From emerald cities to ruby shoes: The curious colors of Oz

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On May 17, 1900, US author Lyman Frank Baum published a tale that has since enchanted readers and viewers over generations with its unforgettable characters, magical settings and universal themes of courage, friendship and the search for home.At the heart of the story is Dorothy Gale, a young girl living on a quiet Kansas farm. When a powerful tornado sweeps her and her dog Toto away, she finds herself in the fantastical Land of Oz, where wonder and danger lurk. Advised by a kind witch, Dorothy sets off for the Emerald City by following a Yellow Brick Road, hoping that the mysterious Wizard of Oz can help her return home.

The journey within

Along the way, she befriends a Scarecrow wanting a brain, a Tin Man longing for a heart and a Cowardly Lion seeking courage. Together, they face trials, outwit a wicked witch and discover that the qualities they each sought lay within them all along.Dorothy’s magical ruby slippers, which she acquires after her tornado-borne house lands on and kills the Wicked Witch of the East, hold the final key to her return home.Britannica, which describes it as “a modern fairy tale with a distinctly American setting,” also states that some consider the gutsy Dorothy as one of the first feminist heroes in children’s literature.Whether through film, stage or song, the diverse adaptations of the Land of Oz have since seen it evolve into a pop culture icon. But the visuals most often associated with it stem mainly from MGM’s 1939 film adaptation starring then-16-year-old Judy Garland, whose wistful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was voted “the greatest song of the 20th century” in a 2001 joint survey by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Recording Industry Association of America.On the book’s 125th anniversary, here are some curious backstories on the colors that breathed life into “The Wizard of Oz.”

Slippers that switched color…

In Baum’s original book, Dorothy’s enchanted footwear were silver, not ruby.The 1939 film famously changed them to a glimmering red to take full advantage of the then-new Technicolor film process. Red simply popped better on screen as opposed to silver, and especially against the yellow bricks of the road.One pair of these slippers worn by Judy Garland, stolen in 2005 from a Minnesota museum and recovered by the FBI in 2018, sold at auction for $28 million in 2024.

… and horses too?

Way before CGI, there was food dye.To recreate “a horse of a different color,” the dazzling, color-changing horse that greets Dorothy and friends in the Emerald City, four separate white horses were used to create the effect of a single horse that changes color from moment to moment.The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals had objected to the horses’ fur being dyed traditionally; the lore goes that technicians tinted them either with jello powder or food dye to create a spectrum of white, purple, red and yellow.As the equine actors reportedly kept licking the colored powder off between takes, the scenes had to be shot as quickly as possible.

Through green-tinted glasses

Curiously, what is known as the “Emerald City” is neither green nor built of emeralds. It appears so because everyone is required to wear green-tinted glasses, a clever ruse by the Wizard to create the illusion of grandeur.The 1939 film, however, featured a literal green metropolis, thus forever cementing the Emerald City in popular culture as a glowing, green paradise.

What color was Dorothy’s dress actually?

There’s also diverging takes online on whether Dorothy’s gingham pinafore dress was blue and white or blue and pink. Some fan sites explain that what appeared to be blue and white, was in reality, blue and light pink. The costume team had apparently used pink, which rendered better on screen under the intense lighting of that era.One cannot help but recall the color challenge on social media in early 2015, known as “The Dress.” Remember? That viral phenomenon where a photograph of a dress sparked a debate on whether it was white and gold or blue and black, due to differences in color perception and how the brain interprets lighting.

A kaleidoscope of adaptations

Since its original publication, “The Wizard of Oz” has spawned colorful interpretations.Singer Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (1973), co-written with long-time collaborative partner Bernie Taupin, uses Oz imagery to symbolize disillusionment with fame and a yearning for a simpler life. The 78-year-old singer’s final world tour was renamed “Farewell Yellow Brick Road.” It began in Allentown, Pennsylvania, US, on September 8, 2018, and ended in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 8, 2023.Meanwhile, 1978’s “The Wiz” was an all-Black musical reimagining starring ex-Supremes singer Diana Ross as Dorothy and the late King of Pop Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow. Based on what was originally a successful Broadway musical, the film was widely panned by critics. But something more significant happened behind the scenes: It led veteran producer Quincy Jones to first cross paths with his future “Thriller” collaborator, JacksonAnd finally, Broadway’s 2003 blockbuster “Wicked” flipped the script entirely, telling the untold story of the misunderstood “Wicked Witch of the West” Elphaba, complete with emerald skin and gravity-defying vocals. Incidentally, the musical’s most recognizable number is, indeed, “Defying Gravity.” The musical, which is based on a novel of the same name, has since been adapted into a two-part film, with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande leading the cast. The first part was released in 2024 and was nominated for 10 Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards, winning two, best costume design and production design.