Saturday Morning Oz Cartoon

Ah, what the heck: Here are the bits of Off to See the Wizard that were released on the latest DVD sets of The Wizard of Oz:

If you're interested in getting the rest of the set — and if you're any kind of Wizard of Oz fan, trust me, you really want the current DVD release, or at least drop hints to Santa — you can get the deluxe 3-DVD set here or the slightly less elaborate 2-DVD set here.

Saturday Morning Oz Cartoon

Nope, no Tales of the Wizard of Oz today, but something else from the 1960s. ABC ran Off to See the Wizard during the 1967-68 season as MGM's answer to The Wonderful World of Disney. The opening, close, intro, linking segments, and the like were all animated versions of the Oz characters. Even better, the animator was the legendary Chuck Jones, and the voices were by animation voice legends June Foray (as Dorothy and the Wicked Witch), Mel Blanc, and Daws Butler. They'd introduce family-friendly fare from the MGM vault that had nothing whatsoever to do with Oz except for appearing in this show. Several clips (in color) were put on the latest DVD release of The Wizard of Oz, but this is the first time I've ever seen the opening and closing in any way, shape, or form. Very cool. Let's take a look:

Thanks to Mark Evanier for unearthing this and bringing it to my attention.