Polychrome is a cloud

fairy A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

and the youngest daughter of the

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

, thus she is a "sky princess". She first appears in ''

The Road to Oz ''The Road to Oz'' is the fifth book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. It was originally published on July 10, 1909 and documents the adventures of Dorothy Gale's fourth visit to the Land of Oz. It was followed by ''The Emerald City of Oz'' (1910) ...

'' (1909), which is the fifth book of the original fourteen Oz books by American author by L. Frank Baum. She also appears several times in later Oz stories of the classic series and in literature written by authors other than Baum.

Appearances

When

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most o ...

, her pet dog Toto, the Shaggy Man, and Button-Bright first encounter Polychrome in the fifth chapter of ''The Road to Oz'', she is seen dancing to keep herself warm, after accidentally sliding off her father's rainbow and landing on the surface of the Earth. (Her father withdrew his bow without realizing she had been left behind.) Polychrome is described as: In personality she is sweet and ethereal, a archetypical good fairy. She is very sensitive to cold and, while on Earth, often dances to keep warm. Polychrome states that she normally only consumes insubstantial foods such as dewdrops and mist. While on Earth, she can subsist on only minuscule morsels of human food. She is well known in the series for her daintiness and grace, and is considered to be an equal in beauty to Princess Ozma herself. Polychrome is more a decorative than an active presence in ''The Road to Oz'', but she makes positive contributions in her subsequent appearances in Baum's fictions. In '' Tik-Tok of Oz'' (1914), she summons the dragon Quox to rescue the captured Ozites from the

Nome King The Nome King is a fictional character created by American author L. Frank Baum, introduced in the 1907 book ''Ozma of Oz''. The Nome King recurs in many of the ''Oz'' novels, being the most frequent antagonist in Baum's book series. Precursor ...

(The Nome King is dazzled by the beautiful fairy and begs her to remain in his underground realm, which she refuses). In '' The Tin Woodman of Oz'' (1918), she rescues the rusted Captain Fyter the Tin Soldier by oiling his joints, just as Dorothy had done for the Tin Woodman in ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...

'' (1900), and she uses her magic to let the protagonists fit through a rabbit hole. She also restores Tommy Kwikstep to normal. In '' Sky Island'' (1912), she provides the solution to the central characters' main problem.

Portrayals

Polychrome was played by Dolly Castles in the 1913 stage play, '' The Tik-Tok Man of Oz'' by Baum, Louis F. Gottschalk,

Victor Schertzinger Victor L. Schertzinger (April 8, 1888 – October 26, 1941) was an American composer, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. His films include ''Paramount on Parade'' (co-director, 1930 in film, 1930), ''Something to Sing About (1937 fi ...

, and

Oliver Morosco Oliver Morosco (June 20, 1875 – August 25, 1945) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, film producer, and theater owner. He owned the Morosco Photoplay Company. He brought many of his theater actors to the screen. Frank A. Garbut ...

. In the play, she sings a duet with Ruggedo titled "When in Trouble Come to Papa".The Tik-Tok Man of Oz
/ref> Polychrome has a cameo in the coronation sequence of the 1985 feature film '' Return to Oz''. Though the role is an extra, Allen Eyles's ''The World of Oz'' features a production still crediting the role to Cherie Hawkins, who later served for a time on the staff of the theatre department at University of Alaska Anchorage.

In works by other authors

She appears in''Polychrome: A Romantic Fantasy'' by Ryk E. Spoor.

References

{{Oz Oz (franchise) characters Female characters in literature Fictional fairies Literary characters introduced in 1909 Rainbows in culture Fictional princesses Oz (franchise) characters who use magic