Is the Wizard of Oz Horror?
 

Would you consider the 1939 movie the Wizard of Oz horror?

No.


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No, definitely not, it is a family movie.

I know exactly where natedog's gonna go with this. The tornado. The witch. The monkeys. The forest.

Still, I've been watching this movie ever since I was tiny little tyke, when the only way to see it was in its annual televised appearance. Even seen it on the big screen once. A glorious event. Never once been scared by it.

Nope. Fantasy fairy-tale.

No, but to be honest when I watched it as a little child it did scare me. I mean, essentially you've got a robot with an axe, an evil witch etc. You could definitely argue that it borders on horror for little children.

I think a lot of little kids were a bit scared of it, but the same could be said about the Mumi Trolls (just googled it, looks like you call them the Moomins in English), if any of you are familiar with them... they were very popular here in Scandinavia when I was a kid, but the stories could be pretty scary from a kid's point of view, even though it was a childrens show.

Listening to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" gives me nightmares, so yeah maybe it's horror.

Just kidding. It's a family favorite. Seen it a million times. Not horror. Although some of it's like a bad acid trip, and the subject matter could lend itself to a good horror remake. I've never seen Sam Raimi's version. Maybe there's a horror element?

It's not horror, but witches were the main thing I was scared of as a kid, so I found it terrifying.

The scene where it zooms in on the witch's cackling mug in the crystal ball still makes me uncomfortable.

Most certainly not. It's a kid's movie, or in a broader sense, a fantasy. Just as the Lord of the Rings films contain some "scary" looking creatures within the plot lines, but I wouldn't regard these as part of the horror genre either, just fantasy/adventure. Horror movies, to me, have to give off a certain vibe throughout the entire context of the plot.

That synopsis drips with awesome.

I never thought of it as horror. My fiancee has nightmares about the monkeys but I think they're the bomb.

That's an interesting question. For a kid under the age of six, I think it is. As a fan of the books, I think there are certain volumes that veer closer to Dark Fantasy. The Oz books influenced Clive Barker and the 1939 MGM film influenced many horror directors, check "Pan's Labyrinth" for instance.

Wizard of Oz was not a horror film. The main characters are not confronted with real tragedy or horrific decisions. There are fanciful characters but none of them really is what specifically constitutes a monster. I would also say that the very nature of the film being a musical works very much against it ever being considered horror.

Are the ideas within the story the sort of thing that could be perceived as scary? Certainly. A man in search of a heart. Another in search of a brain. Witches and witchcraft. Flying monkeys. All have potential to be something scary or twisted but in the 1939 classic, they are not.

At the right age all of that is terrifying.

Not sure what age that would be. I was never once scared of Wizard of Oz and I have seen it a number of times starting from quite a young age (around 4 or so). Different for everyone I suppose.

It could certainly be seen as scary for some. Horror movie? I think not.

If I showed my daughter the movie, now, she probably would not be scared. She's 2 and her favorite doll is Jigsaw so I'm not sure she has reference for what can be scary.

I was scared of The Secret of Nimph when I was little but again never looked at it as a horror. I'm also terrified of St. Bernards because of Cujo.

There were scary elements to The Wizard of Oz but I wouldn't see it as a horror movie.

I could actually see this being classified in some rights as a horror. Creature of the black lagoon, invisible man, etc are classified as "horror" but not scary at all. while the witch and flying monkeys are creepy.

My mom said the only thing that gave her nightmares was the flying monkeys.

My kids get freaked out by the movie.

It's not horror, but I guess kids have been so scared by it that one of its scenes was included in Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

In addition, it was a nightmare to make as there were a lot of issues. Margaret Hamilton (the wicked witch) got burned when she vanishes after first meeting Dorothy. Her standin also got burned during another scene. Also, the person who was originally cast as the Tin Man developed a severe allergy to his makeup. Finally, there's the rumor that you can see someone hanging from a tree in the background.

Ya, I wouldn't classify Wizard of Oz as a Horror film, but heck ya, it has scary scenes, especially to children... I'm thinking of when the tree first moves against Dorothy, and when the North Witch starts throwing frickin fire balls at them, and then the whole Flying Monkey scene, and then the whole scene where the North Witch sets up the death hourglass... really everything from the tree till the witch dies. ::big grin::

It's horror. But more than horror. It's horror that masquerades as a kids film. It sneaks horror in. Like a sweet with a spider in the middle.

That scared Me as well. Other than that, a great family film.

It's obviously a fairy tale. I guess the horror side is the witch in it but she isn't even that scary to say the least.

I find OZ itself both enthralling and creepy. There's just something about it that I can't put my finger on. I think I have a fear of heaven and Oz is surely heaven in a metaphorical sense. I find kids stuff quite creepy. The Little Nemo cartoons creep me out too.

https://www.pinterest.com/butchleger...n-slumberland/

Yeah it's horror! That and Mommie Dearest. Some truly scary women in those two movies! ::EEK!::

it is a horror movie.
 

Lots of people say the movie that most scared them when they were kids was Bambi. Wizard of Oz might be a family movie, but I was definitely scared at the talking trees, and the scene where the Witch sets the Scarecrow's arm on fire.
Pinnochio is a Disney movie, but I would be a little concerned about little kids seeing it, especially the scene where the kids turn into donkeys.