"And my head, I'd be scratchin/While my thoughts were busy hatchin/If I only had a brain..."

Rating: 9/10 (12 August 2001)

We all know this is a classic which has more than withstood the test of time, so just some thoughts: Why would Dorothy want to go back to that god-forsaken farm instead of living in Oz, a place where Technicolor might've been invented? She didn't seem to get much love from anybody in Kansas, and Elvira Gulch is bound to come back for the dog (providing the cyclone didn't kill her). Another thought: Why is Glinda such a masochist? She appears to watch out over Dorothy and her friends from the heavens, but where is she when they really need her? Why are the residents of Oz so happy to see the Wizard leave? It's a big celebration, yet he's their ruler! Wouldn't they be sad to see him go? Also, there is no scene depicting the Wizard's unmasking of himself to the people of his city. How do they know he's the Wizard? Has he been behind that curtain since he arrived? A sketchy plot like this--which invites more questions than it answers--really shouldn't result in such a joyous picture, but it does. I remember when they re-released this to theaters in 1972 (after years of showing the thing on TV every year) and people lined-up down the street to see it again. That's the power of good movies.