I was really looking forward to rereading the final story from the 1979 edition of Oziana, "The Real Critics" by Geoffrey L. Gould, just because I remember the premise: The folks in the Emerald City find out that there was a movie made about Dorothy's original trip to Oz, released in 1939. So the Wizard and the Shaggy Man make arrangements to show it to the people who were originally there! (Meta, right?) Since this was right before the howe video revolution started, that involved bringing a film print and projectors to Oz, and generating power. The Wizard comes through on all counts, of course.
And what a way to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of The Movie! (What's scary is that we're now approaching the fortieth anniversary of this story!) The entire story takes place in the few minutes after the final scene is shown, and let's just say it got mixed reactions. Most of the characters were fine with how they were portrayed, even if the movie wasn't particularly accurate. Toto let's his role as the hero go to his head a bit, but the Glass Cat helps keep him in line. The Cowardly Lion, however, gets the worst of it. The Hungry Tiger is especially hard on him, teasing the Lion about how Bert Lahr portrayed him, and the Tiger does not let up! Finally, Dorothy encourages the Lion to tell the Tiger what really happened, and all is good again.
Next week I start wrapping up Oziana's first decade with the 1980 issue. Posting may be a little irregular over the next couple of weeks because of OzCon and other upcoming events, but I think I can maintain my once a week schedule.
No comments:
Post a Comment