MovieChat Forums > The Wizard of Oz (1939) Discussion > It’s All The Cats’ Fault

It’s All The Cats’ Fault

posted 4 years ago by Tabbycat (748)
3 replies | jump to latest

Did the writers hate cats?

The entire story is set in motion “just because Toto chases [Miss Gulch’s] nasty old cat.” Of course, we later learn why Miss Gulch has a cat: they are a witch’s evil familiar.

But that’s not all. In the third act, the Wizard’s balloon gets prematurely released without Dorothy aboard when Toto barks at an onlooker’s cat. It’s just one damn thing after another with these evil creatures!

Why are the story’s most traumatic events blamed on cats? And don’t even start in with the Cowardly Lion ...

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7389) 3 years ago

Funnily enough, there is no Miss Gulch in the book this is based on. The book is pretty brutally violent. Like Friday the 13th level violence.

[–] Who (5146) 3 years ago

Because dog chases cat is the oldest trope in the book. Others are cat gets stuck in tree, dog chases mailman, mean dogs guard junkyards.

[–] goldenagefilmstv (177) 2 years ago

There is no love for cats in this movie. That's the only thing I dislike about it.