Love Hotel

We're off to see the Wizard

I love "The Wizard of Oz" movie. I love "The Wiz" movie. Love 'em.

When I was five I went many months refusing to reply to the name Jennifer, and would only turn when my mother gave up and said "Fine. Dorothy, you need to come inside now!" Imagine my betrayal when Fairuza Balk was cast as Dorothy in "Return to Oz" in 1985. Why not ME?!!! I quickly moved on to "Camelot" at that point.

I'm reading "The Wizard of Oz" the book for the first time. I think if I had read this book and loved it, I would hate the movie and all its iterations besides.

L. Frank Baum's intention in writing his children's books was that there would never be a point at which the child would be in serious danger or become seriously frightened. He hated it when dwarves, demons or witches showed up in fairy tales when he was little. I have to say he sounds like a particularly anxious child. I always found the evil ones terrifying but thrilling. I think of the Skexis in "The Dark Crystal" or the Wicked Witch in "The Wiz" in particular. Even the strange discomfort and worry I had about the Mummenshants. I actually saw them at a live show when I was a kid. Mummenshants weren't evil...or were they?

I think Frank Baum failed. But his attempt has made for incredibly uninteresting reading.

At least the type is big and the books are short.