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Its influence is vast, extending well beyond musicals and kids films.
Its not even the first.
No matter how good any subsequentOzfilms might be, its hard to imagine any topping MGMs masterpiece.
A quick note: This list only considers theatrically released films directly adapted from or inspired by BaumsOzbooks.
That means no TV series, miniseries, direct-to-video cartoons, made-for-TV movies, or tangentially connected works.
15.The Wonderful Land of Oz(1969)
15.
He may not have made very good movies but someone should make a movieaboutdirector Barry Mahon.
How cheap is it?
13.Legends of Oz: Dorothys Return(2014)
13.
12.The Wizard of Oz(1982)
12.
(Baum had sold the rights toThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozto one of his creditors.)
Once seen, the rotund, threatening Roly-Rogues ofThe Magic Cloak of Ozare not soon forgotten.
But as films, theyre also something of a slog thanks to murky storytelling and dreary pacing.
8.The Wizard of Oz(1925)
8.
But its also not great and often bears only the faintest resemblance to the source material.
A flop in its day, its failure helped contribute to Semons rapid decline in fortune and health.
He died a few years later at age 39.
7.The Wonderful Wizard of Oz(1910)
7.
Baums adaptations werent the first attempts to bringOzto the big screen.
Sadly, a pair of sequels,Dorothy and the Scarecrow in OzandThe Land of Ozare now lost.
6.The Wiz(1978)
6.
On the other hand, its also a lumbering mess.
Still, as an overblown curiosity, theres nothing else quite like it.
5.Oz(1976)
5.
4.Oz the Great and Powerful(2013)
4.
Otherwise, it plays like a standard 2010s Hollywood blockbuster dressed up inOztrappings.
3.The Wizard of Oz(1933)
3.
Happily, Eshbaugh held onto a color copy, which has survived.
2.Return to Oz(1985)
2.
But for kids wholikenightmares, its tough to resist.
1.Wicked(2024)
1.
(Theyre pretty good singers, too.)
