Talk:Wizard of Oz (character)

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Added info[edit]

I have made extensive revisions to this article as part of an effort of mine to upgrade and improve the articles for Oz characters. The old article was basically only about the character as he appears in the classic books. I have added information about the subsequent movie as well as the modern revisionist works. --MatthewUND 21:24, 5 May 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Picture[edit]

I just entered the discussion of the Scarecrow, where I pointed out that a picture of the character is necessary to "put my oysters in the cupboard" (it looses its funny part in the translation). This can be taken from the article about Frank Morgan (the actor). //
signed: Brutus "Old Floppy" Dickinson - the watermelon-flavored calender girl of northern Europe
December 28 2005 22.20 (GMT+1)

Done, although I take no responsibility for your oysters. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 07:14, 29 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Frank Morgan as the fortune teller[edit]

"a mysterious traveling fortune teller that Dorothy meets back home in Kansas." Unless I am not getting it right, this statement is wrong: Dorothy meets the traveling fortune teller, his horse and his crystal ball when she is still in Kansas and has not yet visited Oz, and briefly again when she is back home... fr:Utilisateur:Enro on February 14, 2006

Wicked Book vs. Musical[edit]

It should be noted that events in the novel Wicked transpire much differently than in the broadway musical. In the novel Fiyero is most definitely murdered. The play massaged this in order to have a somewhat happy ending. Also, it is never proven that Madame Morrible is the cause of the tornado that kills Nessarose. I would suggest a cleanup of the "Modern Works" section of this article to make that clear. BassBone (my talk · my contributions) 08:31, 1 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Good point. I reworded the Madame Morrible bit, and removed Fiyero altogether since IIRC in the musical the Wizard's culpability isn't spelled out, and it's the Gale Force who kill Fiyero in the novel. Seemed easiest just to leave it out, as it's not directly related to the Wizard either way. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 17:19, 6 May 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Destination[edit]

Was it specified precisely where the Wizard is going to in his hot air balloon in the latter part of the original work? My recollection is very vague on that point. -- Cimon Avaro; on a pogostick. 15:24, 9 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

No, he didn't know where he was going, and furthermore, had no way to steer the balloon. This was made clear. Also, Dorothy was going to leave with him, but her foot got caught in a coil of rope and she was not able to climb into the basket under the balloon before it left. 24.27.31.170 (talk) 03:22, 7 November 2011 (UTC) Eric[reply]

McFarlane toy removed[edit]

I've removed the following from the article:

Another evil variation of the Wizard is found in Todd McFarlane's action figure line and accompanying story, "The Twisted Land of Oz", which portrays the Wizard somewhat as a dictator, but more as a satanic figure. In the story, he needs constant injections to keep him strong, and believes Dorothy can help unleash "Ozmic power".

I don't think that this toy line is sufficiently notable to merit inclusion in the article for the Wizard, and have already asked if there are any objections at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Oz and Talk:McFarlane Toys. If anyone has evidence that this toy line and its accompanying story were particularly noteworthy (e.g. coverage in mainstream media), it can be restored. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 20:22, 14 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"Paradox of Oz"?[edit]

I've removed the following from the "classic books" section:

In the dark and twisted Oz visited accidentally by Princess Ozma in Paradox of Oz, the Wizard is a cruel tyrant who employs Nick Chopper as his bodyguard, and retains an unseen Dorothy Gale to drop houses on witches who threaten his power. When Ozma appeals to the friend she once had, calling him a good man, he replies, "No, my dear, I am a bad man, but I am a very good wizard," a reverse of his line in the 1939 MGM movie.

"Paradox of Oz" isn't one of the Famous Forty. I can't find any reference to a book by that title, although there's a 2000 book by Edward Einhorn titled Paradox in Oz. If someone can confirm that the description in the paragraph above is from Paradox in Oz, the contents can be restored to the "Adaptations" section (which could then be renamed "Adaptations and modern works" or something similar). I just don't think that it belongs in the "classic books" section, and since the title appears to be inaccurate I'm concerned that the summary may also be wrong. —Josiah Rowe (talkcontribs) 02:06, 18 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

A reference in a Video Game[edit]

In what I do believe is a tribute to the film version of the Wizard of Oz, in the video game Donkey Kong Country 3, in what appears to be the last boss battle, you face a giant green doomsday device called KAOS . . . but after somewhat easily defeating it, a curtain in the background is pulled back and the player sees Baron K. Roolenstein, who was controlling the machine the whole time -- an occurrence which bears some resemblence to the way that the Wizard's curtain was pulled back, for K. Roolenstein is unaware of the curtain's having been pulled back until a moment or so after he has been revealed. However, apart from this observation I have no real proof of it, so if someone would be willing to provide a second opinion (or some more evidence) to this end, I would be very appreciative. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.234.50.130 (talk) 00:57, 1 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Wicked Productions List[edit]

I think this page should have one, too. 204.210.250.233 (talk) 12:50, 17 April 2009 (UTC)[reply]

By no means. I suggest that this page be limited to 'canonical' OZ works and 'Wicked' and its accompanying books and the musical have other pages. 24.27.31.170 (talk) 03:25, 7 November 2011 (UTC) Eric[reply]

Plural[edit]

The correct plural of "Wizard of Oz" is "Wizards of Oz". Andrew Ellard (talk) 20:42, 30 October 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Cultural References[edit]

Most of the items under cultural references do NOT reference the Wizard of OZ except in someone's imagination. Unless there is a source in which the author, writer, producer or some other person says, "We used the Wizard of OZ as a model" or something similar, and the source is cited, the 'cultural reference' should be removed. 24.27.31.170 (talk) 03:29, 7 November 2011 (UTC) Eric[reply]

Terrible[edit]

In the first book at least, he is never referred to as "the Great and Powerful Oz", but rather as "Oz, the Great and Terrible". See this link (and also search for "powerful" on the same page). --Trovatore (talk) 01:01, 12 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The Wiz[edit]

Other than keeping the page "concise", does any good reason exist behind removing all information about Andre De Shields and Queen Latifah? Maybe my entry about De Shields did need some trimming, but it seems unfair to suggest that the first African-American Wizard and the first female Wizard (as far as I know) have no notability at all. (Yes, I know I already posted this on the talk page of that editor, but I'd like to see if it gets any more readers here.) 108.199.223.177 (talk) 16:21, 21 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Wow, I just found out someone tried to add Queen Latifah before me, but this entry also got deleted, for no reason other than keeping the page "concise". Now I wonder even more strongly if another reason exists not to mention her. 108.199.223.177 (talk) 17:17, 21 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]
Please assume good faith. Listing notable portrayers of the character is fine, but extensive discussion about plot is not. For example, currently the article has eight sentences about Andre De Shields' portrayal, while most entries have one or two sentences. Edward321 (talk) 01:04, 23 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]