Adaptations of The Wizard of Oz - Television Adaptations

Television Adaptations

Many of the television programs cited in this list are not strict adaptions of The Wizard of Oz; rather, they have reinterpreted aspects of the book, such as characters and plot, to create sequels, prequels or side-plots, which are inspired by Baum's original text.

• Rainbow Road to Oz was a proposed Walt Disney live-action production. A preview segment aired in 1957 on the Disneyland TV show, featuring Darlene Gillespie as Dorothy and Annette Funicello as Ozma.
• The Land of Oz is the 1960 premiere episode of The Shirley Temple Show, known in previous seasons as Shirley Temple's Storybook, and no relation to the Shirley Temple Theatre which showcased old Temple films. This adaptation of The Marvelous Land of Oz was written by Frank Gabrielson and directed by William Corrigan. William Asher produced. The cast included Shirley Temple, Ben Blue, Agnes Moorehead, Sterling Holloway, Jonathan Winters, and Arthur Treacher.
• Tales of the Wizard of Oz is a 1961 animated series of short episodes based on the Oz characters from the book.
• Off to See the Wizard is a 1967 television anthology series which showcased then-recent MGM family films. The Oz characters appeared in animated segments.
• Return to Oz is a 1964 animated television special sequel-cum-remake of the 1939 film, based on the artistic renderings of the characters in the 1961 animated series.
• Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz aka Dorothy in the Land of Oz (1980), animated television special starring Sid Caesar that aired during the Thanksgiving holiday.
• A feature-length anime adaptation of the story was made by Toho in 1982 and was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, with music by Joe Hisaishi. The English version of the movie stars Aileen Quinn as the voice of Dorothy and Lorne Greene as the Wizard. Like the 1939 film, this anime take on The Wizard of Oz ends the story with Dorothy's trip home to Kansas after visiting the Wizard. Original songs are sung by Aileen Quinn in the English version, with lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Allen Byrnes. It was released in the United States before it premiered in Japan. In the U.S., it was released on video and syndicated to local television stations.
• An anime adaptation of four of Baum's Oz books known as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was created in 1986. It consists of 52 episodes and follows the story of Dorothy and her adventures in Oz with the Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow. It continues on to the story of Ozma and Mombi, and follows the events in other Oz books. In 1987, HBO purchased the rights to the series and dubbed/edited together key episodes of the series into a series of movies. Production for the English version was done by the Canadian studio Cinar. Margot Kidder was hired as narrator for the series, which aired as a mini-series.
• The Wizard of Oz, an animated series based on the 1939 film, was broadcast on ABC during the 1990–1991 TV season. The cartoon featured Dorothy returning to Oz, reuniting with her four friends, and journeying through the magical realm in an attempt to rescue the Wizard from a resurrected Witch of the West.
• The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz (Supêsu Oz no Bôken) is a 1990 anime series, involving Dorothy and the gang traveling the "Galaxy of Oz". It was truncated to 76 minutes and dubbed for American release as The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz
• Sugar & Spice: The Wizard of Oz is a 1991 animated adaptation, part of the Funky Fables series by Saban Entertainment.
• The Wizard of Oz is a little known 1995 adaptation made for British television set in the present day, starring Denise Van Outen as Dorothy, a spoiled socialite sent to Oz against her will, and featured an early appearance by Zöe Salmon. It was described as a more adult version of the story, with characters using profanity and sexual innuendo. It featured several thematic elements from the 1985 semi-sequel Return to Oz. Its low budget and mostly non-professional cast, along with low ratings and critical indifference, caused it to sink quickly from view, but it occasionally appears on TV in the UK.
• The Oz Kids is a 1996 animated series by Hyperion Pictures and Nelvana featuring the children of the original characters.
• Adventures in the Emerald City (Приключения в Изумрудном городе) is a 1999-2000 animated series directed by Alexander Makarov, Ilya Maximov and Denis Chernov.
• Tim Burton's Lost In Oz is a 2000 television pilot script, written by Trey Callaway with Tim Burton as executive producer. Key scenes were filmed by Michael Katleman.
• Lost in Oz is a 2002 television pilot, never broadcast. It is a sequel to the 1939 film
• In the Futurama episode "Anthology of Interest II", a retelling of the story is shown as a dream of Leela's with the cast of the show.
• Tin Man was released in December 2007 on the Sci-fi Channel by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi. This three-part miniseries, directed by Nick Willing and starring Zooey Deschanel, Richard Dreyfuss, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, was advertised as a re-imagined version of The Wizard of Oz, with a heavy science fiction/fantasy emphasis and, at first glance, giving only allusive references to most of the original story and the 1939 film. However, the revelation in the third part of Tin Man (that the heroine D.G. is a descendant of Dorothy Gale and that other humans, called "Slippers" by the people of Oz, have visited Oz since Gale's fateful adventure) indicates that the series portrays a future version of Oz, thereby making the mini-series both a sequel and a re-imagining.
• W krainie czarnoksiężnika Oza - Polish Television adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz. It was broadcast only in Poland.
• Ozenders - A Children In Need episode of EastEnders in which June Brown starred as "Dorothy Cotton", John Culshaw as Ozzy Osbourne and Adam Woodyatt as "Ian Beale", and employed the rest of the cast of Eastenders, Merseybeat and Casualty.
• In the 2006 episode of the Disney Channel Original Series That's So Raven titled "Soup to Nuts", Raven sees herself in a parody of The Wizard of Oz. Dr. Stuckerman (Steve Hytner) was the Wicked Witch of the West, Raven (Raven-Symoné) was Dorothy, Chelsea (Anneliese van der Pol) was the Scarecrow, Eddie (Orlando Brown) was the Cowardly Lion, Cory (Kyle Massey) was The Tin Man and Victor (Rondell Sheridan) was the Wizard.
• My Way Home; the 100th episode of the comedy-drama Scrubs, makes numerous cultural references to the Wizard of Oz.
• The Witches of Oz is a 2011 television mini-series directed by Leigh Scott, based on the novels The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz, and The Magic of Oz by Baum.
• In The Suite Life on Deck episode titled "Twister: Part 2", Bailey has a dream based on The Wizard of Oz, where she sees herself as Dorothy, Mr. Moseby as the munchkin, London as the Good Witch of the North, Moose as the Scarecrow, Cody as the Tin Man, Zack as the Flying Monkey, and Woody as the Cowardly Lion.
• In the Cartoon Network series, Mad, there is a sketch where Buzz Lightyear wakes up from a dream similar to Dorothy waking up from her dream.
• An episode of SpongeBob SquarePants shows SpongeBob and Patrick going to see Mr. Magic. As in The Wizard of Oz, Mr. Magic, who was thought to be a giant, magical head, is revealed to be a powerless, little man.
• Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz is a Tom and Jerry direct-to-video film, the first to be made for Blu-ray. It first appeared on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2011.
• In the Raising Hope episode "Bro-gurt", broadcast November 29, 2011, a con man using motion capture technology behind a curtain to deceive an audience into thinking they were seeing Andrew Dice Clay through videoconferencing is uncovered by baby Hope, tells the people to ignore the man behind the curtain, and explains to certain characters that one has a brain, one a heart, and one courage.
• Victorious: in a parody of The Wizard of Oz, Cat, as Dorothy, comes into the ladies' restroom, with the video in sepia. She puts her fish, Tofu, down, before opening a window to which a fan is attached. She accidentally hits herself against a stall, and is knocked out. With the video now in color, Cat, aka Dorothy, wakes up. Tori, as the Good Witch of the North, comes out of a stall. She sees that Cat has a ruby-colored PearPhone XT. With that, Jade, as the Wicked Witch, comes out of a stall which bursts open with red smoke. She tries to grab the PearPhone, but it shocks her electrically. Then Jade leaves, speaking her stage directions. With Tori happily following, Tori suggests Cat should "take a wazz." When Cat is confused, Robbie the Scarecrow, André the Lion, and Beck, playing Tin Man, say that they can help her find her way.
• On the animated sitcom Family Guy, many jokes make fun of the Wizard of Oz.
• An episode of Rugrats entitled No Place Like Home Susie dreams of a land like Oz after having her tonsils removed.