Greetings Summer in Oz fans! Today's post is reflective of the golden summer sun, The Golden Cap of Oz. First introduced in Baum's first Oz story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900, this magical artifact has quite the history, useful magical abilities, and a unique legacy in media adaptations. So, without further ado, let's put on our Golden Cap and invoke the help of the flying monkeys to guide us through this month's Year of Magic post. The origin of the cap starts years prior to Dorothy's entrance to Oz in the Gillikin Country with a princess named Gayelette, who lived in a jeweled palace, and fell in love with a handsome gentlemen named Quelala (illustrated above). As a token of their love, Gayelette made a golden cap just for Quelala. However, when the flying monkeys decided to pull a prank on Quelala by shoving him into a river, the princess got mad and turned the gift into a curse for the monkeys. The cap was magically enchanted for force the monkeys to do whatever the wearer commanded three times. Guess they felt dumb for pulling that prank, eh? Over time, the cap ended up transferring hands and ended up in the hands of the Wicked Witch of the West. She used her final request to collect Dorothy and her friends and bring them to her castle (seen below). When the witch was destroyed, the cap was taken by Dorothy, who used it three times during the story to help her along. Then, it was given to Glinda from Dorothy, who used it three times to take the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion back to their newly founded kingdoms. Afterwards, the cap was handed back to the leader of the Flying Monkeys, which broke the curse for them permanently to live freely for the rest of their lives in Oz. Now that we know the origin, let us discuss the magic behind the cap, which comes from a charm that Princess Gayelette used. It is never stated exactly what the charm, spell or incantation was that was used; but, we were enlightened to what the charm did. It locked all the flying monkeys in Oz and they were supposed to do the bidding of anyone who spoke the summoning incantation. This summoning incantation was, as follows: This was spoken by the Wicked Witch, Dorothy, and Glinda throughout the first book. So, now you know what to do in calling the flying monkeys, all you need is the cap. So, feel free to get creative like these Oz fans did and make your own Golden Cap (seen below). Then, when you are finished making your cap, record yourself calling the monkeys like Dorothy and Glinda did in the books; and, share the video for all to see so we can all enjoy the Ozzy goodness of your awesome adaptation. Now knowing what the origin and the magical abilities of the cap are, let us look into the Golden Cap's unique legacy within media adaptations. What makes it so unique is that there's very few adaptations out there that feature the Golden Cap and one of them even made the Golden cap a maroon cap. So, let us discuss those feature adaptations. So, above are some feature film and TV adaptations that utilize the Golden Cap within their stories. In Cinar's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, starting in the episode, "The Wicked Witch of the West", the golden cap makes its appearance as a maroon cap to call the monkeys. She also does not recite the same incantation from the book, but in fact says her own incantation. In MGM's The Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is seen holding a golden headwrap cap, in which she talks into to call her flying monkeys. She does not state the incantation from the book, but just speaks into it. Be sure to check that out as it is a quite a wonderful experience. Then, in the Russian adaptation, Adventures in the Emerald City, we see the witch's golden cap hiding in a treasure chest. It's all quite fascinating to see any and all interpretations of the Golden cap and I do enjoy the adaptations where we can see this magical artifact. Speaking of adaptations of the Golden Cap, even though we do not see it in so many media forms, we do get some illustrated books (and comic) adaptations that bring this item to life. In Marvel's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz comic, we get to see Dorothy using the Golden cap in illustrated form as well as speaking the actual incantation from the book. Additionally, I have collected some notable illustrated editions of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, each featuring their own take on the Golden Cap. Someone even made a pop-up book that includes a pop-up Golden Cap (see cover above, first slide). Each of these books are available online to purchase or you check them out at your local library. Of course, if you are feeling artistic, you can always create your own version of the Golden Cap and post it in the comments below to share with others. Also, feel free to let me know what is your favorite way to celebrate the Golden Cap of Oz? Let me know in the comments below. Before we leave, check out the appearance of the Golden Cap in the game, Bridge to Another World: Escape from Oz (Collector's Edition). It is important if you get the game to get the Collector's Edition because it has this extra storyline of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is available to purchase through Big Fish Games if you would like to play it yourself; and, until next time, we'll be seeing you somewhere in the Oz-verse.
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May 2024
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. |