1925's The Wizard of Oz is a loose composite of various Land of Oz books.
Years prior to the start, the infant princess of Oz went missing. Years later, the kingdom is led by Prime Minister Kruel, the Wizard, and Lady Vishuss. The kingdom, however, wants to find the lost princess. Elsewhere, a young woman named Dorothy lives with her aunt and uncle in Kansas. On her 18th birthday, before Dorothy can open a letter meant to be opened on her 18th birthday, men from Oz appear by biplane to take the note. The note says that Dorothy is the rightful ruler of Oz. Soon afterward the men arrive, a tornado hits the area, sending Dorothy and three farmhands to Oz.
Though the film is very loose in its interpretation of the series — it took characters from the 1902 musical — it helped inspire elements from MGM's more well-known 1939 adaptation.
This film provides examples of:
- Adaptational Curves: Uncle Henry is obese. In the books, he's lanky.
- Adaptational Job Change:
- Downplayed with King Kynd, who is now Prince Kynd.
- King Krewl is Prime Minister Kruel.
- Uncle Henry is turned into the Prince of Whales. In the books, only his niece Dorothy became honorary royalty.
- Adaptational Nationality: In the books, Prime Minister Kruel and King Kynd are from Jinxland, an isolated principality in Oz. This film has them living in mainland Oz.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the books, Dorothy is closer to Uncle Henry than Auntie Em and they have a good relationship. In this film, Dorothy is close to Aunt Em but has a bad relationship with Uncle Henry.
- Adaptation Species Change: In the movie, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion are humans wearing costumes.
- Adaptational Villainy: The Tin Man goes from a heroic character in the books to a flat-out villain in the movie who sides with Kruel and attempts to kill the Scarecrow.
- Adaptation Name Change:
- Dorothy's true name is "Dorothea".
- King Krewl is changed into Prime Minister Kruel.
- Age Lift:
- Dorothy is 18 instead of 7-to-12.
- King Kynd is lowered down to Dorothy's age. He's a prince, not a king.
- And You Were There: Preceded the Trope Namer by over a decade, as it made the farmhands double as Dorothy's companions.
- Canon Foreigner: The film features many original characters, such as the farmhands and Lady Vishuss.
- Composite Character:
- Dorothy is combined with Ozma. In the books, Dorothy is an ordinary girl from Kansas who ends up in Oz by accident, while Ozma is the lost princess of Oz who was kidnapped and Raised as the Opposite Gender. This film turns Dorothy into the lost princess of Oz, having been transported to Kansas as a baby. Dorothy is also depicted as a young adult, which is closer to Ozma's age than Dorothy's.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: The Tin Man is love with Dorothy, which drives to help Kruel and attempt to kill the Scarecrow.
- Did Not Get the Girl: The Scarecrow, despite his love of Dorothy, does not end with Dorothy, who ends up marrying Prince Kynd.
- Doorstop Baby: 18 years ago, Dorothy was left on Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's doorstep with only a note.
- Framing Device: The story is presented as a story that an old toymaker is telling his granddaughter.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Uncle Henry is a jerk with a short-temper that abuses his farmhands. However, he actually cares about Dorothy and actually tries to fight off Kruel's mooks.
- Meaningful Name: The Prime Minister, who serves as the main villain, is named "Kruel". He is aided by Lady Vishuss (Vicious) and Ambassador Wikked. Meanwhile, the prince that opposes them is named "Kynd".
- No Name Given: Only one of the three farmhands, Snowball, is named.
- Promoted to Love Interest: The books are a purely No Hugging, No Kissing series. This adaptation added romantic sub-plots:
- There's a Love Triangle between Dorothy, the Tin Woodsman, and Scarecrow.
- Dorothy ends up with Kynd from The Scarecrow of Oz.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the books, Kynd is presumed deceased.
- Unrelated in the Adaptation: In the books, Dorothy is the biological niece of Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. In this story, she was a Doorstop Baby.
- Uncle Tomfoolery: The film had Spencer Bell (billed as G. Howe Black) as a Stepin Fetchit-style character named... "Snowball" introduced eating a watermelon, who was also "the Cowardly Lion".
