The Wizard of Oz (1933)
Article 6040 by Dave Sindelar
Date watched: 1-8-2022
Directed by Ted Eshbaugh
No voice cast listed
Country: United States / Canada
What it is: Short Baum adaptation

Dorothy is whisked to Oz, meets the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, and visits the wizard who puts on a magic show.

Like the lavish version six years later, this one starts in black and white and turns into color when Oz is reached. The first half of the cartoon somewhat matches the action of the movie, though a few characters are omitted; no munchkins, witches or cowardly lions show up. For about a minute or so it turns into a love story of sorts, and then when they visit the wizard, it seems as if it’s mainly to see him put on a magic show. The primary antagonist appears to be a giant egg, and the most interesting moment here is when the Wizard breaks open the other eggs to produce an odd assortment of beasties. This is definitely an odd take on the story, but apparently it was only released in black and white due to issues because of the use of Technicolor. It’s mostly a curio nowadays.