After the Wizard

Lore & Background

After the Wizard was written and directed by Hugh Gross, premiering in 2011 in Kingman, Kansas. The film's premise involves a 12-year-old Kansas orphan who, during a difficult time, imagines that the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman must travel to Kansas to find Dorothy, as things have not gone well in Oz since the Wizard left. On their journey, they mistake school children for munchkins and navigate a New York City train terminal to arrive in Kansas. Meanwhile, the head of the orphanage is exasperated with the girl's way of dealing with her loss and emotional trauma.

Reader's Guide

After the Wizard is significant as an independent adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic novel, reimagining the story from the perspective of a modern orphan. The film earned actress Jordan Van Vranken a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a DVD Film: Young Actress at the 34th Young Artist Awards. Shot across multiple states—California, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York—the film represents a modest, grassroots production that extends the Oz mythology into a contemporary setting. Its legacy lies in its independent spirit and its recognition within the Young Artist Awards, highlighting emerging talent in DVD filmmaking.

Did You Know?

• The film was shot at various locations in California, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, and New York.
• Jordan Van Vranken won a Young Artist Award for her performance in the film.
• The DVD was released on August 7, 2012, distributed by Breaking Glass Pictures.

Production & Creative Vision

The 1982 anime feature marked Toho's first participation in producing an animated feature, with Yoshimitsu Banno and Katsumi Ueno serving as executive producers. Directed by Fumihiko Takayama and written by Akira Miyazaki, the film was produced in 1981. A striking aspect of its visual identity was its Western character design, which stood out as unusual in the anime landscape of the era. This stylistic choice can be traced to Topcraft's concurrent work for American studio Rankin/Bass. Dorothy's look specifically drew from the "That Girl in Wonderland" episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, also animated by Topcraft, in which a character imagines herself as Dorothy. The voice casting carried a link to the 1939 MGM classic as well, since Mari Okamoto had previously voiced Dorothy in the 1974 TBS Japanese dub of that film. Miyazaki would later return to the Oz property, writing for the 1986 anime television series adaptation.

Fidelity to Baum's Novel

The 1982 film is widely noted for its close adherence to L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, setting it apart from many other screen adaptations. Its primary deviation is the journey to Glinda, though even that element is presented as slightly less of a deus ex machina than in the MGM version. The film does borrow the red "magic shoes" from the later MGM adaptation rather than the silver slippers specified in Baum's text. Interestingly, the production shows familiarity with the broader Oz canon: the houses feature the same two-chimneyed domes seen in John R. Neill's artwork, despite Neill never having illustrated the first Oz book. Glinda's visual design also draws from Neill's illustrations of Princess Ozma. Perhaps most notably, the film is one of the rare adaptations to depict the Wizard's multiple forms as he appears to each traveler—the Beautiful-Winged Lady (shown as a puppet rather than a costumed man, as in the novel), the Terrible Beast resembling a rhinoceros, and the Ball of Fire.

Music & Soundtrack

The film's musical score was composed by Jō Hisaishi—before he became synonymous with Studio Ghibli—alongside Yuichiro Oda, with performances by the Columbia Orchestra. Keisuke Yamakawa penned the lyrics. The Japanese single was released in April 1981 under catalog number CK-584, featuring the main theme "Someone is waiting for me" (Dare ka watashi wo matte iru) performed by Mitsuko Horie, and the insert song "What is 1+1?" (Ichi tasu ichi wa nani) sung by Horie alongside Koorogi '73. A third Horie track appears mid-film but remained untitled and was never released on record. The English-dubbed version received entirely new lyrics by Sammy Cahn and Allen Byrns, all performed by Aileen Quinn, with songs including "It's Strictly Up to You" as the main theme, "I Dream of Home," and "A Wizard of a Day."

Release & Distribution

Despite being produced with a theatrical release in mind, the film ultimately bypassed Japanese cinemas and went straight to home video, debuting on VHS and Betamax on July 1, 1982. Its television exposure in Japan came considerably later, with a broadcast on AT-X as early as December 19, 2002. The English-language version, edited by Johann Lowenberg and produced by John Danylkiw, reached American television and home video on September 10, 1983. Alan L. Gleitsman served as executive producer of Alan Enterprises, which handled the North American English dub, while New Hope Entertainment also participated in producing the dubbed version. This distribution path—skipping theaters in its home market while finding a broader audience through the English dub in the United States—gave the film a somewhat unusual release trajectory compared to typical anime features of the era.