It's Dorothy! A Review

IT'S DOROTHY!    

Some literary characters have taken on a life so far removed from their source material. Such is the case with Dorothy Gale, the protagonist of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The documentary It's Dorothy! looks at the various incarnations of this literary character. Using archival footage and interviews with the myriads of Dorothys from stage and screen, It's Dorothy! sometimes stretches some connections more than I think logical. However, it has some interesting background to the lives of the actresses and fans of this distinctly American figure.

It's Dorothy! interviews various actresses who have played the little girl from Kansas, mostly on stage or television specials. There is Shanice Shantay from The Wiz Live! NBC special. There is also Nichelle Lewis from the 2024 Broadway revival of The Wiz, pop singer Ashanti who starred in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz special and Danielle Hope, who won the BBC competition show Over the Rainbow in 2011 to play Dorothy in London's West End. The documentary also has an audio interview with Fairuza Balk, who played Dorothy in Return to Oz. She is the only Dorothy who did not appear on screen but was interviewed specifically for the documentary. Stephanie Mills, who originated the role in the original run of The Wiz, Diana Ross who played the role in the film version of The Wiz, and Judy Garland from the 1939 The Wizard of Oz all spoke about the character and/or Oz-related projects via archival footage. 

Each of the actresses who played Dorothy speaks to her experiences both before and after their casting. For Garland, the two figures of actress and character eventually blended into each other. It is surprising to learn, for example, that initially many objected to Garland's casting for being "too old" for the part. As time went by, Garland became the definitive Dorothy to where every other actress who played the role was measured against her. We see that Judy Garland had excessively high expectations as a child performer. The high price of fame, the dichotomy between the outward glamour and intense hard work is nothing new we learn. Ashanti comments that people see the fame and glitter but not the intense invasion of privacy and long work hours.

The more things change, I suppose.

The other people interviewed in It's Dorothy! were heard but not seen. The various interviewees speak on various topics related to both Dorothy and the Oz mythos. We get how director John Waters thought Glinda the Good Witch of the North was, in his words, "a sadist" for not informing Dorothy that she could leave anytime rather than letting her go through the land of Oz. He adds that Dorothy is, again in his words, "a fag hag" or at least a precursor to one. 

The documentary does cover how the character of Dorothy and The Wizard of Oz in particular became associated with gay culture. It also through the various adaptations of The Wiz delve into how the L. Frank Baum series was co-opted into black culture. 

Director/writer Jeffrey McHale covers a great deal of ground in It's Dorothy! To his credit he did a strong job in giving the various actresses who brought the character to life. As stated, all the living Dorothy actresses save Balk appeared on screen (Ross and Mills not interviewed specifically for It's Dorothy!). Hearing their stories about how fans still remember them and their experiences working on their respective Oz projects is an interesting backstage look.

I do, however, think that sometimes It's Dorothy! bit off more than it could chew. Late in the film, some of the interviewees suggested that the appearance of Wheelers in Return to Oz was a sign of disability empowerment. I think that while disabled people may see the Wheelers as some kind of representation, I do not think that was the intent. It was not just the Wheelers but the various figures who had different parts to them, like Jack Pumpkinhead and Tik-Tok. 

The Wizard of Oz/Judy Garland gay connection has been noted for years. It is interesting to learn that such a connection did not start immediately but built up over the years. The "friend of Dorothy" myth is dispelled in It's Dorothy! with the suggestion that such a euphemism developed over time rather than be immediate. 

The film also could not resist a dig at L. Frank Baum. It does point out that while Baum was a liberal in almost all matters, his editorials calling for the extermination of the indigenous Americans is a black spot on his record. I do not think that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz or any of his other Oz books will be pulled from the shelves because he was wildly wrong in that one take. This unfortunate lapse in judgment by Baum is connected to the Wizard himself not being what he was supposed to be. 

Again, this is similar to the Return to Oz take that the various creatures are a subtle sign of disability representation. Some of the connections between the various Oz projects and both its creator and its fans seems to stretch more than I'm willing to believe.  

Still, It's Dorothy! has some wonderful insights from academics, fans and the various actresses who have played the role. We get a nice montage of both Over the Rainbow and The Wiz's Home which are standouts. Both are brilliant songs that have stood the test of time. Seeing various figures like Barbra Streisand to Beyoncé take cracks at them is a wonderful reminder of how good the songs and singers are. It is also good to hear how various Dorothys have been received. Shantay calls her The Wiz Live! experience a "one-and-done" deal with no big bounce to her career. Conversely, Danielle Hope has found a career after winning Over the Rainbow and she was cast in the theatrical version of The Wizard of Oz.

How we see both Dorothy Gale and various interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz will shift with the culture. It's Dorothy! is a good snapshot of how both were seen then and are seen now. I am not sure that Dorothy Gale really is, as one person called her, "a bad bitch". It's Dorothy! ends with various people being asked to describe Dorothy Gale in one word. My choice would be "Dorothy Gale is...American". 

DECISION: B-