Dorothy Gale performer Judy Garland
In the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was played by Judy Garland, who received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performance. Since she was sixteen years old at the time of filming, Garland's maturing figure was bound into a figure-hiding corset. Since fantasy films generally were unsuccessful at that time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer portrayed Oz as a head-trauma-induced delirium, instead of a real place. Dorothy's characterization in the 1939 film is more of a damsel in distress, somewhat unlike the adventurous, forthright and bold Dorothy of the books, and as one of the first movies to be filmed in Technicolor, the director had the color of the famous magic slippers changed from silver to red because the Ruby slippers were more visually appealing on film.
She is reunited with Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, their three farm workers (Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion's alter egos), and Professor Marvel (The Wizard's alter ego) when she awakens from being unconscious at the end of this film, back at home, safe and proclaiming the film's theme and moral:  "There's no place like home"  (also fulfilling the numerous foreshadows earlier in the story). While it is implied that Oz is merely Dorothy's dream since she awakens in bed at the end, Dorothy is otherwise convinced that her journey was all in fact real, suggesting that the world of Oz truly exist.
In Disney's 1985 fantasy adventure film Return to Oz, which is a more faithful adaptation to the original Oz books, Dorothy is played by then child actress Fairuza Balk.
In the video for Blues Traveler's 1994 hit song "Run-Around", Dorothy tries to get into a club where the band is performing. She is portrayed by actress Diana Marquis.In Disney's 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful, Dorothy's maternal origins are hinted at when Annie (Michelle Williams) informs her friend Oscar Diggs that her fiancé's surname is Gale.Dorothy appears in the animated film Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (which is based on Dorothy of Oz), voiced by Lea Michele.
Dorothy made a cameo appearance in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, voiced by Maya Rudolph. She, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion find themselves having been transported from the Land of Oz to Harmony Town in the Systar System.
Dorothy appears in the South Korean animated film Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs, voiced by Katie DiCicco.Impact on LGBTQ community
In the 1950s, the phrase "friend of Dorothy" became used as a slang term for homosexuals. This term is attributed both to American author and fellow gay icon Dorothy Parker, and to Judy Garland's prominent role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. This gay slang term, also known as "FOD," means a gay man; and more broadly, any LGBTQ person. As such, someone was a friend of Dorothy was a euphemism used for discussing sexual orientation without others knowing its meaning. James Deutsch, program curator with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, examined the origin of the phrase, noting scholars who argued that Garland became a "lodestone" for "gay culture", claimed by the community, and argued that the phrase shows "several of the most important functions of folklore that serve members of the LGBT community." However, Dee Michel, a scholar of Oz, said there are certain beliefs that continue about the connection between the film and LGBTQ people that "persist in spite of a lack of clear historical evidence." Additionally, a Dorothy dollar is described as any business generated by "providing goods and services to the homosexual community."
In L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz from 1900 to 1920, Dorothy and Ozma were described as being in an intimate friendship. In the series Once Upon a Time, Dorothy, who appears in seasons 3, 5, and 6 of the series, has a relationship with Ruby (Little Red Riding Hood), with the latter awakening her with a kiss in her final episode.