The Tin Woodman of Oz

For those of you who may not have seen it, someone has put together a CGI animated version of "The Tin Woodman of Oz" and put it on YouTube. I just finished watching it and I felt the need to share my thoughts. Spoilers will follow, so watch out.

It is both too close to the original and too far. Many lines and scenes are taken verbatim from the book, often to their detriment. The balloon jokes in Loonville in particular did not go over well, both in their performance and with how the Loons looked. And the fact that the Tin Man has the same conversation with a tin head that his literary counterpart had with his own former head is something of a wallbanger.

The story is jumbled about, with Tin Woodman meeting and being rejected by Nimmie Ammee rather early in the story. This of course gives him time to meet and fall in love with her tin counterpart later in the story (which didn't happen in the book). Also, Captain Fyter is left out, but the thing that Nimmie Ammee winds up marrying is still called Chopfyt.

Also, when they story flashes back to how Nick Chopper became the Tin Woodman, it's suggested that cutting of a body part in Oz is a rather grisly proceeding. Because of the way the Tin Woodman has always been so matter-of-fact about the process, I've always thought of it like the scene in "Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail" featuring the Black Knight.

The filmmakers seem to forget that the Scarecrow has many of the invulnerabilities of the Tin Man. On a few occassions, he talks about being cold or hungry or uncomfortable in some way which should not be the case.

If not for the quality of the voice acting, it would be a fun film for those who haven't read the book. For those who have, it's a train wreck from start to finish.