Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 62, no. 1 (Spring 2018), pg. 41
Citations
Chicago 17th ed.:
Schooling-Kilgore, Garrett. Review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Complete Collection, Baum Bugle 62, no. 1 (2018): 41.
MLA 9th ed.:
Schooling-Kilgore, Garrett. Review of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Complete Collection, The Baum Bugle, vol. 62, no. 1, 2018, p. 41.
(Note: typographical errors have been left in place to accurately reflect the printed version.)
THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION. Discotek Media, 2017. Blu-Ray, $39.95. UPC: 0875707197090. DVD, $59.95. UPC: 0875707171090. Available from www.amazon.com.
In 1986, Cinar co-produced the English-language edits of Oz no Mahōtsukai, a 52-episode Japanese anime based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, and The Emerald City of Oz. The series was released simultaneously in several countries and broadcast in the USA on HBO.
There have been multiple home video releases of the series worldwide, notably in France and Japan, but there has never been a full English-language release of the series. Since the 1990s, all that have been available are four “feature-length” compilation videos, each covering the plotline of a Baum book. With a spare 90-minute run-time, each compilation discards a significant portion of the relevant episodes. This has now been corrected with the release of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Complete Collection, which accurately presents all 52 half-hour episodes.
A fan of Baum’s books looking for a faithful adaptation may be pleasantly surprised. Wonderful Wizard manages to include everything normally left out of most adaptations, primarily the journey to Glinda in the south. The rest of the books begin to suffer adaptation decay: while Marvelous Land stays relatively faithful, Ozma derails throughout, and Emerald City suffers the most to become an almost totally original story. However, the characterizations are superb and, in this reviewer’s opinion, Glinda is closer to Baum’s vision than in any other portrayal.
The episodes themselves are presented in standard definition (SD), which allows Discotek to place them all on a single Blu-Ray disc. In an unusual reversal of standard marketing procedure, there is also a higher-priced DVD release which distributes the same content over more discs, so the Blu-Ray is definitely the preferred option. There is some degradation in the color and occasional tape damage is visible. However, even on a player that upconverts to 4K, the series still looks terrific.
The menus are user-friendly. It’s easy to navigate to individual episodes or—if you are so inclined and have roughly 19 hours to kill—watch them all straight through. While the menu doesn’t extend beyond episode selection, each episode includes chapters so you can return to where you left off with no trouble. The release is also packaged very nicely for a smaller, private label.
I’m a touch disappointed that Discotek opted for title graphics that resemble the MGM film logo. I understand the desire to allude to the MGM film from a sales standpoint, but there was no real need for it with this release. Additionally, it would have been nice if the chapters had been authored to allow you to skip the opening and closing credits of each episode. Although I enjoy the theme song, by about episode 12, I just want to get on with the story. Finally, there are no subtitles for hard-of-hearing viewers.
Collectors should understand there is no option to watch the Japanese (or any other) edit of this series. Aside from dubbing the voices in English, the episodes broadcast in the United States were cut from their original lengths, sometimes with significantly rearranged scenes. Discotek has indicated they might release the subtitled Japanese edition if there is enough interest, however—following the upload of three Japanese-language episodes to YouTube last year—there doesn’t seem to be any sign they will move forward for now.
Overall, I think the release itself is absolutely terrific. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s probably the best release we will ever get, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
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