How special effects can have an effect

Rating: Null/10 (15 October 2007)

"The Wizard of Oz" is a timeless film filled with adventure, life lessons, and special effects. A young Kansas farm girl dreams of a place where she can go with her dog rid of all problems and daily worries. She ends up finding her euphoria but runs into a bushel of trouble in doing so. "The Wizard of Oz" is a cinema marvel packed with action, special effects, and even flying monkeys. Once the film hit the television "The Wizard of Oz" became a cultural phenomenon, due to its immense amount of special effects, in which the whole family will enjoy and is a must see movie.
The movie starts in a black and white color in a small, Kansas farming community. The film is shot in a production large studio. The backgrounds are very detailed but you can decipher they are not real. Dorothy lives a simple life with her tiny dog Toto who has a knack for getting into trouble with the neighbors. One day Toto stirs up trouble with one of the neighbors and Dorothy decides to run away because she thinks the mean neighbor will hurt her precious dog. Dorothy encounters a professor who is a fake fortune teller. Dorothy ends up telling him she ran away and he convinces her her aunt is sick and dying and she must return home at once. There is a terrible cyclone on the way home. Dorothy's house is picked up by the storm and carried off into the sky. This is the first major special effect featured in this film. The house appears to be spinning around inside of the cyclone. Dorothy is looking out at the window at all of the objects being thrown around by the cyclone including her mean neighbor.
Dorothy's house lands in the wonderful land of Oz. Oz if full of vibrant color and still being filmed in an elaborate production studio with immense detail and many props to enhance the atmosphere. Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. An interesting special effect appears at this point in the movie. A good witch, named Glenda, appears to be in a tiny bubble which is getting larger and larger as she approaches Dorothy. Glenda tells Dorothy she killed the Witch of the East. Suddenly in a puff of red billowing smoke the Wicked Witch of the West appears. She threatens Dorothy and then disappears with another poof of thick red smoke. Dorothy then begins her journey on the yellow brick road to the Emerald city to talk to the Wizard of Oz. After being thanked by the munchkins, tiny people who inhabit Munchkinland she is on her way.
Along the yellow brick road Dorothy and Toto encounter many new friends as well as her newfound enemies. She first meets a scarecrow with no brain. The scarecrow appears to be stuffed with straw and his face looks like cloth. Next, she meets a tin man with no heart. The tin man is stuck in place and cannot move unless he is oiled thoroughly. The tin man's face seems to be meshed perfectly to his rusted tin can body. Finally, she meets a cowardly lion who has no courage. The lion has a large tail which you can tell is being held up to a thin string. These four characters embark through a plagued forest filled with angry monster apple trees whom come to life when they are disturbed. They also encounter a deadly poppy field which is a trap set by the Witch of the West. Once they get to the Emerald city they talk to the Wizard of Oz. The Wizard appears to be a huge silhouette head against the backdrop of a wall with billowing fire and smoke. There are also flickering lights to enhance the spookiness of the wizard. This is all actually done by a man who is behind a curtain, which is found out later in the movie.
The group of characters has to reach the Witch's castle high atop a steep pathway. The Witch looks into her crystal ball and sees them coming and sends her blue, flying monkeys to get Dorothy and Toto. The monkeys carry them off to the castle into the night sky. Dorothy ends up killing the Witch by melting her with water. The Witch appears to melt into thin air with a cloud of smoke coming off of her as her black gown crumples to the ground. Glenda appears again after another meeting with the Wizard and tells Dorothy she can go back home because all she has to do is find her heart's desire. Dorothy taps her heals together and says "there's no place like home" and she is transported back to the black and white Kansas. All along Dorothy's experience was just a dream.
Through special effects "The Wizard of Oz" makes a story of adventure seem mythical and euphoric. From flying monkeys to melting witches, The Wizard of Oz is a special movie enhanced by its visual stimuli and special effects. This classic film shows how the tiniest of special effects such as smoke can entangle the viewer into believing this inherently untrue story is actually real.