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"They had just started to cross this queer bridge when a sharp growl made them all look up, and to their horror they saw running toward them two great beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers. "It's the Ka-Ka-Kalidahs!" said the Cowardly Lion, beginning to tremble."
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Kalidah - Hit the Bricks

Kalidahs are vicious predators which roam the magical Land of Oz. They mostly stay in the dark forests of Oz and are described to have bodies like bears, heads like tigers, and claws long and sharp enough to tear a lion in two. The Cowardly Lion, like most creatures in Oz, is afraid of the Kalidahs.

History[]

Two Kalidahs meet their demise. W.W. Denslow 1900.

When Dorothy Gale, her dog Toto and their three Oz companions were on the Yellow Brick Road to see the great Wizard, two Kalidahs tried to attack them all. The Cowardly Lion let out a loud and terrible roar, making the Kalidahs stop short. However, after realizing there were two of them and they were both bigger than the Lion, they chased after them again. Luckily they were able to escape the Kalidahs thanks to the Tin Woodman who chopped down a tree so the party could cross over a steep cliff. Once they were safely on the other side the Tin Woodman chopped the trunk of the tree in two and the Kalidahs went falling down into the jagged rocks below and presumably died. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

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A Kalidah from Oz.

Two Kalidahs once attacked Dr. Pipt, so he turned them to marble with his Liquid of Petrifaction and put them in his garden as statues. (The Patchwork Girl of Oz)

The Glass Cat later encountered some Kalidahs in a forest in Gillikin Country near a lake. They attacked her, but were unable to damage her; and she laughed and jeered at them.

Later, she lead Cap'n Bill and Trot to the same spot to get a flower for Ozma's birthday, and she recounted the story. While there, another Kalidah appeared and attacked, but Cap'n Bill fought it off with his wooden leg and then impaled it into the ground so it could not escape.

While Bill made his raft, the creature spoke to them and laughed at their intentions. The Kalidah revealed that the Kalidahs were uncomfortable around magic. When Bill and Trot went to the island and got stuck, the Kalidah finally escaped and left, going into the forest. (The Magic of Oz)

Appearances[]

Other Appearances[]

Kalidahs also appear in modern Oz stories such as Eric Shanower's "Gugu and the Kalidahs." Phyllis Ann Karr's short story "The Guardian Dove," published in the 1990 issue of Oziana, provides a detailed treatment of Kalidah culture.

Kalidahs appear in the Ozu no Mahoutsukai picture book, which is an adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

In the Magic Land series, the Kalidahs are replaced with saber toothed tigers. They are exterminated at the end of the second book (although the forest where they lived remains named after them). A single tiger escapes; he is trapped and killed eight years later, during the fourth book.

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Kalidahs~1975

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Subway Battle~1978

The Kalidahs appear in the both The Wiz from the 1975 musical and The Wiz Live! from 2015. But In the 1978 movie version, the Kalidahs were replaced by a creepy subway peddler who seems to posses powers that brings his puppets and the subway to life to capture or kill Dorothy and her friends. The Kalidahs in the original show were a frightening witch-like gang, In The Wiz Live! The Kalidahs were returned back to their animal origins but in this case the Kalidahs were shapeshifting mindreaders, reminiscent of Homer's Sirens.

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Kalidahs~2015

The party faces a Kalidah in The Wizard of Oz, the 1982 anime. These Kalidahs are giant and fearsome, resembling bears more than tigers. The Kalidah they face falls into a ravine when the Tin Woodman chops off the tree bridge they'd used to cross the ravine.

Kalidah-critics

Statler and Waldorf

In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, the Kalidah Critics (portrayed by Statler and Waldorf) are a pair of vicious creatures who rip those they encounter to shreds, not physically, but through their harsh criticism. They have hairy, clawed bodies and horns on their grizzled heads. The pair guard the Kalidah Bridge, which must be crossed en route to the Emerald City.

In Family of Oz (2011), by James C. Wallace II, the Kalidahs play the role of bodyguards for the Cowardly Lion and His court. There is an amusing, yet brief interaction between the Kalidahs and the Queen of the Field Mice during the Cowardly Lion's journey towards the Emerald City.

Legends of Oz Tik-Tok and the Kalidah

In The Legend of Oz: Wicked West, a pack of Kalidahs killed Jinjur's family and many of the other residents of her hometown, motivating her to seek out the Wizard and request their complete extermination. The Wizard turned down her request, but Jinjur was able to take over the mining operation at the site of the Emerald City and became one of the Wizard's advisors, while seeking out the prison of the Nome King, hoping to release him in exchange for his help in exterminating the Kalidah population. Additionally, a friendly Kalidah serves as the mount of Tik Tok in his spinoff miniseries.

The Woodsman - The Kalidah and Nimmie Amee

A Kalidah appears in the 2015 stage play, The Woodsman as a monster that Nick Chopper rescues Nimmie Amee from.

Kalidahs appear in the 2018 film The Steam Engines of Oz.

Gallery[]

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