81 out of 81 people found this review helpful.
Ignore That Man Behind the Curtain
Date of Review: May 25, 2000
It is hard to imagine any movie made today that can hold as many audiences and remain as important and significant today as The Wizard of Oz has had for over sixty years. So many movies have come and gone, yet every year The Wizard of Oz makes yet another appearance on the major networks.
I have been fortunate to see this movie every year for the past 35 years. As a child, it was a tradition in our home. My mother would make popcorn, and my dad would make root beer floats. We would all gather around the old television set and I can remember my dad would imitate the Wicked Witch so well, as kids we used to be terrified of that "evil laugh" as he would say, "Hehehehe, I'll get you my pretty".
As I got older, it seemed somehow fitting to keep up the family tradition of watching this movie. Judy Garland is superior in this movie as Dorothy the young girl who gets taken away to a far away and strange land when there is a tornado in her home in Kansas. As her song in the movie indicates, she is truly "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
However, Dorothy learns that being home is where the heart is and proceeds on a long journey to meet a Wizard from Oz who she hopes will help her to get home. Along the way she meets her companions - the Scarecrow (who wants a brain); the Tin Man (who wants a heart); and the Lion (who wants courage). The group goes "off to see the wizard" to get their wishes granted.
A nice moral to the story is that most of us already have the things we want - for example - the Scarecrow is already quite smart, the Tin Man is quite emotional and the Lion is very courageous. As for Dorothy, she needs to learn the lesson that home is an important place for all of us, despite the fact that sometimes we take our home and loved ones for granted.
This musical has some great songs that the whole family will love. A family movie in every sense of the word, I would highly recommend this watching it.
So get out the popcorn and the root beer floats. Turn on the vcr, grab the kids, the dog, and cuddle on the couch with your significant other. Enjoy!
