Contributed by Brendan S.
Two of my all-time favorite movies, 1939′s The Wizard of Oz and 1968′s Yellow Submarine, have several things in common besides being musical fantasies- they’re practically parallel in a number of ways:
| The Wizard of Oz | Yellow Submarine |
|---|---|
| Colorful, peace-loving kingdom under siege by evil despots and their minions: The Wicked Witch of the West The flying monkeys |
Colorful, peace-loving kingdom under siege by evil despots and their minions: The Chief Blue Meanie The Dreadful Flying Glove |
| The Mayor of Munchkin City | The Lord Mayor of Pepperland |
| A sepia-toned Kansas | A bleak, grey Liverpool, England |
| Dorothy wanting more than her drab surroundings | Ringo: “Nothing ever ‘appens to me.” |
| The song “Over the Rainbow” | The rainbow gate to Pepperland |
| The Kansas farmhands each having counterparts in Oz | The Beatles meet their Pepperlandian doubles- namely Sgt. Pepper’s band |
| Evil talking trees throw apples at Dorothy and the Scarecrow | The Apple Bonkers drop large apples on the heads of innocent victims |
| The Yellow Brick Road served as the path to Oz | The Yellow Submarine brought the Beatles on a perilous journey |
| Highly intellectual albeit slightly befuddled individual who befriends the main characters: The Wizard |
Highly intellectual albeit slightly befuddled individual who befriends the main characters: Jeremy Hilary Boob, Ph.d. |
| The Emerald City, which led to the Wizard’s palace | The Sea of Green, which led to Pepperland |
| The Wizard, in his hot-air balloon, accidentally leaves Dorothy stranded in Emerald City | Old Fred, on board the submarine, Old Fred, on board the submarine, stranded in the Sea of Phrenology at one point |
| Brief but effective use of classical music: “Night On Bald Mountain” by Mussorgsky |
Brief but effective use of classical music: “Air On a G String” by Bach and “Peer Gynt Morning Suite” by Grieg |
| On her broom, the Wicked Witch skywrites “Surrender Dorothy” over Oz in hideous black smoke | The Flying Glove left behind a trail of smoke jetting the skies of Pepperland while terrorizing the populace |
| The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion successfully infiltrate the Witch’s army to rescue Dorothy | The Beatles crudely disguise themselves as an Apple Bonker to infiltrate the Meanie army and bring Pepperland back to its glory |
| Act of kindness used to defeat the bad guys: a bucket of water thrown at the Wicked Witch |
Act of kindness used to defeat the bad guys: music was used as a weapon against the Meanies & completely restored Pepperland |
| With the Witch having been killed, the flying monkeys and army are free from her control | The Blue Meanies decided to give up their evil ways and join in the eternal celebration/happiness |
| In spite of it all being a dream, Dorothy spoke fondly of her adventure in Oz, the good and the bad | Back in our world, the flesh and blood Beatles speak of the great time they had in Pepperland-even with more Blue Meanies lurking in theaters |
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Good parallels you draw here. Will be back.
Hey-o, just found your site on yahoo. You have some good posts