Sequels and Reinterpretations
The Wizard of Oz was dramatized as a one-hour radio play on Lux Radio Theater, which broadcasted on December 25, 1950, with Judy Garland reprising her earlier role. An official sequel, the animated Journey Back to Oz, starring Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland, as Dorothy, was produced beginning in 1964 to commemorate the original film's 25th anniversary. It also featured Margaret Hamilton, who previously played the Wicked Witch, as Aunt Em. The unfinished film lost financing early on and was not finished until 1972 when the producing studio, Filmation, had made enough profit from its television series to finish the film. It was released in the USA in 1974, and again in 1976 with additional live-action footage.
In 1964, a one-hour animated cartoon, also called Return to Oz, was shown as an afternoon weekend special on NBC.
In 1975, the stage show The Wiz premiered on Broadway. It was an African American version of The Wizard of Oz reworked for the Broadway stage. It starred Stephanie Mills and other Broadway stars and earned Tony awards. The play's financing was handled by actor Geoffrey Holder. The play inspired revivals after it left the stage and an unsuccessful a motion picture made in 1978, starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.
The episode of Donny & Marie that broadcasted on September 30, 1977, adapted The Wizard of Oz as it was seen in 1939. Ray Bolger, despite being 37 years older than he was in the film, reprised his role as the Scarecrow.
In the late 1970s to early 1980s The Wizard of Oz was the basis of a series of television commercials for Crispy Wheats and Raisins breakfast cereal.
Walt Disney Pictures made a film called Return to Oz, in 1985. Based mostly on the books Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz, it fared poorly with critics and in the box office, although it has since become a cult film.
In 1990, an animated TV series also called The Wizard of Oz featured Dorothy returning to Oz to help her friends protect the Wizard from the resurrected Wicked Witch of the West. Produced by DiC Enterprises, it was created to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the film.
In 1995, Gregory Maguire published the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which was adapted into the Broadway musical Wicked. The story describes the life of the Wicked Witch and other events prior Dorothy's arrival.
For the film's 56th anniversary, a stage show also entitled The Wizard of Oz was based upon the 1939 film and the book by L. Frank Baum. It toured from 1995 to 2012, except for 2004 (see The Wizard of Oz (1987 stage play)).
In 2005, The Jim Henson Company produced The Muppets' Wizard of Oz for television, starring Ashanti as Dorothy, Jeffrey Tambor as the Wizard, David Alan Grier as Uncle Henry, and Queen Latifah as Aunt Em. Kermit the Frog portrayed the Scarecrow, Gonzo portrayed the Tin Thing (Tin Man), Fozzie Bear portrayed the Lion, and Miss Piggy portrayed all the Witches of the West, East, North, and South.
In 2007, Sc iFi Channel released the miniseries Tin Man, a science-fiction re-imagining starring Zooey Deschanel as DG.
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice wrote a musical based on the film, which is also titled The Wizard of Oz. The musical opened in 2011 at the West End's London Palladium. It features all of the songs from the film plus new songs written by Lloyd Webber and Rice. Lloyd Webber also found Danielle Hope to play Dorothy on the reality show, Over the Rainbow. Another production of the musical opened in December 2012 at the Ed Mirvish Theatre in Toronto. A reality TV show, also entitled Over the Rainbow, found a Canadian girl, Danielle Wade, to play the role of Dorothy.
An animated film called Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz was released in 2011 by Warner Home Video, incorporating Tom and Jerry into the story as Dorothy's "protectors".
Writer-director Hugh Gross' independent film After the Wizard, produced in 2010, relates events after those of the film. It was released to DVD on August 7, 2012.
Another Oz film, Oz the Great and Powerful, was released on March 8, 2013. It was directed by Sam Raimi and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the second film based on Baum's Oz series to be produced by Disney. The film stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, and Michelle Williams.
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