“Wicked and the Wonderful Wizard of Influence, L. Frank Baum.”

 

Every time you walk past a window display at a retail store or enter an online store with a splashy homepage, you’re looking at yet another version of “Wicked.” Today’s movie originated as a play, before that, a book, before that a series of movies, including the 1939 version starring Judy Garland and, at long last, in L. Frank Baum’s 1900s masterpiece “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” that started it all. And that first book influenced your life more than all the Wizard/Wicked versions put together.

L. Frank Baum: The Wizard of Influence

 

The glory of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz is the glory of L. Frank Baum, an actor, writer, and merchandiser in the late 1800s/early 1900s. Baum’s book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” evolved from his vision of retail display windows. At the time, retail store windows were filled with random goods, as scintillating as a catalog. But for Baum, they were spaces ripe for dazzle and creativity, transporting passers-by into an experience, bold, colorful, backdrops and mannequins with riveled only by David Bowie.


But Baum did more than dress windows. He dressed characters and settings, not only in “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, but 14 Oz books, and his own lesser-known Wizard of Oz movies, precursors to the 1939 production. The Land of Oz, the Emerald City, the enchanted forest, all retail display windows that morphed through the decades without ever leaving its source.

About those Influences

Behind the scenes Wizard of Wicked

Many influences propelled Baum into creating “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, but two stand out most. One was the Chicago World’s Fair, one of the world’s most dazzling exhibitions, showing casing international inventions, innovations, and art. There Hershey discovered a chocolate-making machine that launched his career, Charles Cretors showcased the first mobile popcorn machine, and L. Frank Baum found inspiration for the Land of Oz. The other influence was Louis Carroll and his book Alice in Wonderland. were filled with magic and mystery, talking animals and surreal challenges the main characters, both young girls, must overcome.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Granted, “Wicked” differs from its ancestor “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” No Dorothy. No Tin Man. And no sighting of anything remotely close to Toto,  although they did throw in a few flying monkeys. Granted, the 1939 movie version differs from the book. The original slippers were silver, not ruby. All who entered the Emerald City had to wear green-hued glasses with locks holding them in place. As for the city itself? Not green. As for the real color – they don’t say. And the horse of different colors? No horse. No colors.*

Most importantly, unlike “Wicked” the characters in the 1909 book, and even early movie, ate food. Fun, easy-going food. In the book, Dorothy ate “meals” of fruit and nuts, both sold alongside candy in real-life stores of the time. Dorothy, Toto and the Lion rested at homes along their journey, where they enjoyed cakes and cookies (not the Scarecrow and Tin Man, who didn’t need to eat). Plenty of sweets glistened in the Emerald City: lemonade, popcorn and candy—all green! And, above all, the lollipops Dorothy received from the Lollipop Guild in the classic movie.

So – wake-up “Wicked” producers. Next version – candy. Fun Foods. Whatever. Even Harry Potter had candy. And the real life brand sold tons.


Want to throw a Wicked Wizard or a Real Alice in Wonderland Get-Together? Be authentic! Here’s what you can serve.

The Wizard of OZ

• Lemonade
• Lollipops Nuts
• Three kinds of cake
• Four Kinds of Cookies
• Green Candy
• Green Pop-corn
• Brown sugar
  
  

Food coloring works wonders -although you can skip the green altogether if you like

 Find our Wizard of Oz box HERE