The Atlantic

The Sad, Century-Long History of Terrible 'Wizard of Oz' Movies

Why has it been so difficult to successfully revisit the Emerald City?
Source: Disney

Why is it so hard to make a decent movie about Oz? An Oscar winner couldn't do it. The Muppets couldn't do it. Diana Ross and Michael Jackson—together!—couldn't do it. And now, the hundreds of millions of dollars Disney threw at Oz the Great and Powerful couldn't do it. The Wizard of Oz is nearly 75 years old, and somehow, it stands alone as the only critical hit in a long history of miserable adaptations.

This is much more peculiar than it seems. is a fantasy-adventure movie, based on a single book in a is () the most-watched movie in history, and it's surrounded by failures.

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