TV
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz an original made-for-television movie, aired May 20, 2005 aon ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Adam F. Goldberg and The Simpsons writer Tom Martin, this latest retelling of the classic story follows Dorothy (Ashanti Douglas) as she journeys through an Oz populated by Muppets in order to find the Wizard and become a star.
This film departs from the original Oz novel in a number of noticeable ways: Dorothy's family owns a diner instead of a farm; Toto is a prawn; the Tin Woodman is a robot. Many of the characters' personalities and backgrounds are given a show-biz makeover; for instance, this version's Dorothy dreams of being a famous singer, and at first she plans to ask the Wizard to give her fame rather than a way back to Kansas.
However, in several respects the plot follows the novel more closely than does the classic 1939 movie: For example, the Good Witch of the North (who greets Dorothy when she arrives in Oz) and Glinda (who shows her how to get home) are separate characters; when Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch of the West she gains control of the Winged Monkeys; and the Wizard meets with each of Dorothy's friends separately in a different guise.
