Once all of his many forms have been dropped, the wizard turns out to be Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs (“OZ” is the first initial from his first two names), a former salesman from Omaha, who developed all of his facades while he was a circus magician.
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska. It was the birthplace of the Wizard of Oz before he visited and later emigrated to the Land of Oz. Formally, Omaha was founded in 1854 by settlers from nearby Council Bluffs, Iowa, though the earliest arrivals dated back to the 1840s.
While researching the 1898 Omaha World's Fair for his ghost story and researching the Wizard of Oz for the newspaper story (in L. Frank Baum's original novel, published in 1900, the Wizard hailed from Omaha, where he had worked first as a ventriloquist's apprentice and then a balloonist), Schaffert had an idea.
Who was the man behind the curtain in The Wizard of Oz?
One of the iconic charterers in the film is the Wizard himself, the Man Behind the Curtain. Dorothy was in need of a champion, someone who had the power to help her get to her home. Toto pulls back the curtain revealing the Wizard to be a fraud, all smoke and mirrors and no real power.
The Wicked Witch of the East was featured in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which she is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. As in the book, she is killed when Dorothy's house falls on her. The Wicked Witch of the West was not pleased with Dorothy for the death of her sister.
Does "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" have a hidden message? - David B. Parker
Why did Oz hide behind the curtain?
The Wizard wanted to appear to be a powerful and ruthless tyrant, even though he was actually a weak and unassuming little man. So, he hid behind a curtain, amplified his voice and projected a scary image onto the far wall when Dorothy and her friends entered the Wizard's castle.
Who is the most popular character in The Wizard of Oz?
Dorothy Gale
Ultimately, it is Dorothy herself who comes across as the most likable of the Wizard of Oz characters. It's her adventure and everything that happens is shown through her perspective, therefore she must be a likable character, or viewers simply wouldn't be interested in the movie.
On the long journey to the Emerald City, Dorothy and Toto are joined by the Scarecrow, who wishes he had brains; the Tin Woodman, who longs for a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage.
What is the moral of the story of The Wizard of Oz?
When choosing between love and hate, good and evil, love and good will always triumph. This is an obvious theme in The Wizard of Oz, and it's the best way to live. The very first person that Dorothy encounters in the land of Oz is Glenda the good witch.
In The Wizard of Oz, the hot-air balloon that transported the Wizard to the Land of Oz—and which was to take him, Dorothy, and Toto to Kansas—has "State Fair Omaha" prominently written on it, as Omaha was one of the rotating host cities of the Fair until 1901.
The Wizard represents President William McKinley. “The Wizard in his Emerald City is none other than the evasive, hard-to-pin-down President William McKinley: '[h]e symbolizes the American criterion for leadership-he is able to be everything to everybody'” (Earle, 8).
Even Dorothy had hope that "The Great and Terrible Humbug," as she called him, would find a way to send her back to Kansas, and if he did she was willing to forgive him everything.
When the game of four-card holdem was introduced, it was called Omaha in Las Vegas to emphasize the fact that precisely two cards in the hand were to be used.
Auntie Em Dorothy's Aunt and Henry's wife. A typical midwestern farm worker, her main concern is the upkeep of her farm. Doubles as Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
Dorothy's last name holds a particular metaphorical significance. "Gale" is a nautical term for strong winds. Dorothy is first transported from Kansas to Oz in a tornado—another kind of strong wind. Dorothy's last name closely connects her to her fateful passage to Oz.
Despite Toto being a male dog, he was portrayed in the 1939 film by a female dog named Terry (1933 - 1945). She was born on November 17, 1933, and died on September 1, 1945 at age 11, two months and sixteen days before her twelfth birthday.
In Baum's subsequent Oz novels, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after her death in the first book. The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 film based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by Margaret Hamilton.
What did the 3 characters want from the Wizard of Oz?
On the long journey to the Emerald City, Dorothy and Toto are joined by the Scarecrow, who wishes he had brains; the Tin Woodman, who longs for a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage.
Oz explains that his real name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs. To shorten this name, he used only his initials (O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D.), but since they spell out the word pinhead, he shortened his name further and called himself "Oz".
“If Oz had taken a dose of the same courage he gave me,” added the Lion, “he would have been a brave man.” Dorothy said nothing. Oz had not kept the promise he made her, but he had done his best, so she forgave him. As he said, he was a good man, even if he was a bad Wizard.
But in both cases, Dorothy is instantly hailed as a conquering heroine, just as the Wizard was when he touched down in Oz. The message is that people will march behind any authority figure who makes a splash, however undeserving they may be.
Murch wanted to make a film that was more faithful to the source material, and drew inspiration from both 'The Marvelous Land of Oz' and 'Ozma of Oz,' and cast a young Fairuza Balk in her first film role as little Dorothy Gale, giving us a Dorothy who, unlike Judy Garland, was actually a little girl.
