The best fantasy of all time

Rating: 10/10 (24 January 2005)

I have seen The Wizard of Oz lots of times and never tire of it. It has to be the best fantasy movie ever made.
A twister sends Dorothy, her dog Toto and their home to the magical land of Oz. When there, she first discovers her home has crushed the Wicked Witch of the East to death and the area of Oz she has landed in is Munchkin Land. After a visit from the Good Witch of the North, some songs with the munchkins and an unpleasant visit from the Wicked Witch of the West, she starts to make her way along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emarald City to visit the Wizard himself who can get her back home to Kansas. On the way, she meets up with the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion and they eventually end up at the Emarald City. Before eventually meeting the Wizard, she is kidnapped by the Wicked Witch of the West's strange monkey-bat creature slaves and locked up in her castle but is rescued and the Witch disintegrates when some water is thrown over her. Dorothy then gets to see the Wizard, who gives the Scarecrow his brain, the Tin Man his heart and the Cowardly Lion his courage. The Wizard turns out to be a Kansas person as well but his balloon is accidentally released and Dorothy misses out on returning home with him. She returns home by saying "There's No Place Like Home" but all this turns out to be a dream at the end.
The best song in the movie has to be "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", which Dorothy sings before she gets to Oz.
Now to the excellent cast. Judy Garland plays her best role as Dorothy and is joined by Frank Morgan who has five roles, Burt Lahr, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and an excellent performance from Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West.
This movie is an excellent way to spend part of an afternoon, not just at Christmas when most TV channels screen it. The VHS copy I own also features some extras, including one on the making of the move.
Rating: 5 stars out of 5.