Awesome / The Wizard of Oz

"Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?"

• "Almira Gulch... just because you own half the county doesn't mean you have the power to run the rest of us! For twenty-three years I've been dying to tell you what I thought of you... and now... well, being a Christian woman, I just can't say it!"^note It rhymes with "witch".
  • In other words, Aunt Em never spelling it out loud proves that she's above Miss Gulch. In fact, the expression on Miss Gulch's face afterwards indicated that she told it like it is about her, and she knew exactly what Aunt Em was saying about her.
• "I AM OZ... the Great and Powerful!"
• Despite the fact that Glinda's all sugar and sweetness, she should not be underestimated.
  Glinda: Ha, ha, ha! Rubbish! You have no power here. Now begone— before someone drops a house on you, too!
• Dorothy gets some criticism for potentially being seen as a kind of whiny brat, but she does have a lot of guts, if you know when and where to look.
  • When confronted by Almira Gulch in the beginning, she's brave enough to talk back.
  "No, no! I won't let you take him! You go away, you... Oh, I'll bite you myself! You wicked old witch!"
  • When she leaves Munchkinland, marching (or skipping) off into the great unknown with nothing but her basket, dog, and a pair of magic heels that she doesn't know how to use.
  • When both the Scarecrow and Tin Man are too scared to fight the Lion, she isn't afraid at all. She even gives him a smack in the snout for good measure to get him to back off her dog.
  • When the Wizard makes the poor Lion faint, who comes to his defense first? Dorothy.
  • All of these are almost always accompanied with a "Shame on you!" Just that line alone deserves a mention.
  • When The Scarecrow is on fire, who picked up the bucket and tried to help?
  • The truth of the matter is that Dorothy retains her innocent nature throughout the movie.
• Toto: whether being taken by Miss Gulch to be killed, being separated from Dorothy, or under threat that he and his owner would never go home, the dog always comes through.
  • Casting a Cairn Terrier as Toto was sheer genius. That is a working dog, well known for its brains, heart, and courage.
  • In Real Life, Terry (Toto) was almost severely injured after being accidentally stepped on by the Winkies during one scene, and after recuperating at Judy Garland's home, recovered and went back to work.
• The Tin Man tells the Wizard that he's had enough time to think; Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion agree, saying, "Yeah!"
• Uncle Henry subtly snarking at Miss Gulch in the beginning.
  Miss Gulch: I need to see your wife right away about Dorothy.
  Uncle Henry: Dorothy? What has Dorothy done?
  Miss Gulch: What has she done? I'm all but lame from the bite on my leg!
  Uncle Henry: You mean she bit you?
  Miss Gulch: No, her dog.
  Uncle Henry: Ohh... she bit her dog, eh? ("accidentally" slams the gate to smack Miss Gulch on the butt)
  Miss Gulch: ...No.
• The scene where Dorothy opens the door after the tornado, transitioning herself and the viewer from the dull, sepia Kansas to the beautiful, colorful Land of Oz. Even eighty years later, people still let out gasps at that part, especially when you see it on the big screen. One can only imagine how mind blowing it must've been in 1939. Truly one of the most defining and important moments in all of film.
• The Tornado scene when Dorothy sees Miss Gulch, Miss Gulch doesn't seem to be bothered by being up 100 feet in the air and in a tornado, and just keeps on Cycling. She even takes the time to politely nod at Dorothy before turning into the Wicked Witch. Say what you will about her, but that was pretty badass in 30s standards.
• The Wicked Witch herself, as horrifying as she is. She's not considered one of the seminal movie villains of the 20th century for nothing.
• The Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man promptly go to rescue Dorothy once they put the Scarecrow back together. They succeed, too. And they're actually pretty badass once they get going, taking out a few Winkies for their uniforms and sneaking into the fortress. The Scarecrow even finds and carries a pistol! when they first trespass on the Wicked Witch's territory.
  • The Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion beating the stuffing out of three guards who got the jump on them and then putting on their uniforms to sneak into the castle is amazing. It shows that what Oz "gave" them at the end were qualities that they already had.
• In the stage show, Uncle Henry finally has enough of Miss Gulch's crap when she takes Toto away, despite not even caring that Dorothy's in hysterics over losing her best friend.
  "Now, you pedal your carcass off my land before I drag it off."
• After the death of the Wicked Witch of the West. It appears that the Winkies became friendly. And they cheered for Dorothy that the Wicked Witch is dead. And they offer Dorothy the broom.
  • The Reprise of The Wicked Witch is dead was cut from the movie, but restored in the 2011 musical and every stage adaptation.
  HAIL TO DOROTHY, THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD!
• For someone who claims that he doesn't have brains, the Scarecrow comes up with a few clever ideas throughout the film: getting apples for Dorothy by having the trees chuck said apples at them, sneaking into the Witch's castle by disguising themselves as guards, and even dropping a chandelier on a few Winkies when the group is cornered! This is canon; he is described as "thinking" (obviously without realizing it) and has several good ideas in the book, too.

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