Lifetime developing Wizard of Oz themed Red Brick Road

[VeraCharles3]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 7:51am

My heart sank when I read that yet another Wizard of Oz adaptation is in the pipeline...but after reading further, I am quite excited by the idea of this

http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/wizard-of-oz-themed-tv-drama-lifetime/

Now I have seen The Wizard of Oz many, many times and I never noticed the Red Brick Road - is it just me? I had to go check and it's there alright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cwCIkKFFR4

[tazber]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 8:01am

There's just too many now. This is what, the third or fourth TV series based on OZ?

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 9:00am

I have always wondered where the red brick road went.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 9:53am

Why does it have to go anywhere?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:06am

I have always wondered where the red brick road went.

Me too! Ever since the first time I saw the movie. Too bad it's Lifetime that is exploring this story.

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:28am

The Red Brick Road was in the books:

"In the original series of Oz books written by L. Frank Baum the red brick road goes to the Quadling Country in Oz. Red is the Quadlings' state color."

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:40am

No, the Red Brick Road was not in the books. Whoever said that obviously never read them.

The Red Brick Road is from the MGM movie, only.

This project is being co-developed by a branch of Warner Bros., so they have the rights to use MGM-protected Oz stuff.

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:43am

Really Besty? I haven't read the book in ages but thought there was a whole network of roads- ran a quick Google search and got a bunch of Red Brick Road to Quadling Country answers.

I guess the internet really does lie to you.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:43am

I thought the Red Brick Road led to Oz' red light district. Y'know, where the whores are.

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:45am

Oh, Oz's Whore is skipping down the yellow brick with her little dog.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:50am

Joe, the Internet is full of liars, big Ozzy liars, too.

The Quadling's dominant color is red, just as the Munchkin Country is blue, the Winkies yellow, and the Gillikans are purple.

No network of colored brick roads in Oz, though. Not in anything L. Frank Baum wrote, and that includes his 13 sequels to the Wizard of Oz. (Total of 14 Oz books by Baum.)

If other authors have added them into their stories, fine. But that doesn't make them part of Baum's Oz world.

It ain't there, I tell ya.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:52am

I'm pretty sure it's actually the road to Communism.

Or the MGM commissary.

Posted: 10/14/13 at 11:53am

I wasn't challenging you- just amazed I had that fuzzy thought and so many internet denizens backed it up! I guess this is how Obama becomes a Muslim and roving gangs hunt and kill motorists who flash their lights at them.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 12:02pm

Exactly, Joe! I'm pretty sure the same people who think Baum's Oz included a Red Brick Road are the ones who think Obama is "Muslin."

So there you have it!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 12:05pm

The reason there's a Red Brick Road in the MGM movie is the same reason Dorothy's shoes were changed to ruby red.

... because it looks pretty in Technicolor.

EDIT: And by the way, if you want to get really confusing ... in Baum's later Oz books there were different yellow brick roads, in addition to the one Dorothy followed in the Munchkin Country.

Updated On: 10/14/13 at 12:05 PM

Posted: 10/14/13 at 12:25pm

Maybe that's what I was thinking of- I thought there was more than The One Road

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 12:34pm

Oh, there is! Even in the second book, Tip follows a "road of yellow bricks" to the Emerald City, but he's not in the Munchkin Country, he's in Gilllikin Country.

Later on in the series, Baum writes about a second road of yellow bricks in the Munchkin Country. The Shaggy Man tells Dorothy she took the "harder one" of the two.

They actually allude to that in the movie by having the Scarecrow on his pole at a fork int he road, suggesting more than one yellow path is available. As far as I can recall, they don't ever intersect in the books, but still it does show there's more than one.

Incidentally, it's not referred to as the "Yellow Brick Road" in the novel. It's the "road of yellow bricks." It got its more famous name in 1939 for the MGM movie.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 1:16pm

So, it doesn't go to Wonka's Factory????

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 1:46pm

Absolutely.

And Wonka's boat takes everybody to Living Island where they meet H.R. Pufnstuf.

[Jungle Red]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 2:49pm

I thought all the roads were made of yellow brick and lead straight to the Emerald City.

If MGM did create the original red brick road, then they own the rights. This would imply that other trademarks are being used too. I guess some lawyer/producer could say, "You have the rights to the red brick road but nothing else" but seems kind of silly.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 3:20pm

As I mentioned earlier, according to the link at the top, this new series is "from the Wolper Organization, Vertigo Entertainment and Warner Horizon."

Warner Horizon is a television subsidiary of Warner Bros., who own the rights to the MGM Oz film. We can assume it's all approved for use.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 3:28pm

best,
I love you. :) As someone who has read all of the Baum Oz cannon, I offer confirming that besty is correct on all counts.

The new Wizard of Oz DVD release contains a map of the Land of Oz.. It is, however, offensively inaccurate, even considering adapting the map to allow for MGM's plot points.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 5:18pm

I love you back, broadwayguy2! :)

Part of the problem is that there are inconsistencies in the Baum books. Information on locations, characters, and backstories shifts a bit. Maps were drawn even back in Baum's day with inconsistencies, so in many instances, the answer to some of these questions can be "yes AND no."

Tricky stuff.

I am by no means the Ozziest "expert" you'll find around (perhaps even here on BWW), but in addition to reading all Baum books as a kid, I did a lot of research and re-reading when I wrote my two modern, Oz-themed, action-adventure novels. I didn't want to change or invalidate any information from the original books. It was my goal to stay true to them. In the case of inconsistencies, I actually used them in my book as a "cover" for something greater in the plot.

But those maps drove me bonkers whenever I looked at them.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 7:01pm

So, Besty, these maps are completely inaccurate? I can guess what the answer would be but thought I'd double check.
Updated On: 10/14/13 at 07:01 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/14/13 at 7:09pm

Well, the problem is that you have to decide which is accurate---the first time Baum mentioned it or the second or third time (with discrepancies).

Granted, he was usually consistent. I don't mean to suggest that he was generally sloppy ... but he did make mistakes within his own imagined realm.

And for me, that map is completely wrong. Oz Club or not.

Start with the basics ...

The Munchkin Country is shown on the left (aka the West), and the Winkie Country is shown on the right (aka the East).

That goes against everything in Baum's first book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

The Wicked Witch of the East rules over the Munchkins, and the Wicked Witch of the West rules over the Winkies.

That means this map is reversed.