If A. N. Roquelaure Re-Wrote the Wizard of Oz
If A.
N. Roquelaure had chosen Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz," which is itself a rather
dark tale in its original (non-movie) form, rather than Sleeping
Beauty, one imagines it
would look something like this.McFarlane's Twisted Land of Oz - a relatively new toy line with accompanying mini-books is obviously NOT your average toy, and is a direct result of The OZ tales falling into the public domain. It almost makes you understand why Disney's lawyers and lobbyists are fighing so hard to keep the mouse from going down the same dark path. Can you imagine Mickey and Minnie McFarlane style? Ew.
I just happened to be reading Baum's original The Wizard of Oz at the moment, and let me tell you, this depiction, while differing in some obvious ways with its overt sexuality, is no darker than the version Baum penned. In Baum's version, the Tinman begins as a man, and is slowly replaced piece by piece as his axe, which was cursed by the Wicked Witch, cuts of each of his limbs in a series of "accidents."
Dorthy and the Cowardly lion are captured and kept as slaves by the Wicked witch while the Tinman and Scarecrow are dashed to pieces by the Flying Monkeys, and the upon entering the Emerald City, green spectacles are locked onto your head, which you cannot remove.
This was some twisted stuff for 1900. I'd actually wager that Baum's writing was more controversial then than these toys are now. The only thing I wish was that I could get my hands on the new Twisted Oz story without buying the toys. Anyone know if it's available online anywhere?
In the meantime, you can read all the original Baum books over at Project Gutenberg
