YMMV / Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • Was the Wizard merely pretending not to know anything about Princess Ozma, and lying about how he came to Oz to cover up the fact that he kidnapped Ozma as a baby and gave her to the witch Mombi? As the former ruler of Oz, one would think he would have been aware of the royal family that preceded him, even if his being complicit in kidnapping Ozma as a baby is retconned.
  • Perhaps Ozma went along with the Wizard's version of events when he explains how he came to rule Oz, knowing full well he was lying, but choosing to forgive him? It's actually Ozma who leaves out the part where the Wizard kidnaps her as a baby during their first conversation together, after all. It is in her nature not to hold grudges even against her worst enemies, but perhaps she had some use for him, as having him reside in the castle once more could benefit her rule and her public image. He did after all lead Oz through a very tumultuous time in its history, keeping at least the Emerald City safe from the wicked witches using only parlor tricks. Ozma may have decided it was wiser to forgive him and follow an agreed upon lie going forward. The Wizard is in tears at the end of the conversation not just because he's been given permission to stay in Oz, but because he knows Ozma has forgiven him and is choosing to ignore his past deeds against her. Eric Shanower decided to go with this interpretation, that the Wizard's misdeeds toward Ozma were basically an unacknowledged "elephant in the room" during their conversation, in the introduction to his Oz comic book adaptation of Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz.
• Draco in Leather Pants: This sort of reaction by Oz fans at the time the original books came out led to the Wizard's return in this novel, with his past wrongdoings retconned.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Unfortunately, the coming century proved that there are entire nations out there who have strong xenophobia and are hostile to all outsiders to the brink of murder, with North Korea an infamous example.
  • "Perhaps the flames will set fire to all that miserable wooden country, and if it does the loss will be very small and the Gargoyles never will be missed". This line about the Wizard wishing genocide on the wooden gargoyles becomes very harsh come the Final Solution in the 1940s.
  • It's even worse if you consider Baum's racist articles about Native Americans from the newspaper he published in the 1890's, although some historians argue his article written against the Native Americans may have been satirical or sarcastic (his article boils down to "we've done so much to Native Americans we might as well finish them off at this point"). Regardless, Baum’s descendants later apologized for the articles in the 2000s.
• Moral Event Horizon: The entire Mangaboo race crosses this when they decide to execute Dorothy and all of her friends without reason, which is solidified when they attack Zeb, Eureka, and the piglets For the Evulz, forcing our heroes to flee.
• Nightmare Fuel: The entire encounter with the Mangaboos, where the heroes are one step away from being killed from beginning to end.
• Quirky Work: One of the most bizarre and surreal entries of the series, even by the standards of Oz books.