Warner Brothers Studios has recently recruited Thomas Kinkade to be the official artist of the 1939 release of what has been deemed as America's greatest and best loved home grown fairy tales, The Wizard of Oz. 

Thomas Kinkade is always being asked to paint tributes to American favorites and this is one he could not pass up on. Much like America, Thomas Kinkade is a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz and while raising his three daughters, he has repeatedly watched and sung along with The Wizard of Oz and states he just can never get tired of seeing this classic movie depicting friendship, challenges in life, the triumph of good over evil, and an overall feel good movie with a happy ending.

Thomas Kinkade made it his mission to capture these same features in his Wizard of Oz painting. Thom dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy into this painting and much like his Disney Dreams Collection, Thomas Kinkade chose to do a panoramic setting in which we can see all the famous characters from the Wizard of Oz story captured in just one image. Warner Brothers provided Thom with rare and up close detailed footage of the movie such that Thom could capture that same detail in his painting.

At center stage Thom features our favorite Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale with her dog Toto and her three friends as they look upon the Emerald City for the first time.
You'll also see bright and centered the Wicked Witch of the West in quick pursuit of her dead sister's magic ruby slippers, worn by Dorothy in the painting. In fact, if you look closely you'll see that Dorothy's dog Toto is the only character reacting to the Wicked Witch while the others are fascinated with the view of the Emerald City. Of course Thomas Kinkade's Wizard of Oz could not be complete without Thom featuring the Munchkins and winged monkeys as well. Thomas Kinkade even included Glinda the Good Witch hovering above our favorite cast of characters. Although the Wizard of Oz movie never told us exactly where the Wicked Witch's castle was geographically located, Thomas Kinkade made a point to feature it bright and centered to give us a great depiction of good and evil. Since Thomas Kinkade often shared his love with his mother while watching The Wizard of Oz, he decided to devote this painting to her by including 88 hidden hearts throughout the painting. Some other hidden elements you may find in this piece: if you look closely along the Yellow Brick Road you'll see the Apple Tree which exclaimed "Ouch" when Dorothy picked an apple off it. Find the tree the Wicked Witch is hiding behind and you'll see a hidden toucan as well.

Be sure to pay attention to the incredible detail Thomas Kinkade puts in each character's face.  The Wizard of Oz by Thomas Kinkade is destined to be one of Thom's most successful and fastest sellouts ever and is a must for Wizard of Oz fans.  After 71 years in existence, the Wizard of Oz is still a big part of our lives and now you can make it a family heirloom!

Interesting facts about the Wizard of Oz movie:

• Due to its huge budget, The Wizard of Oz initially only made a very small profit upon its release despite huge favorable reviews. It did not receive a true profit until its re-release in 1949.


• The Wizard of Oz was nominated for several Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and won for Best Original Song: “Over the Rainbow."


• After its first appearance on television, American viewers quickly made The Wizard of Oz an annual tradition.


• The Wizard of Oz was named the most watched film in history by the Library of Congress.


• It is consistently ranked as one of the top ten best movies of all time.


• All the characters who appear in Kansas (with the only exception being Uncle Henry) also appear in Oz.



• The film's maker, Mervyn Leroy had initially considered introducing the Tin man as a convicted criminal sentenced to life in a tin suit which eventually turned him into a gentle and kind man.


• A section cut from the script initially called for a scene at the end of the movie in which Hunk (the Kansas counterpart to the Scarecrow) is leaving for college and receives a promise from Dorothy that she will write to him. The meaning of this scene was to indicate that romance will eventually develop between the two which was also indicated throughout the movie in which Dorothy tends to favor the Scarecrow over the other characters. This is especially evident in the scene in which Dorothy is about to leave Oz and tells the Scarecrow, “I think I'll miss you most of all."


• Shirley Temple was initially sought after to play the role of Dorothy until producers listened to her sing and felt that an actress with a different style was needed.  Actresses Deanna Durban and Bonita Granville were also considered to play the part of Dorothy. W.C. Fields was initially supposed to play the role of The Wizard but contract disputes eventually led to the casting of Frank Morgan instead.


• Buddy Ebsen (famous later for his role as Jed Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies") was originally cast as the “Tin Man" and filmed with the cast and crew for nine days before being hospitalized due to a severe allergic reaction her suffered from the aluminum powder makeup he wore which led to actor Jack Haley as his replacement.


• The studio began filming Judy Garland wearing a blond wig and heavy baby doll makeup before those ideas were thrown out by the film's initial director George Cukor. However, due to Cukor's prior commitment to directing “Gone With the Wind," he had to leave the production and was replaced by director Victor Fleming who proceeded to refilm the previously shot scenes eliminating the Judy Garland baby doll makeup scenes. Ironically, Fleming would replace Cukor in directing “Gone With the Wind" at which time King Vidor was hired to finish the filming of The Wizard of Oz including the scene featuring Judy Garland's singing of “Over the Rainbow."


• Filming ran for over 6 months and often entailed 6 day a week, 12 to 14 hour workweeks for cast and production staff.


• The set would often reach 100 degrees due to the vast amounts of lighting required for the early Technicolor process.


• A famous rumor was spread stating that one of the Munchkin characters committed suicide in the "off to see the wizard" scene. This rumor was proven false and the object in question was actually a wild crane bird (borrowed from the L.A. Zoo) stretching its wings. Another rumor is that Miss Gulch (the counterpart of the Wicked Witch) swears in the beginning of the film when “Toto" is taken away, when she tells Aunt Em she will “bring a damn suit that will take your whole farm." In reality she says “a damaged suit"


• Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch, was severely burned in the second take of the Munchkinland scene in which fire was used to dramatize her exit from the scene. As a result, the first take was used for the film.


• Judy Garland's song “Over the Rainbow" was initially supposed to be edited out of the film by MGM who argued that the song made the Kansas scene too long and was an insult to Judy Garland for making her sing in a barnyard. Producers and Director Victor Fleming fought and succeeded in keeping it in. “Over the Rainbow" eventually won the Academy Award for Best Original Song of the Year and in 2004, the song was ranked number one by the American Film Institute on the AFI's 100 years, 100 best songs list.


• When played with the film, the popular album “Dark Side of the Moon" released by Pink Floyd, appears to coincide remarkably well with the movie in an unprecedented music video like experience which is often referred to as “The Dark Side of the Rainbow."  Pink Floyd has never admitted to purposely setting up the album this way but it's ironic to note the rainbow on the album's cover. To try this experiment, start the album after the 3rd roar in the beginning credits to The Wizard of Oz. Be certain the album is on continuous play to reach the full duration of the movie.


• The Wizard of Oz premiered on television for the first time by CBS on November 3, 1956 in which an estimated 45 mill viewers watched the broadcast. From 1956 through 1962, CBS decided to make this an annual tradition in which The Wizard of Oz would be shown on the second week of December. This tradition ended in December of 1963 due to the country’s mourning of the November assassination of President John F. Kennedy.


• A prequel to The Wizard of Oz is scheduled to be released in 2013 with the working title as “Oz, The Great and Powerful." It is said to be directed by Sam Raimi (director of “Spider Man") and will likely star Robert Downey Jr.