Baum is the Bomb: Perspectives and Insights On The Land of Oz

"Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization. " Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. 

- Lyman Frank Baum

Whenever the title "Wizard of Oz" is heard, undeniably the first thing that comes to mind is the beloved 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. The film, which has been said by the Library of Congress to be the most watched film in history, has captivated generation after generation and is the very definition of a timeless film. But the MGM Oz masterpiece is a very small piece of a large pie. The world of Oz did not start out as a film as many believe it to be and was conceived in the mind of one man, a man who will forever be known as "The Founder of Oz". His name is Lyman Frank Baum, and his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz would become the focal point of which the 1939 film was based upon. As the 1939 film would go down as one of the best movies ever made, the original novel would go down as one of the best fairy tales ever written on paper, and the man behind it would go down as one of the greatest inspirations, not only to myself, but to many others as well. The works of L. Frank Baum have inspired such people such as Walt Disney, Gregory Maguire, Sam Raimi, and I'm willing to bet that J.K. Rowling was inspired by Baum's work, in one form or another. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has become a monumental milestone in American literature, spawning many sequels, plays, and other movies, some of which were released decades before the beloved MGM classic.

Growing up in the late 90s early 2000s timeframe, I went berserk when The Wizard of Oz was on television. Every time it was on, it was like a holiday or special event, and even if I missed it, I could still whip out the old weathered VHS tape, catching a glimpse of the land of Oz even if huge white lines soared across the television screen. As I grew older, I saw illustrations from the original Wizard of Oz novel on Christmas ornaments and I grew anxious to read the book, written nearly 4 decades before the MGM film saw the light of day. As infatuated with the MGM film as I was, I expected the novel to be almost identical to the film that was eventually made. Surely, there would be noticeable differences, but little did I know that there would be SEVERAL noticeable differences. Baum's original novel is almost completely different from the classic film, even though the classic film retains the book's overall tone and premise. For one thing, Dorothy's vacation to Oz actually happened and wasn't a dream as it was portrayed in the movie. Her iconic ruby slippers were also silver in the book and fall off and get lost as Dorothy is transported back to Kansas. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North in the movie is the Good Witch of the South in the book and rules over a place called Quadling Country. Another noticeable difference is that the Wicked Witches are not sisters and the Wicked Witch of the West looks completely different than the pointy hatted, green witch we are all familiar with. She is portrayed as an elderly woman with pig tails and an eyepatch, and William Wallace Denslow's illustrations in the original book color her yellow instead of the iconic green she would eventually be known for. Her role in the book is also significantly shorter than her role in the movie, and she summons the Flying Monkeys (known in the book as Winged Monkeys) using a "golden cap".

There are also many other contrasts to the 39 film, such as the inclusions of half tiger, half bear hybrids called kalidahs, creatures called hammerheads, a town where every inhabitant is made of porcelain (something that would be included in the most recent film, Oz The Great and Powerful), green glasses that make the Emerald City...well...emerald, and the Wizard of Oz taking on many different forms as each main character enters his chamber. The point is, the Wizard of Oz novel was far diverse from the film that was eventually made, and I was baffled by how many things I pointed out that differed from the legendary film. Not that I didn't like the book, in fact, it's one of my very favorite novels (I actually have it on my iPhone), but the things that didn't make it into the final film intrigued me, and I think they made the Oz universe much more broader and richer. Of course, there have been several sequels and spinoffs written throughout the years following WWO's original release, such as The Marvelous Land of Oz, Ozma of Oz, The Road to Oz, and....ready for this...Rinkitink of Oz, and each one of them expanded on the fantasy world Baum brought forward while also showing Baum's perspectives and beliefs. Baum believed in non violence and that religious acts should be made by mature minds and not religious authorities. He was also a huge supporter of the Women's Suffrage which is clearly shown in the characters of Dorothy, Glinda and Ozma. Instead of making the women supporting characters and adding touches of feminism, Baum made females the focal point of many of his stories, making Dorothy not an average damsel in distress, but an all out, quick thinking heroine. This is one of the many elements sorely missing in the 39 film, for Judy Garland's Dorothy, while portrayed well, comes off as a crying damsel who needs to be rescued by her friends. In the book, she was the one rescuing her friends!

298 × 358 - en.wikipedia.org

As I said before, many interpretations of Baum's stories have been done throughout the years, some combining elements from both the original book and the beloved movie. There's of course the 1995 revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West written by Gregory Maguire, which was later adapted into a famous musical with music by Stephen Schwartz (the witch's name "Elphaba" comes from the pronunciation of L. Frank Baum's initials). There's the mini-series Tin Man, which puts some sci-fi into the world of Oz and like Wicked, features a bit of adult content. There's the most recent Disney film Oz The Great and Powerful, which teaches us how the wizard, played by James Franco, got into Oz and became what we know him as. But why don't we go back even further, even before the 1939 film everyone knows and loves graced the movie screen. Our time machine takes us back to 1902 when the first ever stage musical of The Wizard of Oz was released. Like many interpretations of Baum's tales, this musical differs drastically from the original book. Elements sorely missing are the Wicked Witch of the West, Toto, and the Cowardly Lion's part is shortened. New characters included in the play are Imogene the Cow, King Pastoria II, Cynthia Cynch, and Sir Dashemoff Daily. Although many of the play's elements remain shrouded in mystery, two things are apparent. Dorothy's surname "Gale" was introduced in this play and it has become the character's last name ever since. In one of the play's scenes, Dorothy is put to sleep in the field of poppies and is revived when the Good Witch sprinkles snow on them. This is one of the things that made it's way into the 1939 film, for the Good Witch Glinda sprinkles snow on the poppies that put Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion to sleep. It is also said that some of the costumes used in the 1902 play were later used in the 1910 silent film, the oldest existing Oz film to date.

The 1910 film, which also differs greatly from the source material, is even more mysterious than the 1902 play. The director, the actors, and the overall credits are shrouded in mystery, but unlike the 1902 play, this 13 minute film features the Wicked Witch of the West (named Momba) as the primary villain. There was also said to be an Oz film before this one that featured hand colored stills (imagine how tedious that must have been!), but overtime, the film decomposed and it is no longer in existence. Another famous Oz movie that came out before the 1939 film was 1925's Wizard of Oz, directed by Larry Semon. Out of all the Oz interpretations, this one is the most different from Baum's original story. The magical elements from the book such as talking scarecrows, tin woodmen, and lions are gone, for the Kansas farmhands (played by Semon, Oliver Hardy, and Spencer Bell) disguise themselves as the characters instead of the characters actually existing. Once again, the Lion's part is limited, and like in the 1902 play, the Wicked Witch of the West and Toto are absent. The villain in this take of Oz is a miser named Prime Minister Kruel, who rules the Land of Oz with an iron fist. Dorothy, who is ironically played by a woman named Dorothy Dwan, is revealed to be the lost princess of Oz named Dorothea, a concept obviously derived from Princess Ozma in the books. The Wizard, played in this film by silent film legend Charles Murray, is more or less of a lumbering henchman who ultimately proves vital in the film's overall plot and story. I also should point out that Oliver Hardy's farmhand, who becomes the Tin Woodman, becomes a villainous trooper of Prime Minister Kruel and chases the other main characters around Kruel's palace at the film's climax. That's right, the Tin Man becomes a villain. And although this film features Oliver Hardy and not Stan Laurel, this film has been associated with Laurel and Hardy many times throughout the years and many confuse Larry Semon with Stan Laurel.

Someone who always wanted to make an Oz picture was Walt Disney. In fact, his 1937 animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarves inspired MGM to make The Wizard of Oz in the first place. When the rights to Baum's remaining books became available, Disney purchased them, intending to make an animated Oz film in his signature style. A common myth has it that Walt Disney also held the rights to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series, but that is not true, for Tolkien despised Disney's work. For reasons unknown, Disney never got around to making his Oz movie, and his planned live action film The Rainbow Road to Oz, which was going to star his original Mickey Mouse Club, didn't even make it past the drawing board. Disney also had Oz themed rides for Disneyland in mind, but they never got made either. After his death in 1966, Disney's company fell far from it's former glory, releasing flops such as The Black Cauldron. The same year of The Black Cauldron's release, Disney Studios finally released their take on the land of Oz in Return to Oz directed by Walter Murch. Like The Black Cauldron, this film bombed terribly at the box office and fell under the reign of many critics, some saying that it degenerated what the Wizard of Oz stood for. But since it's release, it has garnished a MASSIVE cult following. I myself have come to adore the film, even if there are some elements in it that don't really add up, in my eyes at least. It combines what we love about the original novels and what we love about the 39 film and blends in a lot of 80s special effects and brilliant stop motion sequences. It is also much darker (no, MUCH MUCH MUCH darker) than the 39 film. Sure the 39 film had Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch, creepy blue faced flying monkeys and peed off trees who don't like apples being picked off of them, but this film has some of the creepiest imagery you will ever see in a movie.

The main villain, the Nome King, who made his debut in 1927's The Gnome King of Oz, is one of the most visually striking villains I've ever seen. One minute, he's Nicol Williamson in rock like makeup, the other minute, he's a brilliant stop motion creation, reminiscent of something Ray Harryhausen would come up with. The secondary villain, Mombi, is a combination of witch Mombi from the original novels and Princess Langwidere, who has the ability to change her heads. After the Nome King turns the land of Oz to stone, she steals the heads from some of the women living in the Emerald City. When Dorothy returns to Oz, Mombi plans on taking her head and locks her away in the upstairs attic. With the help of new friends Tik-Tok, Jack Pumpkinhead and a moose head called the Gump, Dorothy is able to escape and they go looking for the Scarecrow, who ruled the Emerald City after the departure of the Wizard.  Coming across the Nome King's fortress, the group has to go through a trial where they search for the Scarecrow, who has been turned into an ornament. After her other three friends fail and get turned into ornaments, Dorothy not only has to find the Scarecrow, but her other friends as well. In the end, madness unfolds as Dorothy revives the Scarecrow and her other friends and the Nome King grows into a giant rock monster, eventually being defeated when Dorothy's hen Billina lays an egg in his mouth. With the land of Oz restored (as well as the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion) and the wicked Mombi imprisoned, Dorothy prepares to return to Kansas but before she does, she releases Princess Ozma, the once great ruler of Oz and Ozma vows to make Dorothy return to Oz whenever she desires to come back. Dorothy goes back to Kansas, reunites with her aunt and uncle, and at her newly built house, she sees Princess Ozma in her mirror, Ozma instructing Dorothy to keep the land of Oz a secret. It goes to show that Dorothy's adventures in Oz may not have been a dream after all.

There are so many more interpretations of Oz, I've barely boiled the potato. There's of course The Wiz, Journey Back To Oz, the animated Oz TV series from the 90s, the episode of The Shirley Temple Show that was based on The Marvelous Land of Oz, the Disney Oz records, the Marvel Comics version of The Wizard of Oz, and many, many, many, many more. And all of this couldn't have been if it wasn't for L. Frank Baum and his tremendous contribution to the world of storytelling. Baum is the Bomb (literally) and he surely went over the rainbow and back again, creating a universe unlike any other written or illustrated. And with each take on Oz, the universe he brought forward gets bigger and richer, bringing us entertainment and delight and some of the most iconic images that will forever stick out in our brains. He created one of the first American fairy tales and to this day, his Land of Oz has captivated millions and taken them beyond the barn, proving that dreams  that you dare to dream can come true.

The Golden Automaton

"I think the one thing that has really kept me going is the tremendous affection for the character, for a" character who's just benign, delightful, weird, sad, lonely. I think we'd all be glad to know him.

-Anthony Daniels

The time has come for me to talk about one of my all time favorite movie characters, and a person like me, who's roots are deeply immersed in the cinema, surely has a slew of them. Most of them range from Disney characters to famous comedy trios to supernatural super humans to monstrous, yet benevolent entities. But the character I want to chat about today is a character who often gets a huge backlash from the fan community. Some view him as an symbol of homosexuality, others view him as an utterly annoying bucket of bolts that puts The Phantom Menace's Jar Jar Binks to shame. But I personally view him as a relatable fantasy character, a character with similarities and perspectives to myself. He's determined, he's headstrong, he's mischievous, he's outlandish, he's convoluted minded, and most importantly, he's straight out optimistic. He's a character that's like a mirror (physically and mentally) and we can see a lot of ourselves in him. When the going gets tough, he's always there to brighten the mood a bit and keep our chins up. He's a fantastic specimen (or robot), a wonderful cybernetic creature called C-3P0, and when you hear that name, you can immediately envision this character in your skull. He's THAT legendary, he's THAT iconic, he's THAT relatable.

I remember the first time I saw this character. It was during an airing of Episode IV on television, right around the time when the Special Editions were in theaters. I WAS AFRAID OF HIM. For reasons still unknown to me, I was quite terrified of the golden guy, even to the point where I vowed never to watch Star Wars for the rest of my life. Sure I was afraid of Darth Vader and his dark Mufasa voice, but the way C-3P0 moved and walked about, it just wasn't my sugar coated lollipop. I preferred characters with moving lips and adventurous personalities, not reluctant, stubborn, craven, prissy shiny dudes with British accents. Overtime, my deep fear was conquered, but Threepio still loomed in my mind for many years following. I was not the least bit into Star Wars as I am now, but if there was one thing about Star Wars that stuck out like a Looney Tunes character at Disneyland, it was the metallic man with the luminous eyes and all that he stood for. His distinctive voice, his mannerisms, his persona, it all was fresh in my pink brain, and I soon realized that Threepio was one of my all time favorite Star Wars characters, although, as I said before, I was not really into the Star Wars craze. It wasn't until the release of Attack of the Clone when I really began to taste the Star "Warsness" and everything it had to offer. While traveling to a basketball game with my father, we stopped at a small 7-Eleven like store and he bought my brother and I Star Wars PEZ dispensers. My brother got Darth Vader and I got C-3P0. HOW ABOUT THAT? You can see where my love for the character reached a milestone high level. It was only a matter of time before I got my hands on the Lego Star Wars Droid Escape Pod set while shopping with my mother. Not only did it come with a Lego representation of the Escape Pod and R2-D2 (yes, I love little R2 to pieces as well), but it also came with my very first C-3P0 Lego figure. Still to this day, it is hands down my favorite Lego mini figure of all time, even if better, updated versions of the figure have been released throughout the years along with other sets.

       

Several times, I have been tempted to buy a C-3P0 action figure, but my temptations subsided as I became more fascinated with Star Wars Lego. One time, I saw a C-3P0 Die Cast figure in a K-Mart, but bought a Disney's Tarzan gift set instead. One time, I was about to buy an AOTC C-3P0 with attachable armor, but I opted for a Qui-Gon Jinn vs. Destroyer Droid Lego instead. Years down the road, I would come to regret not picking up that figure, for it is quite rare and expensive in the world of collecting nowadays. Then, on Christmas 2005 and several months after the release of Revenge of the Sith, I got my mitts on my very first C-3P0 action figure, as shiny as a newly produced coin. Together with the talking R2-D2 figurine, they made for quite a display in my toy room, and even if the figures are several years old now and R2's battery is dead, they still remain some of my most cherished action figures. Later, I was able to get the Vintage Collection C-3P0, a very similar figure to the AOTC C-3P0, for you are able to remove some of his platings to reveal the mechanical, wiry skeleton underneath. There is also his Clone Wars representation where you hold his head up to a light and his eyes light up. That is as Threepio as it gets. Yes, it is quite obvious that I am deeply fascinated with action figures of the golden automaton, but we are barely scratching the surface of why I truly love and admire this character. There's much more to this layer cake.

With a fair amount of Star Wars in my bloodstream, I finally sat down and gave all six films a thorough watch. Unlike most Star Wars fans, who saw the original films then the prequels (or vice versa), I actually saw the films in quite a discombobulated order. I saw The Phantom Menace at a young age, then I saw The Empire Strikes Back, then A New Hope, then Return of the Jedi, then Attack of the Clones, then Revenge of the Sith. So it was time for me to see these films in chronological order to get the story and the entire grasp of George Lucas' vision. Watching the films several bazillion times now, I think C-3P0 is the character that sticks out to me the most. Sure, there are many other marvelous characters in the films, everyone from Yoda to Boba Fett to Darth Maul to Chewbacca and yes, little R2, but if there is one character I can see myself portraying, it's Threepio, the most polite, yet most dumped upon character in the entire universe. He's a guy who's just trying to make his way in the universe as Jango Fett would say, but he always finds himself in some sort of turmoil or disarray. Several things never go as planned and he often finds himself (literally) in pieces.

Everyone who has seen all the Star Wars films knows exactly what I'm talking about, and it's very hard at times not to feel sorry for the protocol droid, especially when he's running after the mischievous, eccentric R2-D2, the complete opposite of Threepio's character. R2 is like Jerry while Threepio is like Tom. While R2 is getting all the upper hands and shortcuts, poor Threepio is getting beaten and battered by whatever perils he's entangled in. As Threepio follows R2's trail, he falls into a pit of countless miseries, often getting disassembled or just plain out wrecked to smithereens. Another common duo parallel to R2 and Threepio is Laurel and Hardy. Anyone who is familiar with both duos can point out the similarities almost instantly. R2 is obviously like Stan Laurel, an often quite yet "speaks for himself" kinda guy who always instigates a problem bigger than himself. Then there is Oliver Hardy, a perfect match to Threepio, a person who always finds himself at the very center of the mess Laurel started in the first place. If you want a LH film that perfectly showcases this matter, it's the 1934 adaptation of Victor Herbert's opera, Babes in Toyland, more commonly known today as March of the Wooden Soldiers.

In the film, Laurel's character of Stannie Dum wastes all his money on a toy while Mother Peep desperately needs money to pay the mortgage to the wicked Silas Barnaby. Poor Ollie Dee (Hardy's character) has to deal with their grumpy boss at the toy factory and ask him for a raise so he can get the money for Mother Peep. More chaos ensues when one of Stannie's toy soldiers at 6 foot tall reigns havoc on the toy factory, angering the boss to the point where he fires both Stannie and Ollie. Stannie then gets Ollie into Barnaby's house to try and get the mortgage, but he is caught and they are both sentenced to exile in Bogeyland. Before they go, they are to be dunked in a pool of cold water. Poor Ollie is dunked several times and nearly drowns in the water, but Little Bo Peep agrees to marry Barnaby, who agrees to drop the charges against Stannie and Ollie and pay off Mother Peep's mortgage as a wedding present. As a result, Stannie doesn't have to get dunked, much to Ollie's dismay, who pushes Stannie into the water out of anger. You can clearly see how Threepio's characteristics really parallel that of Oliver Hardy. Hardy may be tubby like R2, but he has an act for getting into Laurel's cyclone of terror and dealing with his troubles firsthand, much like how Threepio is always getting raveled into R2's thick web of troubles and suffering tremendously. His anger and frustration is also similar to that of Threepio's, for Threepio is always expressing his angst and disapproval of certain situations. He and R2 are always bickering with one another, again a very similar thing to Laurel and Hardy.

Another character Threepio can be compared to is Zazu from The Lion King. Poor little Zazu, a doubtful, by the book hornbill is crushed and mauled and BOILED by several animals while young Simba (much like little R2) journeys through the pride lands and the elephant graveyard. It's obvious that The Lion King came out a long while after the first Star Wars trilogy was released, but one can't help but feel that Threepio was one of the many inspirations for Zazu's character. He's a big headed bird with good intentions, but in the end, he always gets a good bite taken out of him. He also (much like Threepio) can't really defend himself against adversaries, and often finds himself at the mercy of the enemy, but with a little luck and wit, he always manages to weasel his way out of the peril. He's also very formal and outspoken, very much like Threepio, and when someone is looking for something he knows will be troublesome, he's the first to express his objection and fears of the situation. Like Threepio's companions in the Star Wars universe, the characters of The Lion King could give two farts about Zazu, as Simba and Nala leave him behind as he is crushed like a nat between the ground and a hippopotamus buttocks. They are constantly annoyed by Zazu and don't really care what becomes of him, similar to the characters in Star Wars, who wouldn't care if Threepio WAS sent to the spice mines of Kessel and smashed into who knows what.

DON'T MIND THE GREY LINE 

Now you're probably asking yourself how this relates to me, and why I think I can see myself playing Threepio throughout each Star Wars chapter. Well I, like many of us living on mother Earth, have had some pretty similar experiences to Threepio, experiences of chaos and displeasure. I myself have been the annoyance of people at times, and when I had things planned out from head to toe, things would go haywire and backfire in my face. People would chastise me, make me feel like a crap sandwich, and then I would self loath to myself, much like how Threepio self loathes about not saving Luke and his companions in the trash compactor in A New Hope. Of course Luke and the others turn out alright in the end, but in the grand scheme of things, Threepio felt pity and regret, like I would at times, like a lot of us when things don't go as we plan them. In his own way, Threepio is the most human out of all the characters in the Star Wars universe, for he is flawed, like all of us, and really does his best to make something of himself, even when everyone turns around and takes a dump in his golden face. Threepio represents the doubtful, yet determined side of the human and shares a lot of the customs and perspectives we earthlings shed from our brains each and everyday. Some days we can have a feeling of warm and profound confidence, other days we can have a feeling of worry or inferiority. It all depends on the situations we are in at the moment, and Threepio certainly expresses his feelings and doubts in whatever situations he is in. This is the prime reason why we either love him or hate him, because although he is a robot who was assembled out of the blue by a young slave boy, he acts very much like an average everyday human, an average everyday human with a purpose and a way of looking at things. He's a small sliver of a much larger world, or in this case, a much larger galaxy, but he really pulls through in the end, and some of the most important events in the Star Wars story wouldn't unfold the way they did if it weren't for Threepio's actions, accidental or intentional.

The main reason why I like Threepio so much is because he's so formal and straight forward. His design, while very detailed, is simple and to the point, and the fact that he was based upon a character in one of my all time favorite sci-fi films makes him even more memorable in my eyes. The Maschinenmensch Maria in Fritz Lang's landmark sci-fi thriller Metropolis was the prime inspiration for C-3P0's design, right down to Ralph McQuarrie's legendary concept drawings for the very first Star Wars film. You could also root the overall design and mannerisms of C-3P0 back to the year 1900, when L. Frank Baum wrote the classic child's tale The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, later adapted into the famous 1939 MGM musical starring Judy Garland. The Tin Woodman (played in the movie by Jack Haley), moves in a slinky, robotic, mechanical way and expresses mixed emotions in certain parts of the tale, again very much like C-3P0 in each Star Wars film. He also has a tendency to rust or have his joints harden, much like Threepio, who always needs an oil bath to clean him of harmful dirt clotting and caked platings. I also can't help but feel that young Anakin Skywalker is very much like young Dorothy Gale in Baum's masterpiece, for he assembles Threepio out of his own wit and curiosity, much like how Dorothy and the Scarecrow help get the Tin Woodman back on his feet after several years of rusting. It's a pity though that Anakin treats Threepio like stinking garbage later on in life, like he is ashamed of creating the protocol droid and wishes he could go back in time and prevent his younger self from building him in the first place. It's very much how Dr. Victor Frankenstein is ashamed of creating the monster, abandoning him soon after creating him because he is horrified by his own monstrosity. But Threepio is certainly no monstrosity.

The man behind Threepio's gold plating is Anthony Daniels, an interesting stage and movie actor who still is devoted to the role this very day. He, along with R2-D2's Kenny Baker, is one of the very few actors to be involved in all six Star Wars films. But would you believe that he never really wanted to be in Star Wars to begin with? Daniels hated sci-fi and has stated several times that he never wanted to meet with George Lucas to talk about the role of Threepio. He was appalled by the idea of playing a robot and when he finally decided to play Threepio, he was in a state of extreme discomfort, for he had to work in the hot Tunisian desert while wearing the Threepio armor and he couldn't sit down while he was in the costume. Nevertheless, Daniels prevailed as Threepio and Daniels' distinct mime abilities, which he often used on stage, made the automaton more believable in many ways. The way Threepio walked, moved his arms and walloped really made you think you were watching an ACTUAL robot, not an actor wearing a robot costume. Threepio, in his own way, is like the lost star of the Silent Movie Era, living in the footsteps of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The silent movie stars of the early days of cinema also played a huge part in the development of Ahmed Best's infamous character in The Phantom Menace, a character met with just as much venom as Threepio. But when Threepio gets criticism from the media for "being gay" or just "plain out annoying, I always like to remember one little thing. You all know that Christopher Lee not only played Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels, but he also played the wicked Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and recently The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. But would you believe that Anthony Daniels was also involved in The Lord of the Rings universe? He played the voice of Legolas in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's first two volumes in the LOTR story. THAT'S RIGHT. In it's own way, Threepio is the Elven archer Legolas. So every time someone criticizes and makes jokes about the golden automaton, you just tell them that Threepio and Legolas are one in the same. That will make everyone fly through the roof faster than you can say Bob's your uncle. Orlando Bloom, eat your heart out!

And of course Threepio has had many outgoings these past 35 years since Star Wars' debut. He's had his own cereal, he's been part of the Star Wars radio drama, he's a part of the new Star Tours ride in Disney World, he's in both Clone Wars animated series, he's in the cult classic Droids cartoon, he appeared in an episode of The Simpsons getting clobbered by a Cylon from Battlestar Galactica, he appeared in all three Family Guy Star Wars parodies played by Glenn Quagmire of course, he appeared in two episodes of Sesame Street teaching children about numbers, he appeared in The Muppet Show, he appeared in the appalling Star Wars Holiday Special, and of course, he's one of the very few characters to appear in all six Star Wars films. Hopefully, he will be making an appearance in the upcoming Disney trilogy directed by J.J. Abrams, for to have Star Wars films (set within the Anakin/Luke time period) without Threepio would be like to having Star Trek (set within the original series time period) without Spock. He's the voice of the entire saga and the most recognizable character in the series, even if the series doesn't entirely focus on him. When you see Threepio, you immediately think Star Wars, and he's one of the many elements of the series that makes it fun, exciting and thrilling as thrilling can get. He's also one of the many elements the audience can relate too and sympathize with. That's the reason why I think he's my second favorite Star Wars character (the first shall remain unnamed...for now) and the reason he means so much to me. Sure he's flawed, but that's the exact reason why I like him. He's flawed, just like you and me, and it makes him more than just a robot. He's like a standalone being in many ways. He's just the kind of guy I would like to sit down and have lunch with. I mean, come on, WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH THREEPIO? It certainly would be something!

I just hope he doesn't kick me and call me an overweight glob of grease.

Threepio, we love you.

Irony In Video Games: Super Mario Bros

I was pondering on what to write about today with little success. Should I speak of a pastime story, a story of a character I incepted in my youth, a review or analysis of a movie I just saw, or should I magically sprout something completely random from the giant wad of bubble gum in my skull?

That's exactly what I'll do.

I have been thinking a lot about video games lately (as always), but not the first person shooters or the games of tattooed fellows fighting mythological creatures. I have been thinking about the classics, the games that made the industry what it is today. You know the ones I am speaking of. Games like The Legend of Zelda and Sonic the Hedgehog come to mind, don't they? But we are not talking about those classics today, no sir! We are talking about a video game that changed the world of gaming for the rest of time. We are talking about a game with as much plot as an 80s action thriller and a Disney animated fantasy. We are talking about a game with legendary characters, iconic settings and environments. We are talking about the classic, the masterpiece, the video game piece of gold that is Super Mario Bros. What can be said about Super Mario Bros. that hasn't already been said at least a gazillion times already? The Italian plumbers, the Goombas, the Toads, the castles, the mushrooms, the fire flowers, the Hammer Bros, the list of characters and items that come to mind when you hear the title of the game goes on and on and on. Like Walt Disney before him, Shigeru Miyamoto has cemented himself as a world changing wonder, creating whimsical fantasies and creatures in a world far different from our very own. Mario is like Mickey, and when you hear the word Nintendo, this overweight mustached plumber jumps right into your head, for he has left an impact like no other character in history has been able to produce.

But what is the irony of Super Mario Bros. that sticks out to me the most? What really sets it in the pot as a game unlike any other game and what BOINGS every time I play the game on an NES or SNES? In other words, what do I like most about the great pixelated treasure and what really sets it apart from most titles of the same video game category? Lets put on our red shirts and blue suspenders and head to the Mushroom Kingdom to have a look!

First of all, lets have a look at our main protagonists, Mario and Luigi. When you play the game alone, you play as Mario. When you play with another person, you play as Mario and the other person plays as Luigi. In the world of early 8-bit titles, there is only a brief explanation of the characters and what they are after, but we can pretty much play out the characters' motivations in our heads without giving it much thought. Mario and Luigi are off to save Princess Peach from the dreaded King Koopa Bowser. It's plain, simple and easy for a gamer of any age to comprehend. And if you really ponder on the matter, you will realize that this harkens back to many tales from decades before. Jumping on the Disney wagon once more, it's very much how the Prince has to free Snow White from the curse of her evil stepmother, with the Seven Dwarves helping along the way. The prince in many ways is like both Mario and Luigi, Princess Peach is like Snow White, and I can't help but think up that the Dwarves are very much like the Toads. SMB also has a Wizard of Oz vibe to it, for Mario and Luigi have to rescue the Princess from King Bowser just like the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion have to rescue Dorothy from the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West. The Mushroom Kingdom has many wondrous creatures just like the Land of Oz has many wondrous creatures, for Toads are like Munchkins, killer trees are like Piranha Plants, and Flying Monkeys are like Koopa Paratroopas.



And I'd be a monkey's uncle if I didn't compare SMB to the cinema glory that is Star Wars. Don't you think that Luke Skywalker and Han Solo are very much like Mario and Luigi. After all, they have to fight over the girl just like Luke and Han have to fight over Princess Leia. We may not see it, but we know that it's swelling up inside of them, and one of them is destine to get the hottie while the other gets diddly jack. One of the many inspirations for Mario's character was Popeye the Sailor. In fact, Miyamoto originally wanted to make a Popeye game, but he couldn't afford the rights to the character, so he proceeded to making a game of an entirely new idea, the first game to feature Mario, Donkey Kong. So yes, in many ways, you could compare Mario to the pipe smoking, spinach eating cartoon sailor man. Both Mario and Popeye are thrown into unexpected situations and journeys, most of them involving rescuing the girl from a villainous entity. Both characters eat a vegetable of some sort to get maximum strength. In Mario's case, it's a mushroom, in Popeye's case, it's spinach. And just like I mentioned earlier, Mario and Luigi fight over the girl, much like Luke and Han fight over Princess Leia and Popeye and Bluto fight over Olive Oyl. It's the traditional wrestling match to see who gets the pretty gal and it usually ends with someone falling on their rump while the other gets a big smooch on the lips. There are countless Popeye cartoons where that happens to poor Bluto, and of course, it's Luigi who is shoved aside while Mario and Peach share some puppy love.



The plot is straight forward as said earlier, but there are many elements of the plot that are shrouded in mystery. Why does Bowser capture the Princess? How do Mario and Luigi get involved in the mission to save her? Why is the Mushroom Kingdom overrun by Bowser's minions? Is it all part of a scheme so Bowser can take control of the Kingdom? It is all in the shadows, but to be honest, I think it's kinda neat that way. It leaves you with that feeling where you come up with your own fan scenarios and speculations and you develop plot points of your very own. Maybe Bowser captures the Princess so he can marry her and Mario and Luigi work as Peach's personal protectors. Maybe the Princess' capture was all set up by the Princess herself as a means to test Mario and Luigi's timing and reflexes. Who knows what the holes in the plot are all about, but I really enjoy coming up with my own sort of story to accompany the game. Although the game has a solid, run of the mill plot, it is always a pleasure to come up with your own plot twists and meanings to help expand the story of the game and in many ways, better it, from a certain point of view of course. After all, many movies, novels, comic books, and other video games follow the same formula. How is it that Batman could escape the Batwing before it explodes with the nuclear device in The Dark Knight Rises? You just don't know, but with a little thinking juice, you could come up with your own thing and you could stick to it like glue.

As for the villain, I have a lot to say about good old Bowser. He's kinda like the relentless dirtbag that keeps coming back for more, after all, he has captured Princess Peach in many of the Marion sequels to follow. And you would think after all those captures, Peach would train herself to defend herself against Bowser whenever he's at it again. But nope, she just keeps that pretty smile on her face and gets hurled away to Bowser's castle of doom so he can do God knows what with her! Anyway, Bowser is very much like the common, sinister villain of motion pictures and timeless stories. He's like a monstrous reptilian version of Darth Vader and the Koopas are like his stormtroopers, following his orders and fighting off anyone that stands in his way. Of course, it's the Mario Bros. that stand in his way, and like Luke and Han before them, they are able to wipe out the main enemies' soldiers so they can press forward and rescue the hottie from any harm, if you play the game right of course. Who doesn't love stomping down on those vicious turtle abominations! But what makes Bowser so unique in my eyes is that he has doppelgängers of himself scattered all throughout the Mushroom Kingdom to fool Mario and Luigi into thinking it's really him. Remember when you would get to one of Bowser's many palaces, make your way to the end, fight off the Bowser clone and have an obnoxious Toad tell you that the princess is in another castle? It creates an odd form of suspense and it keeps you playing until you eventually get to the real Bowser and Princess Peach. Like many movies and novels, it has you suckered in all the time. But believe it or not, Bowser is not the first to pull off this diabolical scheme.



In the Fantastic Four comic books, the villainous nemesis Dr. Doom has thousands of robotic replicas of himself to fool the Fantastic Four and trick them into thinking that it's actually him. In the Marvel Movie Universe, Loki is able to produce multiple replicas of himself to trick the heroes (particularly Thor) and knock them to the floor. And I can't tell you how many horror movies I've seen where the protagonist kills who they think is the villain, when it is really someone dressed up exactly like the villain. Remember that scene in Halloween 2 where they run the car into someone who is dressed up exactly like Michael Myers? It all ties in nicely with this thread from the original Super Mario Bros. and it makes Bowser not only a unique video game enemy, but a unique enemy in general. He also lives in a palace just like many classic villains of the era. Instead of using magical spells and lightsabers, he uses hammers, it doesn't get any better than that! I also should point out that Bowser is a lot like a cartoony kid friendly version of Ganon from The Legend of Zelda, but that's just how I look at him as they are two completely different monsters with completely different plans of terror. Bowser also reminds me of Godzilla and the Kraken from Clash of the Titans, for they are all ghastly and reptilian in appearance.

I could go on for an eternity about the irony of this game and what it all reminds me of, but I just wanted to sum this all up in one solid blogpost. I will point out that the early stages of SMB look like a pixelated version of the Shire from Lord of the Rings and that the underwater levels look like something straight out of Atlantis, but that pretty much sums it all up on the irony of Super Mario Bros. inarguable one of the best video games to hit the face of mother Earth. Whether it's the All Stars version or the version for the original NES, Super Mario Bros. is a game that will certainly delight generations of game goers who are looking for a game to please, satisfy and blow away. Mamma Mia!

The Wacky Adventures of Harold the Hound

I recall a story I wrote for a sixth grade project that featured a yellow anthropomorphic canine called Harold. This critter, unlike the winged Yam Yam, was a wonderer similar to Indiana Jones or Buck Rogers because he always stumbled onto a place that got him into some sort of trouble and danger. In the adventure I wrote, he buys a boat with some birthday money (a LOT of birthday money I might add) and he sets sail onto the sea. Suddenly, a storm comes and the boat crashes into an island inhabited by tribal hounds, hounds that remind me of the Skull Island tribal men from King Kong. The hounds try to attack Harold but he throws some candy at them as they eat it in fascination. Soon after, the tribal hounds get sick and turn pink. Luckily, Harold always keeps a handy bottle of Pepto Bismal with him wherever he goes. So he gives them some of the minty medicine and for some odd reason I can't explain, the tribal men turn into vicious mutant hounds who try to gobble up Harold for brunch. Thinking fast, Harold fixes up his boat, but the mutant hounds break it again anyway. Thinking again, Harold gives the tribal mutants an antidote and they revert back to their original selves. Realizing that Harold has helped them, the tribal hounds help Harold fix his boat and he leaves the island with a thankful wave goodbye.

There you have it friends. Unfortunately, I have misplaced my sixth grade project on Harold so I am unable to show you the pictures, but I do recall that I received an A+ on the assignment. Talk about a character that is not only exciting, but he helps you get through school as well!

Here is a photo of the little devil. He's so cute, he puts Scooby Doo and Snoopy to shame!