An as brief as possible deep dive into all 14 original wizard of Oz books (part 1)

[@gabydiazortiz]

Hi everyone! Thanks for sitting through all of this. If anyone is curious about my art, you can check out my stuff on TikTok and instagram! My handle is the same on everything

[@AndyMakesPlaylists]

I remember being extremely upset when I was a 5th Grader reading the second book and being so happy that the hero was a boy instead of Dorothy -- only to have him go through a sex change! I was SURE that in future books he would go back to being Tip at least temporarily but instead they never mention that he was ever Tip again! I get that this is very forward-thinking for when it was written, but for a little boy who wanted Tip to stay a boy, it was deeply disturbing!

[@randallbesch2424]

@@AndyMakesPlaylists The reasons behind it was to protect Ozma so being a boy is the ultimate disguise.

[@nikkiward1715]

Thank you for your hard work!❤❤

[@ArtemisLeo2662]

Found this at 25 views. The algorithm really said “for you” and it was right.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ArtemisLeo2662 I’m so glad! The algorithm on literally all my social media decided that it hated me yesterday because no one saw my posts about it being out either lol. I hope you liked it

[@ericajesse7779]

lol here at 85 for the same reason

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ericajesse7779 yay! I’m glad the KZbin gods have decided to share my video

[@ampleparkingTV]

Here at 14k!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ampleparkingTV which is insane to me. Most of my videos are extremely lucky to get 500 views

[@franz9850]

This is my favorite kind of nerd content. I adore deep dives on super niche topics i didnt even know existed

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@franz9850 oh absolutely. I love watching book reviews for books I have no interest in reading

[@looseleaflyra]

this implies you didnt know the wizard of oz existed and that scares me

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@looseleaflyra I assume they mean all the books. I was certainly shocked to find out how many existed

[@franz9850]

@@looseleaflyra HAHAHAHA I meant didn't know there was more than one book, but it's kind of funnier if I had meant it the other way around

[@franz9850]

@@gabydiazortiz yeah, exactly lol

[@mariatorres-by6du]

I like to think that the city being emerald is tied to the rightful ruler being in charge, so when the Wizard takes over, the city loose the green color, and he made the rule about the spectecles so people would not realize he was fraud, when Ozma comes back the city would change into being green again. I have not read the books so I don't know if something like this is ever implied, but it's nice fairytale logic.

[@gabydiazortiz]

I think Baum just forgot about it to be honest but I love that idea so I’m choosing to see it as canon now

[@mcalcock2241]

I love this head canon and accept it wholeheartedly. Certainly in keeping with the fairy tail ethos.

[@curtthegamer934]

No, it's much simpler than that. The Emerald City is predominately green, it's just that the spectacles make absolutely everything look green, even the stuff that isn't. Even before they get to the Emerald City, they see that the predominant color of that region is green. The book makes that pretty clear. When Dorothy asks the Wizard "Isn't everything here green?" the answer given to her is not "No, actually nothing here is green." The answer she's given is "Not anymore than any other city." That answer simply means that not everything in the city is green, and should not be taken to mean that there's no green in it whatsoever. It kind of confuses me that people still consider this a continuity error, because I read these books when I was a kid, and even then it didn't take a strong mind to figure out that just because the glasses made everything look green, that didn't necessarily mean that there was no green in the city.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@curtthegamer934 the reason I say it’s a continuity issue is because in the first book, yes the walls are green, but it’s not a city made entirely out of emeralds so blinding that it requires spectacles. It’s just green. The spectacles thing was a lie that colors the way visitors see the emerald city as this grandiose place and I always read that part of the first book as symbolic. The wizard is a sham and the spectacles are basically something to make people believe that the emerald city is more green and vibrant than it actually is. But that aspect is forgotten about in other books so it kind of makes the symbolism of the spectacles not matter. That’s why I enjoy versions or headcanons that make the city just a bit dingier without the glasses. Like ‘yeah the city is pretty but I was expecting more’

[@dumpling321]

This is my new headcannon!

[@madysonslays9662]

28:17 Honestly, Baum was a pretty progressive writer. The main character in his books is a girl who's adventurous and willing to slap a lion in the face. The most powerful mage is a woman who has an all female army. The true ruler of Oz is a girl, Ozma, Billina

[@gabydiazortiz]

That’s what makes some of his other beliefs so frustrating! The female characters are so refreshing

[@madysonslays9662]

​​@gabydiazortiz Sorry to ask, but... what other beliefs Edit: I saw the rest of the video... and some parts of the oz books were. Yeah... unless there's something else 1:50:29 never mind... 2:17:44 .........(moral of the story kids, watch the full video before commenting)

[@unfabgirl]

Not too surprising, as his mother-in-law was a leader of the Feminist Movement in the US at the time

[@athf4ever780]

@@unfabgirloh yeah Matilda was a badass for her time and it’s clear she heavily inspired Baum since he has sooo many female characters that actually have personality and all from the 1900s

[@ReiRidingSolo]

I thought Oz was born a boy. At least that's what I remember?

[@phoenixsouth3743]

I really wish someone would do a high budget TV series called “The Land Of Oz”. Adapting the storylines from the 14 original books. Listening to you describe the books I thought “If a good writer and showrunner could come in, fix the plot holes, and take the less interesting/ unneeded characters out…this could be a compelling show!” I love the idea of starting with an accurate retelling of the first book! Then getting into The tip/ozma plotline. Gnome king. Mombi. Toto being able to talk but choosing not to 😭. So many cool things could be done with the best parts of the books. I wish someone was brave enough to greenlight it in a post Wicked movie world. Would anyone else wanna see this?

[@williamswidal1318]

The catch is that an editor would have to fix the inconsistencies, and that would no doubt leave some viewers complaining about whichever choices were made

[@collinschoenfelder677]

this is what I've been waiting years for. someone talking in delphs about the books

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@collinschoenfelder677 I felt like I had to because I had no one to talk to about them who understood how unhinged the books got

[@mimiosaqueen9817]

You have incredible charisma! I could listen to you speak all day! Really had me interested in Oz in a way I can’t say I’ve ever been before.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@mimiosaqueen9817 oh my thank you 💕

[@cheshiredeimos1874]

I definitely thought too hard while reading The Emerald City of Oz. In that story Aunt Em is understandably confused that a chicken, formerly of her farm, is a citizen of Oz and therefore not on the menu. Dorothy explains it to her aunt as if this should be obvious and not even a question. Yet when Dorothy and the squad travel to Bunbury, a city built and inhabited with baked goods, Dorothy gets indignant that the denizen only offer her a wheel barrow and some fence to sate her hunger. Furthermore she is confused that they wish to punish Toto for literally eating people. Like, Girl, if Bill the chicken and her brood are citizens of Oz free to live and not be eaten, then the sentient cookies deserve the same.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@cheshiredeimos1874 yeah! I didn’t bring it up cuz I had skip parts for time but the Oz books are so weird about who is actually allowed to be a ‘person’. Of course they’ll be mad at you and Toto, you’re trying to eat them!

[@juliamavroidi8601]

I'm actually comfortable with calling The Wizard of Oz a fairytale compared to the likes of Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan, because Baum himself set out to write a "modernized fairy tale" and deliberately based his story on tropes associated with the genre. In that way, The Wizard of Oz is not that different from other literary fairytales as created by Andersen or D'Aulnoy. Comoare that to Alice in Wonderland, a nonsense narrative that deliberately breaks with conventional children't literature (including fairy tales) only to ironically become a staple of the genre.

[@Serai3]

Baum's project was less aimed at a "modernized" fairy take than it was an attempt at an _American_ fairy tale. Like Tolkien, Baum was irked by the fact that the US had no mythology of its own; the books of fairy tales that kids read in his days were all European. (Not surprising since it was, and still is, such a young country.) So he decided to create a fairy tale that was specifically American, both in its main characters and in its attutide and morality.

[@zorroazulapex]

The Tin Woodsman of Oz book is a wild ride. Talking to your own head about which one is the real you? 10/10. No notes. Exactly why I love fantasy/sci-fi.

[@Serai3]

It's one of the reasons why I'm always amused at people who talk about how "dark" or "inappropriate" the films are for kids. Jeez, have you ever read the BOOKS? There are legit nightmares in there!

[@inkfyre13]

As a Hispanic gay with an Oz hyperfixation, this video could not have been more perfect for me. I loved seeing the same criticism and the same worldbuilding questions that I've always had actually spoken aloud by someone else that has them. Also the humor in your commentary had me cackling

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@inkfyre13 thank you ✨

[@zangetsu284]

1:02:25 "This is a surveillance state. Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girlboss" took me out. Now I have to watch the rest of the video, I have no choice but to stan.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@zangetsu284 thank you 😊

[@kibstar1]

i think i read through all 14 original books as a kid but ive completely forgotten all of them so this is an exciting little treat!!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@kibstar1 I’ve been obsessed with the movie for years so I’m surprised it took me this long to read them but despite my critiques I genuinely loved reading all of these books I had a great time

[@gabydiazortiz]

@ i know, I say that in the intro. But I was only reading the books written by the original author

[@anyzayzYT]

hi!! a friend of mine recommended this video cause I actually wrote my honors thesis on the original Oz books! always love to see others talk about em and I can’t wait to watch it all!! 💚

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@anyzayzYT wow a thesis on Oz. I hope this is enjoyable for you then because I had to skip quite a bit

[@mightyrobot42]

Trot and Cap'n Bill are actually from a separate series that Baum tried to get going after "ending" the Oz books with Emerald City of Oz. The first book, The Sea Fairies, is entirely disconnected from the Oz mythology but the second, Sky Island, starts to introduce more Oz elements (Polychrome is in it, for instance.) Neither book did particularly well, so Baum resurrected the Oz series with The Patchwork Girl of Oz and later added Trot and Bill to that series. The reason why so much of their backstories seem to be unexplained if you only read their appearances in the Oz books is because they were already given in their own books.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@mightyrobot42 yeah I heard but I haven’t read those yet. I had no knowledge of his work outside of the first Oz book when I started reading the box set so the context is helpful. Might read those

[@aclown7390]

one of my favorite memories is reading these books under the covers with a flashlight as a kid. this was such a nice reminder of that memory, thank you!!

[@LegendsP137]

Santa is at Ozma's party because L.Frank Baum wrote the novel "The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus". A story all about Santa's origin story and it's just as bizarre as the Oz books. Santa is raised by a lioness and Nymph in a forest of immortals spirits. Santa makes other appearances in offshoot Oz materials like comics that Baum had a hand in creating. 😊

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@LegendsP137 oh ik! That was actually going to be in part 2

[@Melvito2]

Read that one last year. It’s bonkers, because it’s kind of Santa by way of Celtic mythology almost.

[@Private-Potato]

@@Melvito2not sure if celtic myths influenced Baum, but that would be cool if it had.

[@terenarosa4790]

​@@gabydiazortiz I'm looking forward to part 2!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@ that already came out! It’s a sketchbook video. It’s not as thorough at all since it’s just me trying to explain some things I had to skip in this one but it’s been out for a bit now

[@crowqueen69420]

As someone who has owned a cairn terrier mix, and whose husband grew up with a pure bred cairn terrier (they are fantastic dogs btw), being able to speak the whole time but never doing it because they didn't want to is PEAK cairn terrier behavior. that might be the best characterization in the entire series, that perfectly captures the essence of a terrier.

[@cassandralyris4918]

Wonderful breakdown. Pretty sure the old timey slur was the time he used the term "pickaninny" . It was unfortunately very common throughout the 1800's and popped up in a lot of books, Oz, Little House on the Prairie, Shirley by Brontë. Disappointing, but all still worth reading. I'm glad it didn't make you quit. Remember, we all hold the power to "kill" the author if we choose. Authors being problematic is, was, and will always be a thing. We can consume their works without absorbing their biases and I feel that you showed that pretty well here.

[@imshinycaptain]

Girl, "deep dives on books/movies I have not read/seen" is about 40% of my KZbin algorithm. XD

[@gabydiazortiz]

That and sewing content is everything to me

[@ElCactus7567]

I'd really like to see an animated trilogy of the first three books. You add some more continuity and connective tissue and those could really work well as a set. You first follow Dorothy, then Ozma and then everyone comes back for the finale.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ElCactus7567 if more kids books were turned into animated movies instead of huge budget live action movies, society would finally heal

[@BroadwayGuy]

@@gabydiazortiz : I absolutely LOVE this response.

[@FigmentJedi]

The anime from the 80s covering books 1-3 and 6 is really good for this.

[@Superlad9494]

​@@FigmentJedi it is, also in 2, do not hide anything from Glinda....she'll correct you Wonder Woman style.

[@grimmbrotheater8827]

I've read all the books, and the Emerald city is not all green but is decorated with gemstones of many types, so when they did wear the glasses, everything looked green and emerald. In the 2nd book, they still wore the glasses but stopped when Jinjur took over. Her army used their knitting needles to pry up the gems from the streets and fixtures in the city, and jewelers had to repair everything. In later books, I think the author does incorporate more green in the décor, though. As for the no death, people can die outside of Oz, so in Ev or the Gnome Kingdom etc. Once you are in Oz, you become immortal.

[@DigitalIndra]

Bro, I love princess Ozma's story arc. Iconic, legendary, epic.

[@gabydiazortiz]

I love her! I had so much fun drawing her and Dorothy in my sketchbook. I made a part 2 of this but it’s mostly just my sketchbook doodles

[@CantFightTheNarwhals]

Obsessed with how the algorithm blessed me with this AND the bonus of a new artist to subscribe to they’re working overtime in KZbin hq fr

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@CantFightTheNarwhals glad you enjoyed the video!

[@tibs7777]

For book 8, Part of why Polychrome “doesn’t remember” Shaggy Man and they reset the nome king is that Baum was over writing the series by this point (hence why he tried to end it at 6) but the fans wanted more and he needed the money, so he basically novelized the stage play based on the book Ozma of Oz. There’s a ton of plot similarities and Betsy is just a Dorothy surrogate.

[@tibs7777]

Should clarify that in writing the play he added in things from later books. Ozga’s origin is similar to a thing from book 4, and then Polychrome and The Shaggy Man are lifted out of book 5.

[@tibs7777]

Additionally, as others have mentioned, book 9 is a sequel to two other books he wrote that weren’t as popular so he slapped Oz onto the end of the story and in the title. Then, he originally wrote book 10 without any Oz connection and his publishers were just like… nah. So he rewrote the ending with Oz characters.

[@templetonf]

You should check out the Oz comics published by Marvel, drawn by Scottie Young. They stick pretty close to the books, and Scottie was not beholden to the movie designs for any of the characters and locations. His "unhinged" style really fits the vibe of Baum's whimsy and randomness, in my opinion.

[@JSV-pr4qo]

Return to Oz is my favorite film adaptation its so creepy so fabulous. I have always loved it

[@gabydiazortiz]

I loved it. I saw it for the first time a few years ago and loved the vibes.

[@homosexula5595]

Wizard of Oz is one of my special interests I love the books so much and have been hoping to find a video someone did about ALL (or most) of them that actually interested me and im so so so so so so SOO excited!!!! Before I would just rewatch James Rolfe's video constantly so im excited to add this to my small collection of Oz content I can watch!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@homosexula5595 I hope you like the video! There’s so much in all the books that I had to skip over a bunch. I added some of the stuff I cut out into a part 2

[@dumpling321]

Dominic Noble did a great episode of lost in adaptation on the movie vs book as well

[@Sailormac2]

This emphasizes how sad it is that Hollywood has been skittish of anything Oz except the first book since the massive failure of Disney’s Return To Oz. There is enough weird and wonderful material in here for a Lord of the Rings-type franchise. Netflix, get on it!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Sailormac2 I feel like because of how popular the 1939 film is and how a lot of people are unfamiliar with the series as a whole, audiences seem react poorly to new Oz things that aren’t reminiscent of the movie but also complain of it’s too similar??? I feel like for a new piece of media that still has Dorothy as the main character to really work needs to have a completely different aesthetic maybe. Idk I think comparisons are why no one wants to take risks

[@kendallchaos]

To be fair I’m kinda glad they didn’t seeing how they handled the narnia movies (the first one being good then it going down hill with each subsequent one)

[@StarTracker78]

I listened to volunteer-made audio versions of these a decade ago and some of the scenes and characters are still stuck in my head. I guess I missed books 12 through 14, but listening to you made me want to reread them all! Hoping for the best for the Wicked movie!

[@MarnixUwU]

It's actually crazy to realise that when the Wizard of Oz movie came out, it was an ongoing franchise

[@plasmaele]

In the last book Ozma uses her life alert to summon the EMT (Emergency Magical Technicians) to save her and Dorothy.

[@Buttercreamedream]

FUN FACT!! In Chittenango, New York (where the original wizard of OZ was written) there are large prints of the pictures in the wizard of oz all over the tops friendly markets grocery store!

[@belles_library]

For once, the algorithm worked. Sooo glad to have found this!

[@awake.in.88]

Thoroughly enjoyed your deep dive! This was absolutely a beautiful journey to take with you, and it was just such a delight. Thank you so much ❤🎉

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@awake.in.88 thanks for watching!

[@VisiV]

Okay I love this long overdue refresher course. I read several of these as a kid and just adored them. Sorry about your electricty.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@VisiV it’s unfortunately very common so I’m used to it at this point. Thanks for watching the video!

[@tibs7777]

Love these books and hate how rarely I see them brought up! Only just starting this video but will definitely be watching the whole thing and part two!

[@collinmurr3207]

This was recommended to me, and it absolutely was for me. I remember reading a few of the Oz books as a kid and enjoying them, and I always have wondered how weird they get. Fantastic video!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@collinmurr3207 thank you! They’re pretty weird. I had to skip a lot to mention what was relevant

[@Amalgemotion]

These were my mother's favorite books as a child (next to Nancy Drew) and I still remember the day she slid away part of the wall in grandma's attic to reveal old trunks and boxes, one of which held this whole set, dusty as heck and with the bindings a little torn. I read them all in a week, then again - so neat to see such a deep dive into them! Awesome work.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Amalgemotion thanks! The yellow copy I had in the intro is my moms from the 70s but it was too torn for me to read as a kid so that’s sweet that you got to read them!

[@ReiRidingSolo]

The best part in these stories is when Dorothy realizes she can't really die because she is basically the main character. So she jumps off a cliff.. and whatdoyaknow? Saved by a magic belt.

[@stephaniemoura3214]

I renember some people telling me the books, but man this is a whole other level. Thanks for the vid.

[@sebastienlatour9642]

Cap’n Bill and Trot were part of two other novels from Baum set in the Oz dimension/world prior to “The Scarecrow of Oz”. These are called “The Sea Fairies” (1911) and Sky Island” (1912). Same for Button Bright when he encounters Cap’n Bill and Trot in “Sky Island”.

[@BroadwayGuy]

"Ozma Of Oz" is also my favorite Oz book; next to the original LFB book, of course.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@BroadwayGuy I think the first 3 books are fantastic. If anyone wanted to adapt the books but didn’t want to do all 14, the first 3 would be a great series

[@Sharoness060]

My favorite as well. I remember doing a book report on it and dressing up as Ozma for the presentation in fifth grade.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Sharoness060 oh that’s so cute!

[@BLANKSecretBLANK]

if you haven't read Diana Wynne Jones's World of Howl books I highly recommend them! chronological order is Howl's Moving Caste, The Castle in the Air, then The House of Many Ways. if you've seen the Ghibli/Miyazaki movie, don't expect them to be similar - i love it but it's less an adaptation and more inspired by the book.

[@danilealuvify]

Now that you've read all of these, read the entirety of Gregory Maguire's Wicked series. He does a great job of incorporating so many of the weird characters and geography from the original books. I also love Tip/Ozma's storyline in the later books

[@jm221]

Yesss, I read through all these just a couple years ago. First three are great, then Dorothy and the Wizard come back and it's like watching a good friend get really into prescription painkillers

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@jm221 they definitely get weirder and formulaic after a while but I still enjoyed it. It’s like a cartoon after a while

[@madeline4711]

I’ve been saving this video to watch at work today! I didn’t know anything about these books, Wicked, RTO, but I’m so sat now. This is spectacular. You should definitely do the Narnia books next! I read them as a kid and it still feels like a fever dream…

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@madeline4711 aw thank you! I have read the narnia books! I actually re read the lion the witch and the wardrobe a lot but I don’t currently have all of the books (when I read all of them i borrowed them from a friend and if I ever get the books of the series that I’m missing I’ll definitely do it)

[@madeline4711]

I really believe that any vintage children’s fantasy is gonna be a good time!!

[@Vulpineberry]

"For you" page did a good job today. Can't wait for part 2.

[@benbutler9882]

I’m glad I sat down for this, I’d been curious about all the books.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@benbutler9882 and there’s a lot I didn’t cover!

[@candidaclarke1]

3:30 - Me too friend, me too! LOL! I kinda thought I was the only one who didn’t mind “spoilers” and can watch a summary or breakdown and still enjoy reading or watching the original media item afterwards 😊 Glad to know I’m not alone! Thank you for making this excellent walkthrough of the Frank L. Baum original Oz books. I wasn’t even aware there are 14 books penned by him about Oz… for whatever reason I had thought there were only 3 books? So this is going to be a fun watch for me today 😊 You have a new subscriber Gaby! I’m excited to comb through your back catalog as well, thanks for sharing your work with the class, lol!

[@billwenham]

As a fan of the books since I was in second grade, this is the video I've been waiting for forever. It's so hard to find videos that talk about the series in full, especially at length. Your commentary on the inconsistencies cracks me up. I remember reading years ago that L. Frank Baum never reread his books which really shows throughout the series. 🤣

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@billwenham I think he could get away with it if you don’t read them back to back but when you read them all at once it’s all you can think about

[@Serai3]

One of my favorite kid books was and remains "The Gnu and the Guru Go Behind the Beyond" by Peggy Clifford. It's a quest book without a quest, a philosophical book while also being something of a comedy, and very, very strange. It harks back both to the Oz books and to books like "The Phantom Tollbooth" - a friends-go-adventuring kind of story. Except that the two main characters spend the whole book being vaguely annoyed by each other and arguing every chance they get. Their alliance is amusingly prickly, which makes the story seem fresh (along with the lack of a specified quest other than "we gotta get the hell out of here"). I recommend it highly, along with the aforementioned Tollbooth if you've never read that one. :)

[@DeviantDayDreamer]

Ooh, as soon as I saw this on my feed I knew I had to jump in! I'm currently on my own journey of reading all of the Wizard of Oz books-well I'm actually listening to all the audiobooks, but still--and man it has been a journey! I'm so excited to hear someone else's take on what they think of the series since there's so much more to the world than the 1st book! Can't wait to see the rest of your videos on this

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@DeviantDayDreamer part 2 is out already. It’s much shorter since it’s more of an art video. Thank you for watching btw

[@witchivy5905]

As a artistic late 26 year old Puerto Rican im over the moon on finding your channel!! Love video essays but will definitely have to check your art also! ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙🤎

[@gabydiazortiz]

Couldn’t respond earlier pero hola! También estoy en TikTok y to eso

[@comfykomodo]

First of all, I JUST got into “Wicked” I’ve always been a huge fan of”Wizard of Oz” movie fan. And Judy Garland in general. Learning more and more about everything has been amazing and I’m so happy i found you in my algorithm. Best video I’ve seen in a long time. And I love long content. I’m so excited to see what else you put out because I will be keeping my eyes peeled!

[@ashdacraft]

idk how I ended up here, but you got me through a long hair straighening session. I'm a person who moreso "listens" to videos and you're a great story teller. I wasn't in a place to watch the screen but I was able to follow everything perfectly from your great descriptions.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ashdacraft now that I think about it, this video is definitely long enough for hair straightening time. Thanks I’m glad you liked it

[@harperediger7375]

I think I have been waiting for THIS video essay my whole life.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@harperediger7375 omg thank you. I have a second video about Oz where I talk about some things that I had to cut from this video but it’s more of a sketchbook video where I draw some of the characters if you want to check it out

[@harperediger7375]

@@gabydiazortiz This video is so entertaining so far. I will have to come back tomorrow to watch the rest but make no mistake, you are my new niche KZbinr fave.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@harperediger7375 aw thank you

[@SamanthaMiller-ps2cz]

OMGGGG I loved these as a kid I’m so glad someone is covering them! They’re underrated

[@jimmy-white]

Thank you so much for going so in depth with LFB’s Oz books!!! Your analysis made me giggle so much, and I love how you wore all of Oz’s colors!!! I had such a great time watching you 💚

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@jimmy-white you’re the first one to notice that I worse all the Oz colors! And thank you!

[@cisalzlman]

26:49 looking forward to part 3-4 covering the 25 books the algorithm will command it be made

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@cisalzlman yeah I don’t think that’s happening on my end lol. I did not like the 15th book so I don’t think I’ll be reading the non Baum Oz books. I might check out the short stories though! The ones that connect to the Oz books so who knows maybe I’ll make another one of these Oz videos. For now the other book video I’m thinking of making is a wrap up of the ones I read this year

[@kentortiz916]

thank you for narrating this very thoroughly in a manner in which we the non- reader of book would understand , also halfway through the video I realized we have the same last name, more power to you ! 💖💚

[@glussy]

I just finished this video in one sitting because you are so charming and engaging I just loved the way you summarized things, genuinely gushed about what you liked, included humor, but also gave your honest opinion every step of the way. As someone who has never read these books but think they sound utterly delightful, I am disturbed but also curious what the hell is going on with that 15th book, and would definitely watch a video of you going over that whole mess because how could it go so wrong SO fast. Also this is going to be very random, but this overview gave me a weird appreciation for the Oz the Great and Powerful movie from 2013? Which is admittedly, not very good, but it gets the Oz story formula correct of meeting magical characters and going on a fun journey with them. I always loved the little Porcelain girl from that film, and now I love Scraps and Bungle too :]

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@glussy hi thanks so much that’s very sweet of you. Honestly I might do a video just on the 15th book because it was soooo bad it was jarring

[@gostowl]

I am loving that you had similar thoughts on the series. Love Scraps. Your suggestion to adapt the series as an Adventure Time-ish animated series works so well; both are pretty episodic (although AT does get more serial over time, each episode can mostly be enjoyed on its own), and both have that underlying danger and weirdness. I now can’t shake the image of the Nome King looking a lot like the Ice King.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@gostowl that’s exactly why I thought it could work! I kept picturing him in his cave having tantrums cuz human girl Dorothy (and her later talking dog) keeps ruining his admittedly silly plans. Plus there’s so many kingdoms and creatures and pretty queens everywhere. I was definitely picturing early seasons of adventure times vibes if they ever adapted it as a cartoon because they can be as weird and random as possible. I already posted a part 2 to this video with doodles but now I desperately want to draw Dorothy like fin the human lol

[@lazyrmc]

Im glad to have found this video. Im an obsessive Oz fan, and people dont talk about the book enough

[@XWaffleKillerX]

I would definitely watch more several hour videos of you talking about anything

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@XWaffleKillerX omg thank you. I have art videos where I just ramble about stuff while I draw but I’m hoping to make more book videos

[@LinguarumFautor]

In order to fully understand the lore of the original Fourteen, you have to read about the stage plays and the IP decisions. That explains the nearly identical characters, the various animal companions, etc. A useful way to think about the first six books is that each has a quest structure and therefore shuffles the roles. The southern lands of Baumian fantasy always have a red themed sorceress. For a compare and contrast to Oz, you should check out the Enchated Island of Yew. Baum had a boys' adventure series in which Zeb's attitudes would have fit much better. My favorite of the first six is Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz although id say the Gargoyles are representing both Native Americans and deaf people.

[@thesquirrelnesthh6584]

I have watched so many Oz related videos including some you recommended and this is easily my favorite! It was so well done and you are very charismatic. Very, very much enjoyed by a person who definitely needed a distraction from life ❤😊

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@thesquirrelnesthh6584 thanks so much that’s very sweet of you

[@four_girls_in_search_of_awesom]

Muppets Wizard of Oz is somehow a more faithful adaptation lmao I love it

[@brittanyrose6294]

This is a very amazing & fantastic deep-dive, explanation of the books because I did want to know the storylines but also didn't want to read all the books (haha), thankyou very much!

[@lilhonor5425]

This was a great video! You did a wonderful job describing the books without getting overly caught up in the details. My grandparents have copies of most of the original books so I’ve always seen them growing up but I never read them. Also I appreciate your analysis at the end about Baum’s views.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@lilhonor5425 thank you!

[@T.K.sour.alien.420]

thank you so much for uploading this! I'm on such an Oz kick again but I know if I read all these books it'd burn me out so so fast! So it's nice to be able to digest my interests without having to go neck deep into 7+ books!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@T.K.sour.alien.420 there’s so many of them. I encourage you to read them if you’re still interested but I totally get it cuz u watch a lot of videos on books I’ve never read or will read lol. I’m making another video about the 15th one soon too

[@richart3717]

I'm so excited for wicked and seeing your essay video really made me mixed but appreciate more about the books and lore of the Baum novels themselves. I never read the books or the wicked novel yet but I think the Tom and Jerry version as well as the 1939 movie really got me for wanting more Oz. I think you should do a review of the Wicked movie once it comes out, overall I enjoyed this essay.

[@tyrannosaurusrhett]

I first remember watching the The Wizard of Oz when I was, like, four years old. I never remember being afraid of the winged monkeys. I mean, I didn't like them, but I was never one of those people who remember them as something traumatic from my childhood. I always found the bit with the hourglass way more upsetting than anything to do with the monkeys because that scene had some real menace to it.

[@gabydiazortiz]

Yeah I was never scared of the monkeys either but I was also the kind of kid that was into children’s horror so ik that a lot of people get the creeps from them. My mom HATED them and still comments on it every time we watch the movie lol

[@SashaV.]

Thank you algorithm! I adore famous-movies-original books! Nice vid! 💕

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@SashaV. thank you!

[@ritzexists2201]

watching this to see if the books are worth reading past 3! thanks for doing the lords work!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ritzexists2201 I enjoyed it but I definitely think it’s an acquired taste! You gotta be willing to ignore continuity issues

[@Zombie_Trooper]

It's funny you posted this within the week because on Sunday I finally visited the OZ museum in Cape Canaveral and that inspired me to do a deep dive into the original book series.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Zombie_Trooper it’s funny how whenever you get really interested in something niche, the universe provides a random KZbin deep dive by someone you’ve never seen before. It’s one of my favorite things

[@ZombieLoyalist]

Between stumbling across this and frootbats deep dive on Fraggle Rock I’m getting hit right in the nostalgia and I love it.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@ZombieLoyalist aw we’re mutuals on TikTok! Love frootbats

[@thatrantinggirl7376]

My main introduction to the wizard of oz was this insane surrealist retelling called The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls, I enjoyed it a lot but it was so weird! Now I’m thinking that it was just being accurate to the source material lmao. Great job on the video! This was super entertaining and informative

[@dreadpiraterobin8379]

"Brief as possible." 2.5 hours Part 1. Love it.

[@williamswidal1318]

As a long-time OZ fan (like around 55 years) I saw deep dive, 14, and 2 1/3 hours, and decided to check out your post and stayed for the whole thing. I will give you a rating of 95%. Amazing. You got a few trivial details wrong, and missed a few which might be considered pertinent backstory. but it looks like you hit all the major story beats. Doubly impressive if you only read them once a few months ago. Some backstory you might find interesting: The party guests in Road to Oz that weren't in the rest of the story were from earlier books Baum wrote, including Santa Claus, with his retinue of Ryls and Nooks. Trot and Cap'n Bill were not new here. They were introduced in a failed attempt at an all new series, which rather than abandon them he folded into Oz mythos. Baum also wrote 6 Oz short stories, known collectively as The Little Wizard books. There's nothing really to recommend them which is why they're never mentioned. The so called "Famous Forty" is more like 46, since the authors in that list published 6 other Oz books, just not through Reilly & Lee. As much as I despise Ruth Plumly Thompson, she did address the issue of Ozma's father in The Lost King of Oz, Horrible ending unfortunately. Apart from the various Oz books in the "Famous 40"+6, I highly recommend the 5 original graphic novels by Eric Shanower, whom many feel actually 'gets' Baum's style. Eric also illustrated one of those +6, named The Wicked Witch of Oz, which deals with the WW of the South. Personally I don't see the point of Eric's Marvel adaptations of the first 6 Oz books..

[@thegmanpaints]

can't see Miss Piggy without also seeing Chappel Roan forever now on

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@thegmanpaints two icons forever linked

[@ArtTasticCreations]

Thank you for making this video! I love the Oz series and it's nice to see someone do an overview of it to encourage other people to read it. It would be nice to have someone make a full live action television series that follows the books. It seems like they never really adapt it correctly which is a shame since Oz and the surrounding kingdoms are so interesting as well as the people who inhabit this very complex world. Probably the closet adaptation I've seen is the Return To Oz movie which keeps the dark/ eerie tone of the books with the underlining theme of hope/ overcoming a challenge. I enjoy the Wicked musical but it's not really the same experience as the OZ books. Hopefully one day they'll make a series that follows the books and even goes into the back stories that are explained more in later books (wriiten after the original author passed away).

[@davidbrasher3595]

I am very glad that you read all these books so I never have to.

[@jakeb.6487]

"lobotomy! lobotomy." I SCREECHED tysm for this review though!! i found the first few books super charming and now would love to read the rest of them!!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@jakeb.6487 it’s fun. Admittedly frustrating at times but if you get over the continuity issues it’s very charming

[@Painocus]

It's a bit odd that they included the first Thompson book in the set as opposed to the either Baum's Oz short-story collection or some of his other books that got integrated/retconned into the same setting, like The Magical Monarch of Mo (technically the first book in the broader setting), Queen Zixi of Ix or the two books about Trot and Cap'n Bill published before they appeared in the Oz books, the second of which also had Button-Bright and Polychrome in them, etc. For other children's series, I don't know how good the English (or Spanish for that matter) translations are, but I'd recommend the Moomin series by Tove Jansson. (The originals are in Swedish, the author being part of a Swedish-speaking ethnic minority in Finland.) They start very kiddie (especially if you begin with The Great Flood) and get gradually more "mature" and complex in terms of narrative structure, character depth and themes. If they were first published these days they would probably be classified more as YA, but I'd also recommend the Earthsea series by Ursula K. Le Guin. (Note that the short-story collection Tales of Earthsea is an important part of the series, and *at-least* the story Dragonfly from that collection should be read between the forth and final novels.)

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Painocus yeah I don’t know why either. It would make more sense to either leave the box set at 14 or include the other works by Baum since it’s jarring to just go right to Ruth Thomson’s book but I guess they wanted a clean 15 and didn’t want to change the flow of how the books were divided (?)

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@Painocus and I’ve been meaning to read Ursula k le guin but I didn’t know where to start so thank you.

[@tanashacharles794]

I absolutely loved this entire video. You did an amazing job!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@tanashacharles794 thank you!

[@AkiliClaireAmethyst]

I needed this. Also I'm inspired to get them on audiobook. I appreciate you! 💗

[@bradmacpherson4172]

Listened to the whole thing. You rule. May the algorithm bless your future. 2:26:37

[@sambujak355]

love this video!! i loved these books as a kid, i remember them being so bizarre 😭

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@sambujak355 they really are! In the way that only old kids books can be

[@izzysauls7737]

Finally got to watch this all the way through and I think you did an amazing job!!

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@izzysauls7737 thanks so much!

[@jomo7388]

I adore these novels. very excited for this video

[@gisellepoppy]

i’m so glad ur channel popped up u r so cool and i loved learning more about oz without having to read the books, it would take me way too long with my dyslexia😭

[@anniefinch6843]

I remembered that I read the book and this is one of my favorite movies. As a matter of fact, for this person, Return to Oz isn't the sequel to the movie The Wizard of Oz.

[@unfabgirl]

Ooh, I love stumbling across random channels that discuss the Oz books. This was definitely an enjoyable watch, though I would like to point out a little thing: some of the characters were actually from other books/short-lived series Baum wrote. For example, he wrote a version of Santa Claus's life where he was raised by a wood nymph and a lioness called The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (it got adapted twice, once by Rankin/Bass!) and Cap'n Bill and Trot had two books of their own called The Sea Fairies (which introduced mermaids and gave some really cool lore) and Sky Island (which had Button Bright pop up!) and they explain Cap'n Bill and Trot's relationship further and involves Trot's mother Can't wait for more potential videos!

[@gabydiazortiz]

I talk about the Santa Claus thing in my video that comes out Friday! I really just focused on the the just straight up Oz books and my video for Friday is very short (compared to this one). It’s just what I had written in my og script that I had to cut out so I don’t mention the capn bill and trot thing but I do bring up the Santa Claus book/rankin bass thing

[@dataweaver]

1. Baum wrote a lot of fairy tale books before Oz took off; and the birthday party at the end of the Road to Oz was basically a way for him to push his other stories. That's why Santa Claus shows up, since one of those books was The Life and Times of Santa Claus. 2. My headcanon is that the "no one dies" thing is a new development, and a side effect of Glinda's "seal Oz off from the rest of the world" magic. 3. The Scarecrow of Oz didn't introduce Cap'n Bill and Trot. After writing The Emerald City of Oz, Baum tried to branch out and write other fantasy novels for children, starting with one called The Sea Fairies (which also introduced Mermaids, and established a friendship between them and Cap'n Bill and Trot). _That's_ where Cap'n Bill and Trot were first introduced. This was followed up by a sequel called Sky Island, where Cap'n Bill and Trot encountered Button Bright and used his magic umbrella to travel to Sky Island; and while there, they also ended up encountering Polychrome, Attorney At Law! (You'll get the joke if you ever decide to read the book.) Those books weren't selling as well as the Oz books had, though; so Baum then wrote the Patchwork Girl of Oz. The Scarecrow of Oz was him bringing the cast of his Trot and Cap'n Bill books into Oz. 4. Ruth Plumly Thompson wrote a _lot_ of Oz books; I think she ended up writing more than Baum did, in fact. And one of them was called "The Lost King of Oz". I will say no more.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@dataweaver I mention the Santa Claus thing in my second Oz video! It’s not a long video and it’s just me rushing to get through some stuff that I had to take out of this one but it’s a sketchbook video so it includes some Oz character doodles. Had to cut it out of this one because it was too long. I do like that headcanon also. And I’m working on a video now about how much I didn’t care for the royal book of Oz which is why I’m unfortunately not going to read the rest of the books after Baum’s death. Didn’t like that book so i can’t imagine reading 18 more by Ruth

[@dataweaver]

@gabydiazortiz In that case, I suppose you wouldn't mind a spoiler. In "The Lost King of Oz", Dorothy briefly gets transported to Hollywood. When she arrives, she's removed from the magic of Oz and immediately starts growing up, so that her biological age ends up matching her chronological age. Upon returning to Oz, she reverts to her magic-supported youth. As well, the subject of the book is what happened to Pastoria. In short, he is found, and returned to the Emerald City; but Ozma is left in charge as the ruler of Oz. For what it's worth, I agree with your assessment of Ruth Thompson's writing; I do not recommend reading her works. I haven't read the Royal Book of Oz, and don't intend to; but as a child, I stumbled across a few of her later books. I don't regret reading The Lost King of Oz, per se; but I'm not going to track down a copy and reread it, either.

[@JSV-pr4qo]

Thank you so so much for doing this video. I am currently preparing my writing project and it's basically fanfiction. Was great to hear some of my own feelings on the novels

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@JSV-pr4qo love that. I actually got really into the wizard of oz before reading the books because I worked on a project in collage based on the first book/1939 movie

[@JSV-pr4qo]

Super amazing! The Gregory Maguire series is WILD​@@gabydiazortiz

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@JSV-pr4qo I read the first book! Haven’t read the others but it’s clear from the first book that he definitely read all the og books. There’s so many references

[@anoekterpstra2308]

"put a pin in that" 2 hours later... ... Tf am I supposed to do with all these pins? 📍 📍 📍😮📍 📍 📍

[@gabydiazortiz]

Give them to the scarecrow. His brains are made of pins

[@russellharrell2747]

@@gabydiazortizdon’t forget the bran!

[@marocat4749]

That was a very good summery, really good pace too and yeah it should get an anime :D

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@marocat4749 there are a few already! They’re older and not in a modern anime style but they exist

[@athf4ever780]

You should also check out a YA series called Dorothy Must Die where another girl from Kansas goes to Oz where Dorothy is an evil tyrant and all good characters are bad and vice versa. The author really did her homework on the books of Baum.

[@gabydiazortiz]

@@athf4ever780 that sounds interesting I might check it out