''Tales of the Wizard of Oz'' is a 1961
animated television series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...
produced by
Crawley Films
Crawley () is a large town and borough in West Sussex, England. It is south of London, north of Brighton and Hove, and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Crawley covers an area of and had a population of 106,597 at the time of th ...
for Videocraft (later known as
Rankin/Bass Productions
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usua ...
). This is the second animated series produced by the studio and the first by Rankin/Bass to feature
traditional animation
Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until computer animation.
Proc ...
.
Summary
The series features stories derived from characters created in
L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...
''. Several characters are given additional names, including Dandy the
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, but like all animals in Oz, he can speak.
Since lions are supposed to be "The Kings of Beasts," the Cowardly ...
, Rusty the
Tin Man, and Socrates the
Scarecrow
A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin, often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops.Lesle ...
. In this adaptation, rather than being dropped by a tornado,
Dorothy and
Toto are blown in from
Kansas
Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...
through a hole cut out of the landscape.
Each episode is a brief vignette about an adventure that the characters are involved in, often centring around the Wizard's attempts to fulfil the characters' wishes.
Artistic renditions of the Oz characters created for this series were later featured in the hourlong
television special
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...
''
Return to Oz
''Return to Oz'' is a 1985 dark fantasy film released by Walt Disney Pictures, co-written and directed by Walter Murch. It stars Nicol Williamson, Jean Marsh, Piper Laurie, and Fairuza Balk as Dorothy Gale in her first screen role. The film ...
''. The series was also adapted to a comic book for a one-shot issue in
Dell's ''
Four Color
''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...
'' #1308 (March–May 1962).
, this series has yet to be released on DVD.
In October 2010, the series went into rotation on the
Retro Television Network.
Cast
*
Carl Banas as
The Wizard
* Corinne Conley as
Dorothy
*
Bernard Cowan as
Munchkins
A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by Americans, American author L. Frank Baum. They first appear in the classic children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to thei ...
, Various
* Stan Francis as Various
*
Paul Kligman
Paul Kligman (21 January 1923 – 29 August 1985) was a Canadian actor.
Biography
Born in Romania, he emigrated to Canada where he spent his youth in Winnipeg and studied at the University of Manitoba. He moved to Toronto in 1950 and estab ...
as
Dandy Lion, Ham
* Peggi Loder as Various
*
Larry D. Mann as
Rusty the Tin Man,
the Wicked Witch, Topsy Turvy, Desmond the Dragon
*
Alfie Scopp as
Socrates the Scarecrow, Baker, Robby the Rubber Man
Episode list
# Pilot: Part 1
# Pilot: Part Two - The Witch Switch
# Leapin' Lion
# The Magic Hat
# The Balloon Buzz
# Machine-Gun Morris
# Movie Maid
# Shadow Shakes
# The Big Cake Bake
# Desmond's Dilemma
# Misfire Miss
# Gung-Ho Gang
# Heart Burn
# Stuffed
# The Fountain of Youth
# The Rubber Man
# The Happy Forest
# Dandy's Dilemma
# The Search
# The Bag of Wind
# The Music Men
# To Bee or Not to Bee
# Have Your Pie and Eat It Too
# The Sound of Munchkins
# The Count
# Places, Please
# The Green Golfer
# The Flying Carpet
# The Monkey Convention
# The Big Shot
# On the Wing
# To Stretch A Point
# The Flipped Lid
# Down in the Mouth
# The Gusher
# The Family Tree
# Boomer Rang
# The Great Laurso
# The Pudgy Lion
# Beauty and the Beach
# The Hillies and the Billies
# The School Marm
# An Optical Delusion
# Watch the Bouncing Bull
# All in a Lather
# The Green Thumb
# Leap Frog
# The Cultured Lion
# Chowy Mein
# The Super-Duper Market
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# Friends of a Feather
# Monkey Air Lift
# Guaranteed for Life
# The Skills of Bravery
# The Coat of Arms
# Roar, Lion, Roar
# Be a Card
# The Inferior Decorator
# The Salesman
# The Cat's Meow
# The Yellow Brick Road
# Rusty Rusty
# The Scarecrow
# The Invisible Man
# Free Trade
# The Bull Fighter
# The Golden Touch
# The Long Hair
# Roll the Presses
# The Big Brother
# The Cool Lion
# Gabe the Gobbler
# The Raffle
# The Strawman Twist
# The Dinner Party
# The Fire Chief
# The Green Tomato
# The Poet
# The Three Musketeers
# One Big Headache
# Get Out the Vote
# ?
# ?
# ?
# ?
# The Wizard's Promise
# Well Done
# The Do-It-Yourself Heart
# The Great Oz Auto Race
# ?
# The Jail Breakers
# The Reunion
# The Sucker
# The Bubble Champ
# Too Much Heart
# The Witch's Boyfriend
# The Clock Watchers
# Double Trouble
# The O.N.
# Going to Pieces
# Mail-Order Lover
# Love Sick
# It's a Dog's Life
# The Fallen Star
# Don't Pick the Daisies
# The Munchkin Robin Hood
# The Wizard's Tail-Fins
# The Rubber Doll
#? The Magic World Of Oz
#? The Wisdom Teeth
#? The Brain
#? Bake Your Cake and Eat it Too
#? A Fish Tale
#? The Last Straw
#? Plug-In Courage
#? The Wizard's Magic Wand
#? The Mail Man
#? The Pony Express
Film: Return to Oz (Feb# 9, 1964)
See also
*
F. R. Crawley
*
Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment (founded and formerly known as Videocraft International, Ltd. and Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc.) was an American production company located in New York City, and known for its seasonal television specials, usual ...
*
Adaptations of ''The Wizard of Oz'' — other adaptations of ''
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the magical Land of Oz afte ...
''
References
External links
*
*
Tales of the Wizard of Oz' at the
Big Cartoon DataBase
The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts.
The BCDB proj ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tales Of The Wizard Of Oz
1961 Canadian television series debuts
1961 Canadian television series endings
1960s Canadian animated television series
1961 American television series debuts
1961 American television series endings
1960s American animated television series
American children's animated adventure television series
American children's animated fantasy television series
American television shows based on children's books
Canadian children's animated adventure television series
Canadian children's animated fantasy television series
Canadian television shows based on children's books
Animated films based on The Wizard of Oz
Animated television series about orphans
Animated television series based on The Wizard of Oz
Wizards in television
Rankin/Bass Productions television series
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States