The Land of Oz is the first episode of season 2 of Shirley Temple's Storybook. The show adapted various fairy tales on NBC which included this episode based loosely on The Marvelous Land of Oz, that aired on September 18, 1960, which was nine months after its copyright expired.
Plot[]
Lord General Nikidik wants to take over Oz, so he goes to Mombi and asks her to transform the beloved Princess Ozma into a marble statue. Mombi instead changes her into a boy, Tip, to be her servant, with no memory of her former life.
Cast[]
- Shirley Temple as Ozma/Tip
- Jonathan Winters as Lord General Nikidik
- Agnes Moorehead as Mombi
- Ben Blue as the Scarecrow
- Sterling Holloway as Jack Pumpkinhead
- Gil Lamb as the Tin Woodman
- Arthur Treacher as Graves
- Frances Bergen as Glinda
- Charles Boaz as Colonel
- Mari Lynn as Jellia Jamb
- Norman Leavitt as Lightning Bug Repairman
- Louis Merrill as Court Doctor
- Mel Blanc as Sawhorse
- Maurice Dallimore as Gump
- William Keene as the Royal Army of Oz
Trivia[]
- Some characters are removed such as the Wogglebug (although the Lightning Bug Repairman serves as an allusion), Jinjur, and the Queen of the Field Mice.
- NBC announced the adaptation in a Press Release dated August 22nd with an airtime of 7pm.
- The costumes for Jack Pumpkinhead and Omby Amby were reused in the episode Babes in Toyland, which also starred Jonathan Winters as a villain.
- This adaptation is discussed in The Wonderful Recap of Oz episode “Shirley Temple in The Land of Oz” released in February 18, 2022.