Late in the nineteenth century, young Dorothy lives in a farmhouse on the Kansas plains
with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em.
Dorothy's best friend is her little dog, Toto.
One day a cyclone descends out of the black storm clouds.
Dorothy's aunt and uncle get into the storm cellar under the house, but Dorothy tries
to catch Toto first.
While she and the dog are still upstairs, the entire house is carried away by the cyclone.
The house flies for hours.
When it finally comes to rest, Dorothy picks up Toto and walks outside to find a beautiful
land out of a fairy tale.
Dorothy is greeted by an aged but beautiful woman dressed in white, the Witch of the North,
who thanks Dorothy for killing the cruel Witch of the East.
As a reward, Dorothy is given the Witch of the East's silver shoes.
When Dorothy asks to go home, the Witch says only the Wizard of Oz can help with that.
He lives in the Emerald City, at the end of the yellow brick road.
Dorothy and Toto start down the road and soon find a talking scarecrow in a field.
He asks to go with them to see the Wizard, for he wants to ask for brains and not be
an empty-headed fool any longer.
In the forest, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Toto find a woodman made of tin, but he has
rusted and cannot move.
They get his oilcan and soon the Tin Woodman can move and speak.
He asks to go with them to see the Wizard, for he wants to ask for a heart and marry
the girl he once loved.
The group continues through the forest until a huge lion leaps at Toto.
Dorothy bravely protects her little dog by slapping the Lion on the nose, who backs down
and says he is a coward.
He asks to go with them to see the Wizard, for he wants to ask for courage and truly
become the King of Beasts.
During their journey, the Scarecrow has clever ideas about the easiest ways to get across
the country.
The Tin Woodman is very careful not to harm any living thing around him, not even a bug.
And the Lion roars at threatening monsters to frighten them away.
The group arrives at a huge gate set into the massive walls of the Emerald City.
The guardsman allows them in on seeing Dorothy's silver shoes.
Each of the group goes alone to see the Wizard.
Inside the throne room, Dorothy sees only a huge floating head.
She asks to go home to Kansas.
The Scarecrow sees a beautiful lady with fairy-like wings.
He asks for brains.
The Tin Woodman sees a frightening beast.
He asks for a heart.
The Lion sees a fierce ball of fire.
He asks for courage.
But the price is the same for all of them: They must kill the Witch of the West.
They are all very unhappy, but agree to kill the Witch if they can.
Dorothy and her companions set out for the land of the Winkies, where the Witch of the
West rules.
First the Witch sends wolves after them, but the Tin Woodman kills them with his axe.
Then she sends crows to peck out their eyes, but the Scarecrow grabs the crows and kills
them.
Then she sends a swarm of bees, but the Scarecrow takes all the stings on himself.
The Winkies, who guard the Witch, try to attack, but the Lion frightens them away with a huge
roar.
Finally the Witch orders her Winged Monkeys to drop the Tin Woodman onto sharp rocks and
then tear the Scarecrow apart.
The Monkeys bring the Lion, Toto, and Dorothy to the Witch's castle, where they are enslaved.
The Witch of the West demands Dorothy's silver shoes and tries every way she can to get them
from Dorothy.
Finally this makes Dorothy is so angry that she throws a bucket of water on the Witch
– and to her amazement, the Witch melts away and is gone.
Dorothy frees the Lion and the Winkie guards.
The Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow are restored.
They all return to the Emerald City in triumph.
Everyone in the City is very surprised that Dorothy and her companions have returned.
After a very long delay, they are finally allowed to see the Wizard and all go together
to the Throne Room.
Inside, there is nothing but a voice telling them to go away and come back later to claim
their promised rewards.
The Lion roars in anger, which startles Toto into tipping over a screen in the corner of
the room – revealing a little old man, bald and wrinkled.
The man says he is the Wizard of Oz and a fraud, for he is really from Omaha, Nebraska
and came to Oz in his hot air balloon when it was caught by a stray wind.
He had the people build the beautiful Emerald City and soon became their leader.
Yet the Wizard was afraid of the Witches of the East and West, for they did have power.
That was why he commanded Dorothy and her friends to kill the witches even though he
did not really think they could.
The companions still want the gifts the Wizard promised them.
So, he opens the head of the Scarecrow, pours in a mixture of bran, pins, and needles, and
says that is his new brain.
The Tin Woodman gets a red silk heart filled with sawdust, sealed up inside his tin chest.
The Lion is given a special drink which contains his courage.
All three are very happy.
The Wizard says he will make another balloon and take Dorothy with him back to Kansas.
But when the balloon is ready to leave, Dorothy tries to catch Toto first – just as she
did when the cyclone approached – and so she is again left behind when the ropes break
and the balloon takes off with the Wizard.
As a last hope, Dorothy and her friends go to find Glinda, the young and beautiful Witch
of the South.
She orders the Winged Monkeys to take the Scarecrow to rule the Emerald City; the Tin
Woodman to rule the land of the Winkies; and the Lion to rule the forest.
Glinda tells Dorothy that all she has to do is click the heels of the silver shoes together
three times to go wherever she likes.
After bidding farewell to her dear friends, Dorothy picks up Toto, clicks her heels, and
says, "Take me home to Aunt Em!"
Dorothy finds herself whirling through the air.
The silver shoes fall off and are gone forever, but Dorothy and Toto are back home again in
Kansas where they belong.