Lost in Oz (web series)

Promotional poster for the series.

Lost in Oz is a web exclusive Oz kids' series distributed through Amazon Studios as an Amazon Original Series. It is unrelated to the 2002 pilot Lost in Oz, Tim Burton's canceled Lost in Oz, or to the Lost in Oz book series.

It is an original CGI animated reimaging of the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum set in an alternate Oz setting with changes to characters and plotlines. With some early previews in 2015 and 2016, the first part of the first season was released on August 3rd, 2017.

On June 7th, 2018, 13 new episodes were added and are referred to as being "Season One Part Two".

It is unclear if there will be a Season Two since most of the plotpoints were resolved in the 26th episode but some characters that were mentioned have yet to actually appear.

Plot

The animated show is set in a modern, metropolitan Emerald City in which 12-year-old Dorothy Gale II befriends West, a young, street-smart witch grappling with dark temptations, and Ojo, a giant munchkin.

After Dorothy discovers a strange green notebook hidden under the floorboards of her house in Kansas, a giant green tornado tears her whole house off its foundation, stranding Dorothy and her dog Toto in the magical land of Oz.

Instead of the Yellow Brick Road, there is the Yellow Brick Line, a train system that seems long shuttered and unlikely to take Dorothy anywhere. She soon befriends a sarcastic, street-smart girl named West and a surprisingly big munchkin named Ojo, while also learning of the mechanics of magic and the dire magic shortage in Oz. Before the pilot episode is through, Dorothy will have made some surprising new friends and a potentially dangerous new enemy, losing one opportunity to get home in the process.

In the last few episodes of the first part of the first season, it is revealed that this series is actually a sequel of sorts to the books as Dorothy's great grandmother is the original Dorothy Gale.

In the second part of the first season, Dorothy, Toto and Scarecrow are captured by Nomes after accidently getting stuck in the Deadly Desert.

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Dorothy and West

Dorothy and Ojo

Cast

• Ashley Boettcher as Dorothy E. Gale II
• Nika Futterman as West
• Jorge Diaz as Ojo
• Chris Cox as Toto, Agent Wally Pugmill, the Patchwork Doll, and the Winged Monkeys
• Alexander Polinsky as Fitz
• Grey Griffin as Evelyn Gale, Dorothy I's granddaughter and Dorothy II's mother
• Stephen Stanton as the Magic Peddler, Scarecrow
• Keith Ferguson as Reigh the Lion
• Kath Soucie as Cyra

Episodes

The episodes are called Chapters as a nod to the books.

1. Pilot*
2. Dorothy Meets the Lion*
3. Monkeys Fly*
4. Dorothy Meets the Scarecrow
5. The Pearl of Pingaree
6. Wake Up, Wake Up, Wake Up!
7. Little Black Lies
8. The Sticks
9. Down the Yellow Brick Line
10. Bogspeed, Little Shanks!
11. 11:11
12. Welcome Back, Glinda
13. Go For Kansas
14. The Deadly Desert
15. Magic from Nothing
16. The Still Season
17. Villa Roquat
18. The Magic Map
19. Shortcut to Emerald City
20. Going Forth
21. Kansas Magic
22. The Eclipse
23. Saving Cyra
24. The Nome Kings Belt
25. Escape from the Nome Kingdom
26. We Speak Mirror

• The pilot was first released on June 26th, 2015 and was repackaged with Dorothy Meets the Lion and Monkeys Fly as "Lost in Oz: Extended Adventure" on December 2nd, 2016 before August 3rd, 2017 when they were made separate episodes.

Production Status

Series logo

Amazon.com started their "Fifth Pilot Season" on June 26, 2015 and a pilot was released on that day. Amazon customers were able to vote on which shows get picked up or not based on how many the company allowed. There were only six contesting childrens' shows including Lost along with the other five which are entitled The Adventures of Knickerbock Teetertop, Bear in Underwear, A History of Radness, The Kicks, and Lily the Unicorn.

In Fall 2015, the pilot was temporarily made unavailable which caused concern that the series wasn't picked up, but it was later restored with the listing Season 1, Episode 1. This change allows Amazon Prime subscribers to add the season to a Watchlist and be alerted to the release of new episodes.

It appeared on the "Series Development Slate" on the website but this was removed as it went into production. A 11/06/15 press release indicates that the series was officially green lit. On November 16th, 2016 a one minute "Extended Adventure" official trailer was added to the show's page saying that it will be streamable on December 2nd, 2016. This turned out to be a re-release of the pilot added with the second and third episodes as a one hour and seven minute special.

As per Amazon's policy of releasing a full season instead of just adding individual episodes at a time, 10 new episodes were available on August 3rd, 2017.

A part two of the first season was announced on May 11th, 2018 and 13 new episodes were released on June 7th, 2018.

During production of part two, the voice actress for Evelyn Gale was quietly switched to that of Grey Griffin who had to replace Allison Mack since she had been arrested for her connection to a controversal organizsation known as NXIVM. Part one episodes now credit Grey Griffin who re-dubbed the lines.

Trivia

(due to the large amount of Trivia notes, they are divided in specfic sections)

Production:

• This is the very first Oz adaptation to:

1. Be a CGI animated series
2. Be released online
3. Feature an animated Ojo and his first film appearance since 1914's The Patchwork Girl of Oz.
   • Ojo would later appear in the live-action series Emerald City.
4. Be a successful series named "Lost in Oz"

• It is the third CGI adaptation after Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return and Save Oz!.
• It features a relative of Dorothy going to Oz, which in this case was her great granddaughter of the same name.
  • The SyFy miniseries Tin Man uses this same device: D.G. is the descendant of the original Dorothy Gale, and named for her.
  • The book A Barnstormer in Oz features Dorothy's son visiting Oz, while the novel The Sword of Oz features her father visiting there.
• The voice actress for Evelyn Gale was changed to that of Grey Griffin since the original actress Allison Mack had been arrested in connection to a organization known as NXIVM under investigation for cult-like actvitiy. 

Plot:

• The Gales do not have a farmhouse and their modern house does not land on anyone.
• References to 1939's The Wizard of Oz include:

1. Dorothy has blue-checkered shoes as a reference to the dress
2. Dorothy says the line "We are not in Kansas anymore"
3. West wears black styped stockings simliar to those worn by the Wicked Witch of the East, she also has green eyes and though appears to have normal skin, can change to green at will.
4. In a picture, Glinda is shown wearing a ruby red dress as a reference to the Ruby Slippers.
5. A octopus band poster has a date of Marvelember 30th on it. This Oz month could be either a reference to The Marvelous Land of Oz or Professor Marvel.

• The Wizard's full name is Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambrose Diggs as named for the Emerald City's middle school. He only appeared in a flashback destroying the Treasury of Oz to safeguard the contents.
• Fitz has the power to turn people with magic into stone statues which is similiar to 1985's Return to Oz.
• Glinda rules Oz as Ozma for some reason has yet to appear and is only mentioned once.
• The Winged Monkeys have metal electronic wings connected to suits who are controled by a computer chip in Fitz's hat, similar to the Golden Cap.
• Fitz has Water of Oblivion balloons as there is also a supply of this water located in Glinda's Castle.
• Toto is a brown dog with white spots who is named after the first one
  • Unlike the Toto of the books, he is unable to talk in Oz, but he does understand what others are saying and barks as a means of communication.
• Dorothy's mother Evelyn is revealed to be the original Dorothy's granddaughter, but other family members are not revealed.
  • Evelyn has been to Oz before as she knows both Cyra and Glinda.
• There is no Tinman character featured in the series besides portrait images and in a comic book. Only the Scarecrow appears through Reigh is most likely related to the Cowardly Lion who also does not appear except in portrait.
• West's mother wears green clothes and has green eyes and hair.
• The Patchwork Girl is instead a small male "Patchwork Doll"
• Agent Wally Pugmill who is made of red brick is an allusion to the Red Brick Road. A female agent who appears later happens to be made of yellow brick in reference to the Yellow Brick Road.
• The magic peddlers are all frogmen as a reference to the Frogman.
• Various advertisments referring to Oz elements can be seen such as:
  • A movie called "Axe of Love" with a tin heart is on a billboard.
  • Green shoes "fit for a wizard" made by Ugu the shoemaker.
  • Nome King Cave Tours
• A type of fruit can color teeth into rainbow.
• Some types of food are living creatures because:
  • The school's sign says that the cafeteria is closed because of "escaped hot dogs".
  • Ojo says that eating corn is "messed up" since his neigbors are corn.
  • Various doughnut humanoids can be seen walking around.

Cast:

• Ashley Boettcher is the youngest person to voice Dorothy in an animated production as being 15 during the Pilot.
  • She previously had minor roles as a voice in the video game for Walt Disney Pictures's Tangled and as one the witches in the film Shrek: Forever After, but was uncredited.
• Kath Soucie and Grey Griffin are the only cast members who played a role in another Oz adaption as both did voices for Tom and Jerry & the Wizard of Oz along with its sequel Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz. Grey was the voice of Dorothy and Kath was Tuffy, the Munchkin Mouse.
• Various members have done roles with one another on various Walt Disney Pictures produced movies and animated shows such as:
• The Disney XD (formaly Toon Disney) series W.I.T.C.H.:

1. Nika Futterman as Bough-Breaker and Rose Wolfe
2. Kath Soucie as Nerissa

• The Disney Junior series Sofia the First:

1. Nika Futterman as Madam Ubetcha
2. Keith Ferguson as Sir Bartleby, Baron Von Rocha, and a talking wishing well
3. Kath Soucie as Queen Avery

• The Disney Channel series Elena of Avalor:

1. Jorge Diaz as Gabe
2. Keith Ferguson as Zuzo and Sir Cassius

• The Disney Junior Series The Lion Guard

1. Jorge Diaz as Mapigano
2. Nika Futterman as Zira

• Kath Soucie has been the official voice for various Disney characters such as Mary Darling from Peter Pan, Alice's Sister, Cinderella between 1990-2001, Kanga from 2000-2010, and Daisy Duck between 1996-1998.

Links

• Variety: Amazon Studios Greenlights 6 Pilots in Next Wave of Kids’ Programming
• Toonzone: Review: Amazon Pilots "Knickerbock Teetertop," "Lost in Oz," "Lily the Unicorn," & "Bear in Underwear"
• FilmMusicReporter: Amazon’s ‘Lost in Oz’ to Feature Theme Music by Mark Mothersbaugh and Score by Adam Berry
• IMDB listing