Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In Baum's subsequent Oz books, it is the Nome King who is the principal villain; the Wicked Witch of the West is rarely even referred to again after being destroyed in the first book.
The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 movie based on Baum's book. In that film adaptation, as in Gregory Maguire's revisionist Oz novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West and its musical adaptation Wicked, the Witch of the West is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, although this is neither stated nor implied in the original novel.
Versions in performance media
The 1939 movie
In the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz, Margaret Hamilton plays the Wicked Witch of the West as a stooped, green-skinned witch dressed in a long black dress with a black pointed hat. This representation of the Wicked Witch has become a standard for what witches look like and an archetype for human wickedness. While this relationship is not mentioned in Baum's books, in the movie, the Witch is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East. In fact, she appears in the film much earlier on than in Baum's original novel, demanding the Munchkins reveal who killed her sister, not long after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. She is described by the Good Witch of the North Glinda as "worse than the other one." Therefore, the Witch's role is made much more prominent than in the novel, as she seeks revenge against Dorothy for destroying her sister, even though it was an "accident". She is more menacing than her literary counterpart, making Dorothy too afraid to ever lose her temper with the Witch. She makes sure that Dorothy knows her power when Dorothy meets the Tin Man by throwing a fire ball at them after which she waits to see if Dorothy is too afraid to go on. Before Dorothy and her friends get to the city, the Witch casts a spell of sleeping poppies, the poppies fail to work do Glinda's good magic spell of snow. She then gets on her broom to show more of her power to Dorothy, after Dorothy and her friends see the Wizard they want out to get her broom, she knew they are coming so she sends her flying monkeys unlike Baum's original depiction. The Golden Cap is not mentioned, but the Witch does hold and then angrily cast away a costume piece that could be considered the cap (It greatly resembles the Cap in depicted in W W. Denslow's original illustrations for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, after the poppies fail to work. She is killed when Dorothy throws the water when she lights a fire to threaten the Scarecrow. The character ranks No. 4 in the American Film Institute's list of the 50 Best Movie Villains of All Time, making her the highest ranking female villain, as well as placing 90th on Empire's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
On a 1976 episode of Sesame Street, the Wicked Witch, once again played by Margaret Hamilton, drops her broom and falls onto the street. In order to get the broom back, she must prove that she can be nice. Everyone is scared of her, except for Big Bird and Oscar. After she proves that she is nice, Big Bird is upset when the time comes for her to leave. She reassures him that one day she'll return. The episode was poorly received by parents of frightened young children, and was never aired again. The fate of the footage is unknown.
Margaret Hamilton also played The Wicked Witch of the West on The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1978), and reprised her role several times on stage, most notably at The Saint Louis Opera House.
Hamilton also appeared as herself on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. In this appearance, she demonstrated how her costume and acting skills made her appear to be the Witch, and assured her young viewers that there was nothing about her to be feared, because her portrayal in the film was only make-believe.
Quotes·Quotation by Wicked Witch of the West
¶ I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_Witch_of_the_West
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