We all know the ‘Wizard of Oz’. There has
been many films made, even recently there was a movie of it. The original story
was actually a book wrote by L. Frank Baum at 1900. There were several films
before the Technicolor technology film kick in at 1939 and that’s the one,
staring Judy Garland, that everybody remembers.
I remember Dorothy and her hometown all in sepia changing into full color mode
after see lands on Oz. That’s one of my favorite moments followed by the part
when she sings.
Ars Gratia Artis (AGA) has done a ‘Wizard of Oz’ series around 2008 March.
There were 4 characters in the series. Pullip as ‘Dorothy’, three Taeyangs as ‘Cowardly
Lion’, ‘Tin man’ and ‘Scarecrow’. They were each produced as a 300 limited
number edition. I still can find some shops that have them as a full set.
If you check this photo, you’ll see that the early showing of the dolls have
some differences. There were +little series and also no hat for Scarecrow, and
no ribbon for the cowardly lion.
I went through our prototype closet and found the original samples, very old
dolls that have been sleeping in their individual boxes. After seeing many
promotional photos, this was my first to see and feel the actual series.
Here’s what I thought. Of them each.
Pullip ‘Dorothy’
Loved her little red shoes. I thought see would be wearing white socks but no,
everything was close to the original film. But I suddenly got sad know her
picnic basket and her little puppy friend wasn’t with here. Yeah, this happens
sometimes…original sample parts could get missing after showing. She had a very
simple face, different from now. It almost felt ‘vintage’. These days, most
Pullips have strong makeup. Since AGA dolls are fashion dolls they go with the
trend. So to see one from the past was interesting. Simple and different but
with a lot of character. I hear that her hair took a lot of effort. Since it
was a thick and curly hair it was hard at first to keep the quality up for mass
production.
Taeyang ‘Scarecrow’
Must say, he’s my favorite from the series. I’m not a huge fan of Taeyang in
general. I prefer Isul, but at this time Isul didn’t exist Every ‘Wizard of Oz’
doll is very simple but after looking at them for a while, posing and playing…
they’re all lovable. And Scarecrow just took my heart! The hairstyle is very
unique, we did this ‘wool’ish’ hair with Amarii around 2010, so this doll was
the first to have a wool’ish hair and not a typical wig. His face has painted on
details just like the original film. First I thought, ‘what’s this? It looks
like frostbite in recovery’ but I remembered the film. I love that he has hay
coming out of his outfit. It’s not real, but the details softens his image. And
just like the rest, the color choice of fabric was very nice. Not a ‘brand new’
fancy doll look but I liked it.
Taeyang ‘Tin man’
Now this one was a bit scary at first. Good thing we’ve lost the axe. It was
all silver head to toe (except the eyes) and since the original model was all
hand made from scratch this one’s body paint was smearing a bit on my fingers. The
cold and scary image came from the face, Silver face and silver hair, with
clear blue eyes… come to think of it, the hairstyle was different from the
original film. But can you imagine a bald Taeyang? I guess the Aga doll artist
couldn’t either. The fabric that looks shiny and metallic was smooth and thick.
When I took a photo of it, the glare made it more like metal.
Taeyang ‘Cowardly Lion’
The beard is actually attached right on the face. Just the outfit and ears(with
ribbon) was removable. This one is in a head to toe fur outfit that simulates a
lion. I’m not a real fan of these outfits since they are cute in cartoons but a
tall fit guy like Taeyang in an outfit like this…it’s too hard to pose. Face close
up and him sitting down is good, but one of him standing are a bit awkward. I
think it would have worked better if Taeyang was full figured with a tummy and
all.
I’ve also found a sample of the wicked
witch of the west. It was only the head and body and I think back then, AGA
thought a green Pullip was too much. I can see some custom made wicked witch
Pullips online done by fans. Love all of them. I thank the Flickr group ; Pullippedia
– Wizard of Oz collection, They have such great photos and customs with the Oz
series.
Overall, I loved getting them out of the
closet and let them pose after all these years. And while I was doing that, I’ve
saw the film from 1939 again. Dolls were a classic piece, just like the movie.
Pullip Saga Quiz
I’ve tried to find Dorothy’s little dog
friend. But it seemed missing, maybe ran away.
Tell me, what’s the name of
Dorothy’s dog from the original movie?
Write a comment below (must login) and
before the next quiz we’ll pick one and treat her/him with 10$ worth of points
for her/his next purchase.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toto_(Oz)
KwankaewKangsadalampai(nekoichann)
*for the Pullip saga quiz, we are using a general cast lots S/W