The Wizard of Oz: Film Analysis, Hero's Journey & Symbolism

Production Background and Cast

Released in 1939, The Wizard of Oz has become one of the most iconic and enduring motion pictures ever produced. Based on a novel of the same name by L. Frank Baum, the film has far surpassed its source material in terms of popularity and critical acclaim. It is a relatively rare example of an adaptation that brought the original novel to an entirely new level. Screenplay credits are shared by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allen Woolf.

Victor Fleming receives all official directorial accolades, but there were actually four additional uncredited directors on the film: George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy, Norman Taurog, and King Vidor, who directed most of the Kansas scenes ("The Wizard of Oz: Full Cast and Crew," n.d.). Harold Rosson was in charge of cinematography, and The Wizard of Oz was among the first films to use Technicolor. The production company was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

The shining star of the film is Judy Garland, who plays the protagonist Dorothy. The titular character, by contrast, has very few lines or minutes on screen. In spite of being a minor character, the Wizard of Oz becomes a potent symbol driving Dorothy's actions and those of everyone around her as she travels to the Emerald City. The Wizard was played by Frank Morgan, who also appears in several other small roles, such as the Doorkeeper to Emerald City. Like several other actors, Morgan plays two roles because the film depicts two parallel worlds: the mundane world of Kansas and the fantasy realm of Oz. In Kansas, for example, Morgan plays Professor Marvel.

The most notable supporting roles, beyond that of Toto the dog, belong to the three companions who join Dorothy on her journey to the Emerald City. Ray Bolger plays the Scarecrow in Oz and a minor character named Hunk in Kansas. Bert Lahr plays the Cowardly Lion in Oz and Zeke in Kansas, while Jack Haley plays the Tin Man and a man named Hickory in Kansas. The most memorable supporting role, however, belongs to Margaret Hamilton, who plays Dorothy's antagonist in both worlds — Miss Gulch in Kansas and the Wicked Witch of the West in Oz. Elaborate makeup and costumes ensure that the audience does not recognize the actors in Oz, just as Dorothy does not fully realize she is in a kind of dream state.

Genre, Narrative Structure, and the Hero's Journey

Although The Wizard of Oz is classified as a fantasy by the American Film Institute, it can also be categorized as a family film or an adventure film, since Dorothy is on a quest to achieve a goal. The film is additionally a musical; songs frequently punctuate the narrative and add emotional dimensions that dialogue alone cannot capture. The story's arc follows the classic hero's journey, in which a crisis — the tornado — provides the impetus for a long and treacherous journey to Oz, followed by a return home having acquired great wisdom. In this sense, The Wizard of Oz is a bildungsroman: a coming-of-age narrative in which the protagonist undergoes meaningful personal development.

References

Griswold, J. (1987). There's no place but home: The Wizard of Oz. The Antioch Review, 45(4), 462–475.

MacDonnell, F. (2004). "The Emerald City was the New Deal." E.Y. Harburg and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Journal of American Culture, 13(4), 71–75.

Payne, D. (1989). The Wizard of Oz: Therapeutic rhetoric in a contemporary media ritual. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 75(1), 25–39.

"The Wizard of Oz: Full Cast and Crew." (n.d.). IMDB. Retrieved from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/fullcredits-ref_=tt_ov_dr#directors