''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1990 American

animated television series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

produced by DIC Animation City to capitalize on the popularity of the 1939 film version, to which DiC had acquired the rights from Turner Entertainment, Co. The series aired for thirteen episodes and premiered on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, starting on September 8, 1990.See www.tvguide.com/tvshows/wizard-oz/205567 (accessed on January 19, 2011) The show presented a number of stories and characters from

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

's original Oz series. Author Jeff Lenburg mentioned an aspect of the series wherein Dorothy has to learn to believe in herself. In the series,

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

uses the

ruby slippers The ruby slippers are a pair of magical shoes worn by Dorothy Gale as played by Judy Garland in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical film '' The Wizard of Oz''. Because of their iconic stature, they are as of December 2024 the most valuable it ...

to return to Oz. She learns that the

winged monkeys Winged monkeys are fictional characters that first appeared in the 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', written by the American author L. Frank Baum. They are described as jungle monkeys with bird-like feathered wings. They a ...

have already resurrected the

Wicked Witch of the West The Wicked Witch of the West, a fictional character in the classic children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900) by the American author L. Frank Baum, is the evil ruler of the Winkie Country, the western region in the Land of Oz. ...

, who has conquered the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's ''Oz'' books, first described in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of ...

. The Wizard is trapped with a spell involving a never-ending

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

, and Dorothy has to rescue him. Despite using the slippers to return to Oz, in the episodes, Dorothy isn't entirely sure how the slippers work. Glinda often tells Dorothy to only use the slippers as a last resort. In one episode, Dorothy clicks her heels 4 times, as if each click is more powerful than the last. Aside from the pilot, generally when the slippers are used, they don't always help in the best way.

Plot

has decided to return to Oz with Toto, by using the

that showed up on her doorstep. She invokes her return by clicking her heels and reciting "There is no place like Oz". Upon arriving there, she reunites with

Scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

, Tin Man, and

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, and like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Although he often self-doubt, doubts himself, the Cowardly Lion no ...

. Dorothy learns from

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...

that the

has been resurrected by Truckle and his fellow

. With the Wicked Witch of the West back from the dead, the

has been taken over by her and she has stolen the gifts that were given to Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. The Wizard is in his

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

, which is under a spell that causes it to be constantly blown around by an evil wind. Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion set out to rescue him and defeat the Wicked Witch once and for all.

Comparison with source material

The series incorporated music and visual elements from the 1939 film version, including the Scarecrow's diploma and Dorothy's

. At the same time, the character of Dorothy was designed with an appearance similar to that of Princess Ariel from

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

'' and was not intended to resemble

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

. In the film, it is largely implied that Oz was a head-trauma-induced delirium,L. Frank Baum, ''The Annotated Wizard of Oz'', edited by Michael Patrick Hearn, New York, Crown, 1976; p. 96. . instead of a real place, while in the TV series, it was a real land.

Episodes

Principal voice actors

* Liz Georges –

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 ...

* David Lodge –

Hal Rayle Hal Rayle (born January 3, 1955) is an American voice actor. He has done many roles for both animated series and live action movies. Career Rayle has had a number of voice acting jobs over his career. Rayle's animated series roles include Miss P ...

– Tin Man *

Charlie Adler Charles Michael Adler (born October 2, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', the Bigheads on ''Rocko's Modern Life'', Ickis on ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'', Doc ...

–

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

– Toto, Hyena (ep. 6), Truckle *

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...

–

, Miranda (ep. 10) * B.J. Ward –

Alan Oppenheimer Alan Oppenheimer (born April 23, 1930) is an American actor. He has performed numerous roles on live action television since the 1960s and has had an active career doing voice work since the 1970s. Early life Oppenheimer was born in New York ...

– Wizard of Oz

Additional voices

Jack Angel Jack Angel (October 24, 1930 – October 18, 2021) was an American voice actor and radio personality. Angel voiced characters in shows by Hasbro and Hanna-Barbera such as '' Super Friends'', '' The Transformers'' and '' G.I. Joe'' and was involve ...

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (born Robin S. Camp; 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a British-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He is known for his work as a folk singer during the 1960s ...

Pat Fraley Pat Fraley is an American voice actor and voice-over teacher, known as the voice of Krang, Casey Jones, Baxter Stockman and numerous other characters in the 1987 ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' animated television series and voiced Falcon in ...

Bibi Osterwald Margaret Virginia "Bibi" Osterwald (February 3, 1920 – January 2, 2002) was an American actress. Life and career Osterwald was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the daughter of Dagmar (Kvastad) and Rudolf August Osterwald, a hotel owne ...

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...

Ken Sansom Frank Kenneth Sansom (April 2, 1927 – October 8, 2012) was an American actor. Among his best known roles, Sansom voiced Rabbit (Winnie-the-Pooh)#Disney adaptations, Rabbit in animated television series, television specials, and films for Disney ...

Susan Silo Susan Silo (born July 27, 1942) is an American actress who is known for her work in voice-over roles. Early life Susan Silo was born in New York City. Both her parents were actors Jon Silo and Ruth Silo. Career Her acting career started in ...

–

Munchkin A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic c ...

Mayor (ep. 1)

Crew

Susan Blu Susan Blu, better known as Sue Blu, is an American voice-actress, voice-director, and casting-director in American and Canadian cinema and television. She most notably voiced Arcee in '' The Transformers: The Movie'' and Seasons 3 and 4 of '' Th ...

– Voice Director * Ginny McSwain – Casting Director

International and re-airings

After its run on ABC, the series reaired on

Bohbot Entertainment Bohbot Entertainment was an American advertising and marketing company specializing in the children's market founded in 1985, and had traded under various different names over the years. The company produced and distributed programming under thei ...

's Amazin' Adventures block from 1992-1993,

The Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Launched on April 18, 1983, under the na ...

from 1991-1992,

Toon Disney Toon Disney was an American multinational pay television channel owned by Disney Branded Television, a subsidiary of Disney-ABC Television Group. The channel's target audience was children aged 7–11, and older children and adolescents aged 8� ...

from the channel's launch in 1998 until 2002 & on

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

from 1995-1996. In Canada, the series aired on YTV from 1990 to 1995.

Home media

United States

"The Marvelous Milkmaid of Mechanica" has never been released in the United States in any home video format. "The Lion that Squeaked" is available only on VHS.

International

United Kingdom

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wizard of Oz (TV Series), The 1990s American animated comedy television series 1990s American children's comedy television series 1990 American animated television series debuts 1990 American television series endings American children's animated action television series American children's animated adventure television series American children's animated comedy television series American children's animated fantasy television series American children's animated musical television series American television shows based on children's books Animated television series about dogs Animated television series about lions Animated television series about orphans Animated television series based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Animated television shows based on films Television shows about magic Television series based on adaptations Television series by DIC Entertainment Television series about witchcraft Television shows about wizards The Wizard of Oz American Broadcasting Company animated television series Fiction about resurrection Children's television series about talking animals