Monday, October 22, 2018

The 31 Days of Halloween, Oz Style: Day 22/Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz: Halloween Heist

I have been going through the episodes of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz in order, but this week and next I'm jumping ahead to a pair of episodes about Halloween. So yes, these are doing double duty for my Halloween posts as well. In our first Halloween tale, Dorothy is all excited about Halloween coming, but nobody else in Oz has heard of it, and her friends keep getting the name wrong. She finally manages to explain, however, and tries scaring her friends to demonstrate. Not even the Lion is phased! But Wilhelmina sees this as a perfect opportunity to scare Dorothy right out of Oz. She carves the scariest jack-o'-lantern she can, sprinkles it with the potion of life, and names it Jack Pumpkinhead. The only problem is that he's not scary at all, he's a lovable goofball who keeps calling Wilhelmina "Mom" no matter how much she protests about it. Nevertheless, they crash the Halloween party in the Emerald City (along with Frank and Lyman, dressed as a flying cowboy and a flying cat). Dorothy, dressed as a vampire, is trying her best to scare everyone, but just is not succeeding. Jack isn't having any luck, either, but when Dorothy meets Jack and they commiserate, they decide to team up and pull a big scare on the whole party. It works! Only trouble is, everyone runs away from the party. Wilhelmina flies off in a huff, with Dorothy wishing her a happy Halloween, and the gang gets ready to go out trick-or-treating—but the story behind that will have to wait until next week's installment!

This was a lot of fun (which I seem to keep saying about this show; must be because it's so fun). Dorothy's friends not quite getting the whole idea but jumping in anyway is totally in character, and Ozma's many magical attempts at a costume are delightful. Patchwork Girl even has a cameo, dressed as a shepherdess, and Wilhelmina's encounter with someone dressed like her is amusing. But Jack Pumpkinhead is the true star of this episode. His origin may not be quite like it is in the books, but it's certainly in the same spirit, and they get his character just right. He's not at all like what Wilhelmina wants him to be, and he seems to fit in nicely with Dorothy and her friends. His continuous calling Wilhelmina "mom" makes for a great running gag, as do her reactions. This one certainly fits in with the spirit of the holiday.

No comments: