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The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz

Adventure · Fantasy · Family · 1939

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

Movie details

The Wizard of Oz

“We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!”

1939 Adventure · Fantasy · Family 1h 42m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.6 / 10

Community rating

Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Wizard of Oz?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Descendants

Descendants

Family · 2015

A present-day idyllic kingdom where the benevolent teenage son of King Adam and Queen Belle offers a chance of redemption for the troublemaking offspring of Disney's classic villains: Cruella De Vil (Carlos), Maleficent (Mal), the Evil Queen (Evie) and Jafar (Jay).

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Animation · 1951

On a golden afternoon, wildly curious young Alice tumbles into the burrow and enters the merry, madcap world of Wonderland full of whimsical escapades.

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

Adventure · 2001

The Cromwell clan lives in the real world, except for their grandmother who lives in Halloweentown, a place where monsters go to escape reality. But now the son of the Cromwells' old enemy Kalabar has a plan to use the grandmother's book to turn Halloweentown into a grey dreary version of the real world while transforming the denizens of the real world into monsters.

The Thief and the Cobbler

The Thief and the Cobbler

Animation · 1993

Princess Yum Yum falls in love with Tack and saves him from being executed. Later, when the protective orbs of the palace get stolen, Tack and Yum Yum set out to find them and save the kingdom.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Adventure · 2004

Harry Potter's life is in danger once more as dangerous wizard Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban Prison and is heading to Hogwarts.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Adventure · 2001

Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to harness his newfound powers with the help of the school's kindly headmaster, Harry uncovers the truth about his parents' deaths—and about the villain who's to blame.

Wicked: For Good

Wicked: For Good

Fantasy · 2025

As an angry mob rises against the Wicked Witch, Glinda and Elphaba will need to come together one final time. With their singular friendship now the fulcrum of their futures, they will need to truly see each other, with honesty and empathy, if they are to change themselves, and all of Oz, for good.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Adventure · 2008

One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Adventure · 2005

When his name emerges from the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter becomes a competitor in a grueling battle for glory among three wizarding schools. Signs of Voldemort's return emerge as Harry's friends help him prepare for the Triwizard Tournament.

The Black Cauldron

The Black Cauldron

Animation · 1985

Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Victor Fleming

Written by

Noel Langley · Florence Ryerson · Edgar Allan Woolf

Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Dorothy

Ray Bolger

Ray Bolger

Scarecrow / Hunk

Jack Haley

Jack Haley

Tin Man / Hickory

Bert Lahr

Bert Lahr

Cowardly Lion / Zeke

Frank Morgan

Frank Morgan

Oz / Professor Marvel

Margaret Hamilton

Margaret Hamilton

The Wicked Witch of the West / Miss Gulch

Billie Burke

Billie Burke

Glinda

Court is in session

Put The Wizard of Oz on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.