The Greatest Fantasy One Could Embark On

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2013)

In 1900, Lyman Frank Baum wrote a story about a little girl named Dorothy who was hurled away from dusty Kansas to the magnificent land of Oz, filled with talking Scarecrows, wicked witches, big headed wizards and magical shoes. This story was so successful upon it's release that several film adaptations have been made throughout the years, but it wasn't until 1939 when the world first saw the film that is probably the most well known and admired film of forever more. The Wizard of Oz is the pinnacle motion picture of many of our childhoods, for we saw it at a very young age and it augmented our lives and points of view. Some consider it their favorite film, others consider it a icon feast, I however see it as the greatest fantasy one could embark on. This is one of the greatest tales ever told (both the movie and the original book) and every time I set my eyes upon it, I realize more and more how much I love this film and just how legendary it really is. The Wizard of Oz is THAT film, the film everyone has seen more than once and it's imagery and surroundings are very hard to rid from the mind. It's characters are relatable and very vivid to look at (Would you believe Bert Lahr's Lion costume was 90 pounds!) and the songs the characters chant are songs everyone can sing, for everyone has heard them so many times and know the lyrics by heart.
But where The Wizard of Oz truly shines is in it's moral, that there is no place like home. Stated only once in Baum's original story, this quote has been the most prominent and well known movie quote ever spewed from a human mouth and it goes to show that no matter who you are and where you are, you always have a place to go to and people you can love and cherish. It's not about what kind of home it is, it's the fact that it's a home and it's a place where you can be who you want to be and relate with those most dear to you. It's the love and the warmth of being together that really matters and it's what Dorothy realizes at the very end of the film, that no matter how sepia toned her homelike is, she can be happy there and always love the things around her. That is one of the many reasons why this film is truly perfect in every sense of the word. Nah, it's not perfect, nothing is perfect, but this film is pretty darn spectacular and it's a film that will live on many, many, many, many, many years down the road, even after I am gone off the face of the Earth. This film is a tradition that generation to generation can savor and take to the heart and it's a film no one can deny, no one can get fed up with. It's the very film that gets you out of sadness and despair and into the realm of grandiose and fantastic nature. It's the film that gives us brains, gives us courage, gives us heart, gives us strength.
That's all I have to say about that.