Difference between revisions of "The Wizard of Oz"

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The Wizard of Oz is a 1900 children's novel by L. Frank Baum. It has been adapted into several film versions, of which the 1939 version, The Wizard of Oz, directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland, is the most iconic. This picture is one of Matt Groening's favorite films (#8 in his personal list of 100 Favorite Things) ^[1] and has therefore been referenced numerous times on The Simpsons.

References to The Wizard of Oz in The Simpsons

Television episodes

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 3 38 "When Flanders Failed" When Ned announces that he's going to open The Leftorium, Homer sarcastically asks, "Where is this store, Flanders? The merry old land of Oz?", referencing the song "The Merry Old Land of Oz". 42 "Treehouse of Horror II" When Mr. Burns is scooping out Homer's brain, he hums "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz. 59 "Brother, Can You Spare Two Dimes?" After Herb Powell gives gifts to Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie, Homer (whose fondest wish was to have the Spinemelter 2000) dejectedly comments, "I don't think there's a vibrating chair in that bag for me." Homer's lament echoes a scene near the end of the movie, where after the Wizard gives gifts to the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man (a diploma, a medal, and a testimonial, respectively), Dorothy—who wants only to go home—sadly says, "I don't think there's anything in that black bag for me." 4 69 "Lisa's First Word" Marge, telling the story of how the Simpson family moved into 742 Evergreen Terrace, says that while they were house-hunting, they passed on a house full of cats. Back in the present, Bart muses, "I could have trained them to be my unholy army of the night." Then, envisioning just that, he says, "Go, my pretties! Kill! Kill!" in a manner reminiscent of the Wicked Witch of the West sending out her flying monkeys. After the Simpsons move into 742 Evergreen Terrace, Ned and Rod Flanders sing "We welcome you to the neighborhood" to Homer. The song is to the same tune as "We Welcome You to Munchkinland", which the Munchkins sing for Dorothy. 72 "Selma's Choice" On the way to Aunt Gladys' funeral, Bart and Lisa sing "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz. 79 "Whacking Day" Kent Brockman teases several news segments on the upcoming episode of Eye on Springfield, including a "Where are they now?" piece about the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz. The next shot shows a graveyard; however, in reality, when the episode first aired, a few former Munchkin actors from the film were still alive. 5 85 "Rosebud" Mr. Burns' guards are parodies of the Winkie Guards. Their song is also very similar. On the audio commentary it is commented that there was discussion in the writer's room about the actual lines from the original song: they actually had to rewatch the film to get the lyrics right. 90 "The Last Temptation of Homer" Mr. Burns sets his flying monkeys free. However, they just fall to the ground rather than fly. 91 "$pringfield (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Legalized Gambling)" Homer puts on Henry Kissinger's glasses and quotes the Scarecrow's line "The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining sides" from the 1939 film, only to be corrected by another man. While Homer's line is a direct quote from the film, the correct mathematical theory is indeed what the man who corrects Homer tells him. 98 "Bart Gets an Elephant" Homer observes Patty and Selma seated in rocking chairs caught up in a tornado. This is similar to the scene where Dorothy observes a woman in a rocking chair floating by during a tornado. 6 105 "Lisa's Rival" Homer finds a bunch of spilled sugar and decides he can get rich by selling it door-to-door. He keeps the sugar in a pile in his backyard, where he obsessively guards it from thieves. Soon, the sugar attracts bees from a local apiary. The beekeepers track the swarm down and offer to buy the bees back from Homer for $2,000. However, before the transaction can be completed, it begins to rain, dissolving the sugar, and the bees fly away, leaving Homer without any money or sugar. The sugar-melting scene is a parody of the "I'm Melting" scene where Dorothy uses a bucket of water to (accidentally) kill the Wicked Witch of the West. "My sugar is melting, melting, oh what a world!" -Homer 115 "Homer the Great" Trying to learn where Lenny and Carl go that they're so secretive about, Homer ties a can of yellow paint to the back of their car and pokes a hole in it. When they drive away, the can starts dripping paint on the road, leaving a trail. Homer chuckles and says, "All I have to do is follow the 'yellow drip road'", a reference to the yellow brick road. 122 "Lisa's Wedding" The fortune teller says that in the future "the world has become a different place". The next shot shows a group of robots walking around, but they are then followed by people dressed as Tin Men, a Scarecrow and a Cowardly Lion, revealing they are not actual robots, but people in Lisa's university about to audition for a school production of The Wizard of Oz. 8 168 "Homer's Phobia" When John pulls up in front of the Simpson home to take the family for a drive, his car horn plays "Over the Rainbow", the opening song from The Wizard of Oz. 9 182 "Treehouse of Horror VIII" Marge, Patty and Selma appear as green-skinned witches, resembling the equally green-skinned Wicked Witch of the West. 11 231 "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)" At the movie theater, when Homer has butter put on his Milk Duds to the point of overflow, he says "Swim, my pretties", a parody of the Wicked Witch of the West's call to her flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz: "Fly, my pretties!" (This line isn't actually said in The Wizard of Oz, but Homer is relying on popular understanding.) 239 "Saddlesore Galactica" The Jockeys are partially based on the Munchkins from The Wizard of Oz, including their laughs. 12 265 "Simpson Safari" One of the pictures of monkeys in Joan Bushwell's "Serious Research" book shows a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz. 13 278 "Jaws Wired Shut" When Maggie's pacifier gets caught in Homer's jaw wires and he twirls around in an attempt to dislodge her, the music playing is from the tornado scene in The Wizard of Oz. 15 331 "Catch 'Em If You Can" Grampa, attempting to impress a couple of women, says that the feet sticking out from under the house in The Wizard of Oz were his. He then demonstrates by making his feet roll up, as seen with the Wicked Witch of the East in the film. 16 346 "On a Clear Day I Can't See My Sister" Bart builds a giant wicker statue of Lisa, intending to burn it down. Unaware of Bart's intentions, Lisa misinterprets the statue as a peacemaking gesture, and Bart decides to play along. Just then, Dolph, Jimbo and Kearney arrive carrying lit torches. Jimbo says, "Yo, Bart, we're ready to torch the Wicker Witch of the West", punning the Wicked Witch of the West. 17 360 "Treehouse of Horror XVI" During Halloween Squeaky-Voiced Teen is dressed up as the Tinman and Jasper Beardley as the Scarecrow. The witch who turns everything under a spell has a green colour, much like the Wicked Witch of the West. 21 450 "Thursdays with Abie" Instead of the usual music of the choir singing "The Simpsons," the "Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West" theme from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is heard as Agnes Skinner, dressed up as Mrs. Gulch, rides her bicycle across the title. 23 496 "Politically Inept, with Homer Simpson" The "Liberal straw man's song" is a parody of "If I Only Had a Brain" from The Wizard of Oz. 25 531 "Homerland" Moe Szyslak's grandmother looks like the Wicked Witch of the West. Moe mentioned she was killed by water, a reference to the Witch's death. 26 554 "The Wreck of the Relationship" Homer's fantasy football team is named Somewhere Over the Dwayne Bowe, a pun on the song "(Somewhere) Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and real-life American football player Dwayne Bowe.

Comic stories

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Simpsons Comics #41 Bart Simpson and the Krusty Brand Fun Factory Sideshow Bob releases a number of flying cyborg monkeys on the tour group for the Krusty Fun Factory. Simpsons Comics #48 Tic-Tac-D'oh! At Burnsimoto's Castle, there are a series of buttons controlling death traps. Four buttons in a row are labelled "Lions", "Tigers", "Bears" and "Oh my!", referencing the famous line from Dorothy in the film. Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #7 I'm Not in Springfield Anymore! The plot is based on The Wizard of Oz. The Simpsons Futurama Crossover Crisis II #2 The Read Menace! The Tin Woodman is one of the fictional characters awakened when Professor Farnsworth's literary reality-tearing machine is set off in the New New York Public Library. Bart Simpson #71 Sound Thinking! In an effort to win a contest for the loudest and grossest video, Bart sets trucks loaded with killer bees, glue and nitroglycerin rolling toward a crowd. As Mayor Quimby, Homer and Marge flee the chaos, they exclaim together, "Bees! Glue! Nitro! Oh my!" This is a reference to the "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" line by Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman just before they meet the Cowardly Lion in the movie. Bart Simpson #72 Rock 'N' Roll After being hit on the head during a skateboarding stunt, Bart has a dream where he and his family members are cavepeople. When he wakes up, he says he had the strangest dream, then points in turn to Marge, Lisa, Maggie and Homer and tells them they were in it, echoing the scene where Dorothy wakes up at the end of the movie. Additionally, the neighbor's dog, Toto, jumps onto Bart's bed, confusing him. In addition to being a namesake, the dog is also a look-a-like for Toto the dog in the movie.

Common cast and crew

Cast

Picture Name Role in The Wizard of Oz Role on The Simpsons Michael Jackson Portrayed the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a 1978 film version based on The Wizard of Oz. Voiced Leon Kompowsky in Stark Raving Dad.

References

External links

• The Wizard of Oz at Wikipedia