The Crows are reoccurring characters that appear in The Wiz. They are four anthropomorphic crows that wear clothing and sunglasses, and constantly pick on the Scarecrow.
Biography[]
Bullying the Scarecrow[]
The Crows are first seen lounging around and eating the corn from the Scarecrow's cornfield garden. He tries to be friendly to them in hopes of them helping him down from the pole. The Crows dismiss his plea and proceed to berate him for being dumb.
They claim to be the ones who truly care about him and try to make him feel bad by wanting more than what he already has. Aside from their constant bullying, they also make him recite ridiculous rules they clearly made up and sing what they call The Crow Anthem which the Scarecrow despises.
It isn't until Dorothy comes along to free the Scarecrow by scaring off the Crows.
Working for Evillene[]
We see the crows later being captured and shackled by Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West. It's believed that they worked for Evillene and were sent out on a task, much like the Poppy Girls and the Subway Peddler, but failed. They are often seen flocked around Evillene's throne waiting for her command.
Once Dorothy and her friends are captured and brought to Evillene, the Crows are tasked to punish her friends as an effort to make Dorothy give up the Silver Slippers. They start sawing the Scarecrow in half, hanging the Lion by his tail, and threatening to throw Toto in the furnace. Once Dorothy manages to defeat Evillene, they along with the Winkies and the Peddler help Dorothy with her friends as a showing of gratitude for killing the Witch.
As Dorothy, her friends, Winkies and Subway Peddler celebrate, the Crows are seen dancing along with them happily now that they’re all free.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It's stated that the Crows act as an allegory for the people who try to bring down others who are more successful or higher up in life than they are due to jealousy, insecurity, greed, etc. In other words, "crabs in a bucket".
- The designs, mannerisms and the vernacular of the Crows make many people to compare them to the Crows from the 1941 Disney animated film "Dumbo" whom are seen as being a controversial depiction of African Americans during that time.
- The Crows act very similarly in The Wiz Live! with a few differences including not being the henchmen to Evillene.