Stopping by Oz on a Snowy Evening

Being snowbound today, which curtailed my original evening plans, I found myself watching "The Wizard of Oz" on TV. It was the first time I'd seen the movie the whole way through since I was a kid, and I had the pleasure of discovering (or rediscovering) the following:

1. I still wish Toto were my dog.

2. Judy Garland's Dorothy would be annoying if she weren't so adorable.

3. The whole Munchkinland sequence is shockingly trippy.

4. Glinda has a double chin. (Not knocking the actress, Billie Burke, who was 54 at the time and looked damned good for her age.)

5. The flying monkeys are still scary, but even scarier is the sight of nasty neighbor-lady transforming into the wicked witch during the tornado. That totally freaked me out as a kid.

6. Weakest song: "If I Were King of the Forest."

7. Best sidekick: Scarecrow, of course! Though I always found the Tin Man rather charming, too.

8. Best line: "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"

9. I don't think I cried when I watched the movie as a kid, but it makes me cry now. Not sure why. Something about Garland's performance, I think.

10. The movie holds up. Not that that should come as a surprise.

And now I have "If I Only Had a Brain/We're Off to See the Wizard" stuck in my head. Oh well, I've had far worse songs rattling around in there.