origins, its notable residents and locales as well as its media legacy and how you can bring this dusty, rocky part of Oz to your neck of the woods. So, let us begin our exploration of the dry and notorious region of Nonestica, the name for the region outside of the Land of Oz. The Nome Kingdom is located on the outside of the Land of Oz across the Deadly Desert in vast and cavernous tunnels underground. The origin of this kingdom is implied to have been around as long as the residents of Burzee as the Nome King was in attendance of the Council of Immortals. It is also suggested in Baum's Ozma of Oz that the kingdom must have existed as long as the Land of Ev since they were knew plenty of each kingdom's existence. The Royal Timeline of Oz suggests that the most notable Nome King was crowned around 1668 A.D. and all the kingdoms of Nonestica were relocated to the dimension of Imaginum around 622 A.D. So, that puts the Nome Kingdom's origins at least between those two dates. So fascinating! The Nome Kingdom appears in a number of Baum's books starting with Ozma of Oz and continuing through to Rinkitink of Oz. It also appears in later author's books like The Hungry Tiger of Oz by Ruth Plumly Thompson and could be equated to vast world of Southstairs Prison in Son of a Witch.
The Nome Kingdom has appeared in a wide variety of adaptations but has mostly focused on the throne room and its entrance. In Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987), the entrance featured a large Iron Giant; whereas Lost in Oz (2017) featured large iron fist mechanically driven guarding the entrance. Upon entering the Kingdom, according to different adaptations, you can experience multiple areas like the Throne Room (as seen Disney's Return to Oz and Amazon Studios' Lost in Oz), a large expanse of tunnels and rocky terrain (Cinar's Oz saga or Baum's Rinkitink in Oz), or taken to one of the rooms of the Nome King or Chancellor (as shown in Baum's Tik Tok of Oz). In Tik Tok of Oz, Queen Ann's army from Oogaboo ended up in a pit that ended traversing them to unknown and exotic locations within the Nome Kingdom. In Rinkitink of Oz, Prince Inga and his companions also got tricked by the Nome King's disorienting tunnels and ended up in many trick tunnels, one of which included a giant. So, however you would like to explore the Nome Kingdom, feel free to check out any adaptation listed in this post to experience this terrifying and disorienting world. So, how can you bring the dusty, rocky, and disillusioning place to your neck of the woods? Well, you can always check out one of the adaptations mentioned in this post that features the Nome King within his kingdom. You can also check out the many illustrated versions out there like Marvel's Ozma of Oz comic illustrated by Skottie Young and story by Eric Shanower (seen above left). The other comic adaptation (seen above right) never was made commercially but did appear as an advertisement in Marvel's Treasure of Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz, published in 1975. But, don't fret, there is another comic that was published by Scholastic c. 1985 featuring a comic novelization of Disney's Return to Oz (cover seen below). It is wonderful! Additionally, you can check out the drawings from Baum's original text here. Also, if you check out Crossover Adventure Production's Chronicles of Oz: Ozma of Oz, the caverns of the Nome Kingdom are explored, including the entrance with the Iron Giant along with the throne room and the ornament room. I also think a great way to bring this world to your own is to attempt to put together a map of the underground realm of this kingdom. It might start with the entrance leading to the throne room and extending out to other rooms from there. It is up to you how you venture into this kingdom, so as we close out our tour of the Nome Kingdom, feel free to let me know in the comments below which was your favorite part of this vast and endless kingdom; and, until next time, we'll be seeing somewhere in the Oz-verse.
Moving in July, we celebrate Independence Day and with that comes some more fun Ozian implications. Last year, I did a post all about the Ozian influences on America. That was all the Ozian activities within our world. This year, the post is all about the known American locations inside the Oz-verse and how they are seen within media adaptations. Below, I have created a map of all the known places, or at least the ones I know of, where the Oz characters have visited or lived. We will discuss the places with the red stars first, which are states that were visited or lived in by Oz characters. Then, we are going to discuss the places with the blue stars, which will mainly focus on cities that Oz characters have visited or lived. So, let's jump right in and get this Ozian road trip across America started. Within the Oz-verse, the notable states that are mentioned are Kansas, Nebraska, California, Colorado, and Oklahoma. However, for the sake of the post not being too long, we will focus on the first three and their media adaptation legacy. Each of these states has notable characters and locales to check out. So, let us begin our tour of Ozian America. Kansas Here is where Dorothy lives. It is unknown the name of the town where she lives, although NBC's Emerald City gave her town name, Lucas. We are also given information about towns surrounding Dorothy's hometown from various sources. In Baum's Road to Oz, she lives close to a town called Butterfield, which is a town that the Shaggy Man visited one time. In Disney's Return to Oz (1985), she lives outside of the encampment of Franklin and near a town called Cottonwood Falls, where the "wellness" hospital resides. Also, in Wicked: The Musical, even though it is not in Kansas, we see Dorothy's farmhouse and what it might have looked like back in Kansas. Nebraska Next up, the hometown of the Wizard of Oz is Omaha, Nebraska. Seen first in the 1939 Wizard of Oz, the Wizard's balloon shows us the name of the state fair he flew from, which is Omaha, Nebraska. In 2000, we got to see the Omaha name again appear on the top of a circus tent in the animated movie, The Lion of Oz, which is based on Roger S. Baum's book, The Lion of Oz and the Badge of Courage. Roger S. Baum is Frank Baum's great-grandson. In 2013, the Wizard's circus got a new name, Baum Brother's Circus, and this circus was presently situated in Kansas, which was on their travelling route, in Disney's Oz the Great and Powerful. California In Baum's fourth book, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, we are introduced to Dorothy going to visit her cousin, Zeb, and his uncle, Bill Hudson. They are relations on her Aunt Em's side of the family. Anyways, in the book, Dorothy is visiting them in California at a place called Hugson's Ranch (see above), which has its own railroad stop called Hugson's Siding (illustrated above by Skottie Young in the comic Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz). Zeb also lives in San Francisco, which is another place of note in Ozian America. Where do you think the Ozzy influence lies in San Francisco? A quick side note is that in addition to those places, there is a place in Southern California, where Baum did a lot of his Oz book writing, called OzCot (most likely short for Ozian Cottage). The last two states are more obscure and not as widely shown in media adaptations. Colorado is where the Shaggy Man and his brother are from while Oklahoma is the home of Betsy Bobbin. I wonder what a Shaggy Man or Betsy Bobbin festival might entail? Any ideas? Let me know in the comments below. With the states out of the way, we continue our tour of American Oz to check some of the notable cities that Ozian characters have frequented. First up, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love! Philadelphia This is the hometown of Button Bright, first introduced in Baum's The Road to Oz. We were not told in that book where he lives, but when he returns in Baum's later book, Sky Island, we are informed of his hometown, Philadelphia. In a relative's house in Philadelphia, he obtains a magical flying umbrella that can whisk the holder away to any place desirable (as seen above). He did say he visited a lot of other places with his umbrella before landing in a town where Trot and Captain Bill reside in the New England region. In a later Oz book by Ruth Plumly Thompson, we are introduced to another boy, named Peter Brown, who also lives in Philadelphia. Other locales around the country include New York City, which was visited by our Ozian friends in the book, Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz comic strips. Their first trip to New York City as seen above. Chicago is another Ozian location that inspired the Emerald City. Of course, I am talking about the 1893 World's Fair, which included the White City. As we all know in Baum's first book, Dorothy discovered that when she took off the glasses, the Emerald City was nothing but a white stone city. Currently, The Museum of Science and Industry resides at the notable "White City" site from that famous World's Fair (see below). It is also the location where the first Wizard of Oz theatrical production was held back in 1902 (photo at top of post). Wow! That's old! With all those wonderful Ozian locales, one may ask how can I bring these Ozian locations to my neck of the woods? Well, you can always visit these locations and see what fun Ozian activities are available or begin an at-home exploration by checking out my post from last year, where I highlight all the notable Ozian locations within our country and what you can do there with some Ozian flair. Of course, you can always check out the movies that are listed on that post, read any of the books mentioned in this post, or create your own Ozian event if you live near or within the cities or states above. Here's what the Oz Club offers for you to do in your neck of the woods when starting up an Ozian event. Lastly, I always suggest taking a visit to the Oz Museum Online Shop, The International Wizard of Oz Club online shop, or the All Things Oz Online Museum Shop as they all offer fun knick knacks to add to your Ozzy collections. Personally, I do enjoy visiting them frequently to check out what new additions are making their appearance each month.
Well, that will be all for our Ozian American tour. I sure hope you had a good time. Which place that is Ozian inspired or visited would you want to go check out? Let me know in the comments below and until next time, I'll be seeing somewhere in the Oz-verse. Greetings all and Happy June! Of course, we always mention Polychrome at this of the year because she is a fabulous icon for the LGBTQIA+ community this month. With that in mind, I am going to showcase a very colorful place that floats above Oz and is a place that Polychrome visits. It is called Sky Island, a dual-colored island that floats somewhere over the World of Oz. For the post this month, we explore the geography of this very obscure and fascinating island that floats in the skies of Oz, the possible origin of the island, notable residents and locations as well as its limited media legacy and how you can recreate Sky Island in your neck of the woods. Let us begin our tour of Sky Island, its origins, and it's history detailing some important details. Believed to have been around for an indeterminate amount of time and first mentioned to be known to Ozians around 1905 A.D., Sky Island is divided into two countries: The Blue Country and The Pink Country. The Blueskins reside in the Blue Country while the Pinkies reside in the Pink Country. The two countries are separated by an incredibly thick fog bank, which is home to a variety of reptiles and crustaceans. Its location to Oz is unknown as the residents don't even seen to know that there are actually residents on Earth, let alone Oz. Next, we can begin looking at the island itself. It is said to have been in existence for an indefinite amount of time and possibly longer than the World of Oz as they have never had any indication of life on the planet Earth, as least according to the Boolooroo. It magically floats above the Nonestic Ocean (above the World of Oz) and is separated in three distinct regions: The Blue Country, the Fog Bank, and the Pink Country. The Blue Country, always covered in blue nighttime skies, is inhabited by residents called the Blueskins. The Fog Bank is a think, foggy area is inhibited by reptilian and amphibious creatures that are absolutely monstrous. The Pink Country, always covered in pinkish sunlight hues, is inhabited by residents called the Pinkies. The Blue Country and the Pink Country have elected leaders, who are shown above, while the Fog Bank is a democratic hodgepodge of various inhabitants with no leader.
After exploring the geography of this locale, it is time to discuss the limited media legacy of this book out in our world. Up first is the only adaptation that features any characters from this book. It comes from Boomerang's cartoon, Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. In the episode, "Captain Bill in Going Nowhere Fast", we see many characters of this book come to life from Captain Bill, Button Bright, Trot, and the Boolooroo. You can check out the full episode online at Boomerang.com or through the Boomerang app. Here's a clip for your viewing pleasure! That's all there is in terms of actual Sky Island stories and characters. Outside of that adaptation, there is a film that features the magical powers of a character but not the character herself from Sky Island, which is small but still relevant. In the 1914 film, The Magic Cloak of Oz, based on the book, Queen Zixi of Ix, Aunt Rivette has the ability to have visions, which are actually the powers of Rosalie the Witch. Aunt Rivette is from the book, Queen Zixi of Ix (Queen Zick-si of icks), and Rosalie the Witch is from the book Sky Island. This was common practice for Baum to mix-and-match/infuse elements and characters within his films. So, there you have it. It's an odd thing to utilize in a film, but it works. So, if you want to check out how Aunt Rivette embodies Rosalie the witch in The Magic Cloak of Oz, I found a copy of the movie, remastered in HD with music, from The Oz Connection YouTube channel. They also a commentary video of the same film on their channel as well. Enjoy! Now, that we know what the media legacy is for Sky Island, I will now offer some ways that you can bring this dual-colored fantasy to your neck of the woods. Of course, you can always check out the media adaptations above or check out the audiobook version that is available online. It is really well done, especially when they get to the various royalties inside of the story. Next up, you will definitely want to check out the book, Art of Oz (cover below left) by Gabriel Gale. Inside, you will find illustrations of the Boolooroo and Tourmaline. Or check out this graphic novel version of Sky Island with an Asian-inspiration (cover below right). Well, that is our tour of Sky Island. Let me know in the comments if one of these adaptations is your favorite or if there is some Sky Island craft that inspired you; and, until next time, we'll be seeing you somewhere in the Oz-verse.
Greetings all! Just as Dorothy got welcomed by her munchkin friends, I would like to welcome you to Munchkin Land, or in Baum's books, to Munchkin Country. This month, the May flowers are springing to life from all those April showers in the beautiful and gorgeous Land of the Munchkins. So, of course, our post will explore the region of Oz that is so familiar to so many, Munchkin Country (the name from the books that will be used to refer to this region of Oz). In Maguire's books, it is called Munchkinland, which is what it is called in the MGM film as well. In our journey across Munchkin Country, we will explore its origins, its notable locations, its media legacy as well as how you can bring a little bit of this region of oz into your neck of the woods. Munchkin Country is an Eastern region of Oz and is known by a few elements like the only country in Oz that is connected to the Emerald City by a yellow brick road and the region's predominant color is blue. It has predominantly blue flowers, blue leaves, blue grass, and other various shades of blue within the scenery and landscape. It is also the area where Dorothy first lands and begins her journey in Oz. The origin of Munchkin Country is as old as the country of Oz (around the 7th century A.D.) as it was believed to be formed by Queen Lurline, who is believed to be the reigning deity over the realms of Oz. I did a post about her a while ago and how she inspired Maguire's fictional Ozian holiday, Lurlinemas. Inside this region are some very notable locations and residents, who are called Munchkins (or Munchlanders), to visit. So, let's go see what there is to see.
Do you have a favorite place here or is there a place that you would like to visit in Munchkin Country? Let me know in the comments below. For more obscure locations that appear throughout the stories in this region, check out more on Munchkin Country here. After visiting various places and residents around the Land of the Munchkins, it is only right that we see revisit the media legacy of Munchkin Country across TV and Film. Of course, we already saw the MGM version of Munchkinland; now, we can see the other variants of this wonderland Ozian country. What a lovely country with so much to do! But, one might ask, how can we bring the magic of this world into our neck of the woods? Well, as I always start, you can always watch any of the adaptations just listed above. Another option is to check out the fun card game, Munchkin, produced by Steve Jackson Games. It comes with the main game (seen below) and you can add additional packs. You can learn more about this game and more here. The game comes with tons of activities and resources like the placemat you can use to keep all your character attributes organized. After you have your fun battle with friends or just a journey by yourself, you can check out these great Munchkin-themed finds from The All Things Oz Museum or you check out any number of vendor sites that sell Munchkin-themed merchandise include a set of maps of the Munchkin Country from the International Wizard of Oz Club. Of course, you can always check out the many illustrated books (a few seen above) and comics that feature the Munchkin Country and the various interpretations of this beautiful country. You can also check out the illustrated read along (below) from Disneyland Records, who published a record of this story back in 1969. Another user on Youtube, GemTapp, created his own computer generated adaptation of the second chapter of The Wizard of Oz, "The Council of the Munchkins". Check it out below. Absolutely fabulous! This country has so much to offer that it is still being revisited in so many ways. How will you revisit the Munchkin Country this month? Let me know in the comments below and until next month, we'll be seeing you somewhere into the Oz-verse.
As we roll into April, we welcome the lovely 🌧 rain 🌧 showers. This makes me reflect on the underwater realms of Oz. I have already done a piece on the magical waters of Oz from last July. However, this post is going underneath the crest and into the realms of Queen Aquareine and King Anko. We will look at the how the underwater realms relate to Oz, its origins and geographical components, its residents and locales, its media legacy, and how you can bring this realm of Oz into your kingdom. As you can see from the map above, the realm of Queen Aquareine is off the shores of the Northeastern regions of Oz. King Anko can be seen swimming around near the southern shores of Oz. First up, let us discuss all the notable areas and residents introduced to us in Baum’s Oz spin-off book, The Sea Fairies of Oz. This book is intended to occur after Tik Tok of Oz and before Scarecrow of Oz.
The origins of the underwater realm, according to King Anko and Queen Aquareine, have existed even beyond the timeline of life on land. King Anko discussed knowing Adam and Eve and their sons. The realm is believed to exist around Oz in its waters. There is mention of multiple land caves, where the mermaids occasionally visit like The Giant Cave, where Mayre "Trot" Griffiths and her father's mate, Captain Bill Weedles, become mermaids and start their exploration of the underwater realm. You can follow along and learn all about these amazing underwater characters in Baum's spin-off book, The Sea Fairies. Now that we know origins, we can discuss this story’s media adaptation legacy. There are only three adaptations that I know feature elements from this book. One adapts the entire story mostly. A second uses known characters from the book while the third uses an element from the book basically. Let us start with The Oz Kids: Journey Beneath the Sea (originally aired in October 1996 and released on VHS in March 1997). This story adapts much of the book while including The Oz Kids in the place of Captain Bill and Trot. Below, you can watch the feature film in its entirety. Next up is the episode from Boomerang’s Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz, “The Emerald of Zog”. In this episode, Dorothy and her friends have to find a powerful emerald for Ozma. During their journey, they run into Zog, who is after the emerald too. What will happen and who will win the emerald? You will have to check out who saves our heroes from the clutches of Zog. It is available online at Boomerang.com or through the app. The last adaptation, His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz (1914) features a quick appearance of an unnamed mermaid with a parasol when the Scarecrow is underwater. But that’s it. No name, no description of anything from the book except that she is a mermaid talking to the Scarecrow. What do you think they are saying? Who do think it is? Let me know in the comments below. Now that we have seen the limited media legacy of the Underwater Realm of Queen Aquareine and King Anko, here are some ways in which you can bring the underwater world to your neck of the woods. First, you can check out the book, Sea Fairies of Oz by L. Frank Baum in a variety of formats from a physical text to e-book to audiobook. However, you will definitely want to check out this graphic novel that is inspired by the same book, Sea Sirens: A Trot and Cap’n Bill Adventure (cover below). Of course, you can always watch the media adaptations above to enjoy this wonderful underwater realm and while you are doing that, you can put together this lovely Queen Aquareine cut-out from The Oz Club. (One of the lovely perks of having a membership, care to join?). Print the picture below on card stock, decorate, and post in the comments below (or if you are member, post on the Oz Club member board). Also, feel free to check out this lovely book, The Art of Oz, which has some awesome illustrations of the various residents of the Underwater Realm the Sea Fairies, King Anko, and the Yell-maker. Also, here is a story from a publication of The Oz Club called Oziana. Inside Ozian #38 (or Oziana 2008), Polychrome visits the Sea Fairies, and this story tells about that interaction. Check it out below. Also, check out this printable newsletter from publishers Reilly & Lee to compliment The Sea Fairies back in 1970. Well, that will be it for our awesome underwater tour of Queen Aquareine and King Anko’s realms. What did you enjoy the most in your underwater tour? Let me know in the comments below. After experiencing the waters (or “showers”) of April, you will have to come back next month to check out the Ozian ("May") flowers of Munchkin Country. Until next time, we’ll be seeing you somewhere into the Oz-verse.
In March, the color green is a universally celebrated icon with the holiday St. Patrick's Day. So, what better way to celebrate this verdant month than with another sparkling, bejeweled icon in Oz: The Emerald City. The Emerald City is located in the middle of the Land of Oz, connecting four regions together - The Winkie (or Vinkus) Country, The Gillikin Country, The Munchkin Country (or Munchkinland), and The Quadling Country. The Emerald City was founded around 1872 A.D. by order of the Wizard of Oz and inside the gates of the Emerald City lie many notable locations and residents. We will explore those as well as how you can bring the Emerald City to your neck of the woods, and not just the TV show from NBC. So, let us go and see the Wizard and visit the most awe-inspiring city ever! Inside the gates of the Emerald City, there are many notable locations and residents that we experience in Baum's and Maguire's stories. It is revealed in Baum's stories that there are more 9,600 buildings and over 57,000 residents. The city is lit up with electrical lights and supposedly sparkles green because of the green glasses that all the residents are required to wear outside of their houses. The city is normally white stone with hints of emeralds, rubies, and diamonds scattered variously throughout the city. For a complete listing of Emerald City buildings, denizens, etc, click here. Notable Locations of the Emerald City:
Notable Residents of the Emerald City:
Of course, this city has made its mark in many different adaptations. There is even a TV show that is entitled with the same name as the iconic city. Below, you will see some of the more notable representations of the Emerald City in various media adaptations. What is your favorite adaptation of the Emerald City? Let me know in the comments below. So, how can you bring this amazingly jeweled city of Oz to your neck of the woods? Well, you can start with the Baum books where the Emerald City is constantly referenced or visited within a story. There is even a book that ends Dorothy's main storyline entitled "The Emerald City of Oz" and has even spawned a notable comic from Marvel. Fascinating enough, the title of this book was what Baum wanted to name the first story but did not publish it because of a superstitious belief that putting a jewel name in a book is a curse for the death of the book. After you have read the books, you can always check out the many adaptations out there in the slide show above or even check out the TV series from NBC, which is available online here or you can purchase it any streaming service out there like Vudu or Amazon Prime Video. If you like Anime, you can check out the 52-episode story, which was just released on Blu-ray (cover below, center), that actually features a white, sparkling Emerald City; and, in all fairness, the Emerald City in the book is described as only emerald because of the glasses you wear. It is actually made up on a white, sparkling stone. In 1990, DIC put out a TV series that acted as a continuation story and saw the Wicked Witch of the West brought back to life in two-episode arc, "The Rescue of the Emerald City". Be sure to check those out online as well. After seeing so many adaptations, you may feel inspired to create your own creation, as this fan did with Legos. There is so much out there, this iconic city will never fade away. We are still learning so much about it that different parts of the Emerald City that we are constantly developing new pieces for all that we learn. But, let me know below, what is your favorite part of the Emerald City and what you would want to see developed or created artistically out there concerning the Emerald City? Also, if you ever wanted to visit the Emerald City in person, you have a few options. First, Seattle is known as the Emerald City and has various locations you can visit like The Emerald City Comic Con, Emerald City Smoothies, and the Emerald City Comic Shop. Next, you can always visit the Emerald City in the Land of Oz Theme Park in North Carolina (pictured below). Lastly, The Oz Museum in Kansas has a very large Emerald City area you can walk around in and take a picture in the Wizard's balloon. So, I hope you have enjoyed our visit to the various Emerald Cities around the country and in Oz. Did you have a favorite? Let me know below; and, until next time, we will be seeing you something into the Oz-verse.
Welcome to the Rose Red month of February! As we continue our year of Ozian geography, we make our first venture outside of Oz into the Land of Ev, where we visit called the Rose Kingdom, since the Roses have given us permission to visit. Now, the Land of Ev is northwest of Oz, past the Deadly Desert; and, the Rose Kingdom is on the western border of Ev, near the Nome King's domain (as seen below). So, I thought what a better way to celebrate the month of #Valentine's and #ChineseNewYear than with a post all about the lovely red and different shades of red Rose Kingdom of Ev. For this post, we will discuss any possible origins, the landscape and characters, the different adaptations over the years concerning said kingdom as well as how you can make your own Rose Kingdom this month. First introduced in Baum's book, Tik Tok of Oz, protagonists Betsy Bobbin and her mule Hank come in contact quickly with the Rose Kingdom in the Land of Ev as they are washed up on the shore of the magically plant-based domain. Afterwards, the Shaggy Man arrives quite abruptly as well as he crashes right into the main structure of the entire kingdom, The Gardener's Greenhouse, where all the residents of Rose Kingdom reside. Now, the origins of this kingdom, being part of the kingdom of Ev, lies around the 7th century along with the other kingdoms in this world, which means the kingdom must be as old as Oz itself. Since the only known locations that exist within the Rose Kingdom are (1) The Gardener's Greenhouse, (2) The Rose Kingdom Beach, and (3) the Bridge to the Nome King's Domain, we only need to discuss notable residents in the Rose Kingdom, which is also limited. The notable residents of Rose Kingdom include.
The only notable performances of the Rose Kingdom involved the theatrical play, "The Tik Tok Man of Oz", written by L. Frank Baum in 1913. Very little was done concerning the Rose Kingdom and most of what we have is from pictures of the Rose Kingdom characters in the stage production performed in 1913. In addition to the 1913 stage play, there was another even lesser-known production of the performance of the same play that was done in 2014 by International Wizard of Oz club for the centenary of Tik Tok of Oz book, published in 1914. What was released of that performance to the public can be seen here on their Facebook page as well as on the blog that was written, which showcases many photos from the original and new play. Unfortunately, everything else is under lock and key in their club archives like the actual performance which was only given to members who attended the performance. Oh well, we will work with what we can and be inspired by what is out there. Now, there are few things that you can bring back to your neck of the woods to enjoy the Rose Kingdom of Ev. First, a renowned Oz fan within the world of Oz, David Diket, performed a song from on a piano from the 1913 play called "Ask the Flowers to Tell You", where Ozga is asking the flowers of the Rose Kingdom what to do. Have a listen and if you want to hear more songs from this play, check out the various songs from the original play on this compilation soundtrack CD. While you are there, feel free to purchase the 2014 program guide (cover seen below, left), which details out much about the Tik Tok Man of Oz original play while throwing in some pieces about the revival performance in 2014, with pictures of the Rose Kingdom as well. You can also read the play if you purchase the script online (cover seen below, right). For more information about the Tik Tok Man of Oz play, check it out here. Another great video that released recently is about an actual Rose Kingdom at a theme park (Vinpearl) in Vietnam. It may not be what Baum envisioned as a Rose Kingdom, but it is still an actual Rose Kingdom in our world; so, check it out for yourself. Of course, you can always make your own Rose Kingdom and share it with other Oz members through the Oz Club members website. You will need to become a member to access that activity feed. Well, I sure hope you enjoyed our visit to the Rose Kingdom and until next time, we'll be seeing somewhere into the Oz-verse.
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AuthorMy name is Vinkus Ken and I have been a long time fan of many things in Oz and how their world truly does emulate much of ours. Did you know that they have a flag of their own? Or did you know that they have a law about only having 9 jurors in their courts? Also, Oz has a court system! I like to introduce facts that seem meaningless and bring meaning to them by comparing them to our world. So, come along on this journey and enjoy the ride. |