Google Doodle: Celebrating The Wizard of Oz 71st anniversary

Google are celebrating the 71st anniversary of classic movie The Wizard of Oz by changing the doodle on the Google home page. The doodle features the scene from the movie when Dorothy, the scared lion, Scarecrow, and Tin man first see the capital city of the Land of Oz – Emerald City -, and the Google logo can be seen in the background.The film was based on the children’s story by L. Frank Baum, and went on to become one of the best known films of all time. According to Wikipedia the film only made a small profit at first due to its large production budget. When the film was first started to be shown on TV in 1956 it went on to became the most watched film in history according to the Library of Congress.
The Wizard of Oz has got several Academy Award nominations, and won the award for Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow”. Google have changed the doodle a few times recently to celebrate birthdays and events such as the World Cup Final, and back in May marked the 30th anniversary of iconic arcade game.

Google Viral: The Wizard of Oz Anniversary

Every so often, Google likes to change their homepage logo to illustrate something timely. Often called a “Google Doodle”, it is usually done to commemorate a significant anniversary or holiday, and given how big Google is, it tends to get people talking. Often we find a way to tie in movies to the subject (see our Pi Day article for a great example of that). Fortunately, we don’t have to stretch the concept at all today, as Google celebrates the 71st anniversary of The Wizard of Oz.


MGM’s The Wizard of Oz was released nationally on August 25th, 1939, but it had its first premiere screening, in Wisconsin of all places, on August 12th. The film went on to become an American classic, becoming notable for its great sets and costumes, memorable songs, and mixture of sepia tones and bright Technicolor (still relatively new at the time). The story tells of farm girl Dorothy, who is unhappy in drab Kansas and dreams of bigger things. After she knocks her head in a severe tornado, she wakes up to the colorful fantasy world of Oz. On the way to see the Wizard to go back home, she meets a few interesting friends and enemies, and realizes that she misses her “drab” farm and family. The film is based of the L. Frank Baum novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but like with most films, considerable changes were made.

Oz won an Oscar for Best Musical Score and Best Song (“Over The Rainbow”) at the 1940 Academy Awards. It was also nominated for Best Picture, and has received many other awards and nominations. AFI has included the film on many of its Top lists, naming it the best fantasy film of all time in 2008, the 3rd best musical in 2006, and the 6th best film overall in 1998. “Over The Rainbow” was honored as the #1 film song in 2004.



The growing popularity of the film over the decades has resulted in many remakes, sequels, and spin-offs. My favorite is The Wiz, Motown’s 1978 urban take on the story starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. Probably the most trending take on Oz at the moment is the musical stage play Wicked, which tells the story from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. There are two projects in the works right now based on the film, one being directed by Sam Raimi, and another possibly being directed by Drew Barrymore. What do you think of The Wizard of Oz? I see it as the precursor to Inception. Think about it. Dorothy only gets the idea to appreciate her home and family after being in the dream-like world, which happens to be populated with characters that look like the people she knows. We are left wondering at the end whether Oz is real or not, but either way the inception worked.

The Wizard of Oz: Quotes and Songs

It was 71 years ago today, that people first got to watch the all-time classic musical fantasy film “The Wizard of Oz” and people from all over the world have been enjoying it ever since. The movie starred Judy Garland (who played Dorothy), Jack Haley, Ray Bolger and Bert Lahr.
One of the most famous quotes to have come out of “The Wizard of Oz” is the words: “There’s no place like home; there’s no place like home; there’s no place like home” which is of course what Dorothy said at the very end of the movie to get back to Kansas.
We can’t forget the songs either, as the movie gave us the all-time classic “Over the Rainbow,” which people still love to sing today. You can read more quotes via wikiquote.org and you can purchase the soundtrack via amazon.com. What’s your favorite “Wizard of Oz” quote?
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