Dorothy Gale (1939 Film)

Dorothy Gale is the main protagonist of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, based on the Oz book series by the late L. Frank Baum. She is young girl from Kansas, USA who is sent to the magical realm of Oz, and joins with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, and her dog Toto to find the mythical Wizard of Oz and find her way home.
She was portrayed by the late , who also voiced Mewsette in Gay Purr-ee.
==Biography==
Dorothy Gale was the orphaned daughter of John and Annie Gale, taken in and raised on the farm of her Uncle Henry and Aunt Emily. As a teenager, Dorothy would try and aid around the farm, but would often end up getting in the way or in trouble.
This trouble came to a head one day when Dorothy's dog Toto bit their wicked neighbor Miss Gulch. Miss Gulch comes to the farm demanding Toto so she can euthanize him, and Dorothy is forced to comply. Toto escapes, however, and knowing that Miss Gulch will be back, Dorothy opts to run away from home with Toto. On the road, she comes across a fortune teller named Professor Marvel, who figures out she is running away. Despite being a sham, he tricks her into returning home by pretending to have a vision of her Aunt Emily being distraught over her leaving. Dorothy runs home, but a tornado has formed. As her family hide in the cellar, Dorothy is trapped in the house as it is blown away and through the sky.
When the house lands, Dorothy has arrived in the mystical land of Oz, specifically an area called Munchkin Land filled with the small Munchkin people. Inadvertently, Dorothy's house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East, a villainess that ruled over the Munchkins. The Munchkins and the kind-hearted Glynda, the Good Witch of the North, celebrate Dorothy as a liberator. However, the celebrations are interrupted by the Wicked Witch of the West, who has come to claim her deceased sister's magical Ruby Slippers. However, to prevent them from falling into the Witch's hands, Glynda magically puts the shoes on Dorothy. The Witch of the West leaves, but swears to get the slippers. Dorothy simply wants to return home to Kansas, and Glynda and the Munchkins tell her to follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where the Wizard of Oz will grant her wishes.
On her journey, Dorothy comes across a Scarecrow who wishes he had a brain, a Tin Woodman who wishes he had a heart, and a Cowardly Lion who wishes he had courage. They quickly bond with Dorothy and all head to the Emerald City together. The Witch of the West tries to stop them with magic poppies that put them to sleep, but Glynda intervenes and creates a magic snow to wake the party up and kill the flowers. The group arrive at the Emerald City of Oz, where they meet the intimidating Wizard of Oz. He tells them he will only grant their wishes if they bring him the broomstick of the Witch of the West.
The group set out on their quest, but Dorothy is kidnapped by the Witch's Flying Monkeys. The Witch is unable to remove the slippers from Dorothy's feet, and instead plans to kill her to take them. However, Toto leads her companions to the Witch's castle, and they manage to free her. However, the Witch and her Winkie Guards give chase, cornering them in a tower. The Witch tries lighting the Scarecrow on fire, and Dorothy grabs a bucket of water and throws it to extinguish the flames. The water drenches the Witch, who melts away cursing Dorothy as she dies. The Winkie Guards are grateful to Dorothy for releasing them, and bring her and the others back to the Emerald City.
However, once back, Dorothy and the others realize the Wizard is just a man who arrived in Oz long ago. He has no magic, but gives the others trinkets to symbolize the things they had all along. He offers Dorothy a ride home on his hot air balloon, but Toto jumps off and Dorothy is forced to get off to go after him, leaving the balloon to leave without her. Glynda appears and tells Dorothy that she always had the power to return home by clicking her heels three times in the Ruby Slippers.
Dorothy wakes up in her bed back on the farmhouse, surrounded by friends and family. She tells them of the adventure she had, and despite them not believing her, she is simply grateful to be home.
==Appearances in Other Media==
===LEGO===
Dorothy appears as a non-playable character in the 2015 video game LEGO Dimensions. She is voiced by Laura Bailey.
Dorothy appears as a cameo character in the 2019 film The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part. She is voiced by Maya Rudolph.
===M&Ms===
A 2004 commercial for the Mars candies M&Ms featured footage of Judy Garland as Dorothy, dubbed by a different voice actress.
==Quotes==
==Trivia==
*The Ruby Slippers were originally silver in the original books. However, MGM wanted to take advantage of the new color technology, and so changed them to ruby. These would become more iconic than the original silver versions, with other adaptations usually making them ruby as well.
*In the film, Dorothy was played by a then sixteen year old Judy Garland, though the character in the books was much younger at around eight.
*The role of Dorothy was originally planned to be given to child star Shirley Temple, but executives decided Garland was better for the role, particularly due to her singing voice.
*Dorothy was originally planned to be blonde, with Garland wearing a wig. However, during the production, it was decided that Garland's natural hair color should be used instead.
*Judy Garland was allegedly subjected to terrible treatment during the production of the film, including being on a diet of soup, coffee, and cigarettes to prevent her from gaining weight, though some sources deny this. However, Garland was frequently given medication to keep her awake for long hours during shooting, and more medication to force her to sleep when not working. Despite these conditions, Garland was quite friendly with the other actors and actresses, including confiding in Margaret Hamilton, the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West/Miss Gulch.
**Judy Garland and Margret Hamilton would work together again in the 1939 film Babes in Arms.
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