Somewhere Over the Rainbow Collection

Lou, a member of the Everything Oz Club, was kind enough to announce this new series and share photos of the brochure. The figurines are made by The Hamilton Collection and I hope they intend to include the two witches. They are affordably priced at $19.99 plus $6.99 shipping. Personally, I think Dorothy is really gorgeous and I really like the style. I will update as I get new info. Please click on photos to enlarge.

Mid-May Updates

The Hallmark Dreambooks are arriving in stores now. Be sure to pick one up and start saving for the new ornaments. While in Hallmark I found a Father's Day card. Please see my Hallmark album for photos of this and other cards.

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v427/Rainbowgirl39/Hallmark%20Cards/

Jerry Maren's autobiography Short and Sweet is out now. I ordered a copy for Amazon and hopefully, time willing, I'll have a review up soon.

There are a couple of delays from Kurt Adler. The Steinbach Winged Monkey nutcracker is still in the approval process and the plush dolls have been removed from the release schedule for this year.

A couple of cancellations to report. The Scrabble Game and Hawthorne Village train set have been dropped.

Jim Whitcomb found this OZ-SOME new Wicked Witch sculpture. Dorothy is said to be next in the series.

http://www.collectiblestoday.com/ct/product/prdid-103716001.jsp?_wizard+of+oz/_prod/_/_/_48/_/_/_Y&endeca=true

I expect news of 70th anniversary items to be coming fast and furious any day now. I'm working on getting more info about the Happy Meal Toys. My next Tin Man entry is still a work in progress, but I assure it will be up soon.

Thanks to Karen Owens and Jim Whitcomb for always informing me of release schedule changes and cancellations.

Happy Meal 2008

I can not believe it! Looks like we'll have another go at the Happy Meal Toys. I don't usually like to post ebay auctions, but there is a pre-sale up right now. Due to ebay's restrictions on pre-sales this auction may not be up long. Jim Whitcomb made contact with the Alexander Doll Company and details are scarce at the moment but they did confirm there will be a Wizard of Oz Happy Meal Promotion this year. According to the auction the promotion will be in September. Please check back for more details as I get them.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MADAME-ALEXANDER-WIZARD-OF-OZ-MCDONALDS-2008-12-PCS-SET_W0QQitemZ350059652186QQihZ022QQcategoryZ2432QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Late April Updates

Hallmark seems to be releasing Oz cards fairly regularly. Vigilant Oz collectors have found quote cards, blank cards, and new birthday cards. The granddaughter birthday card is probably my personal favorite so far. It's just gorgeous. Please see my Photobucket album to see the granddaughter card and the rest of the Hallmark greeting card collection. The granddaughter card can be found at WalMart.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v427/Rainbowgirl39/Hallmark%20Cards/

New Wizard of Oz card game based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz from Orion's Bell. The cards are illustrated by a variety of artists and they are just beautiful. I've shown a couple of examples below. Please see the official website for more illustrations. http://www.orionsbell.com/

There's a new Wizard of Oz beach towel that at this point I don't know a whole lot about. The graphic on the towel looks like box art that has been used on Oz collectible boxes until late last year. This may be a close out item. I wanted to post it in case anyone wanted to keep an eye out for it. I expect to have more info soon.

The Gentle Giant busts look very impressive in photos. I'm hoping they look as good in person. Tentative release dates are as follows:

* SPRING '09: Wicked Witch and Lion
* SUMMER '09: Scarecrow and Tin Man
* FALL '09: Flying Monkey Statue
* WINTER '09: Glinda the Good Witch and Dorothy

However, there are rumors we could see some releases at the end of this year. Keep checking here for the latest developments. Click on the link to see close up photos.

http://nycc08.figures.com/showphoto.php?photo=253&size=big&cat=

I first mentioned the Wizard of Oz slot game by WMS Gaming last year. I've been reading rave reviews about this game. It's proven to be quite popular so if you find it at a casino near you be prepared to wait in line. Strictly Slots magazine has chosen the Wizard of Oz game for their cover story in the April 2008. The cover is much better than my photo shows and the article inside is 5 pages long. Subscription and renewal customer service: 1-800-969-0711

The Cambridge Companion to the Musical book features a Wicked cover (London cast. Idina Menzel with Helen Dallimore) with extensive Wicked coverage. The Wizard of Oz and the Wiz are also included. It's a bit pricey but likely well worth it to hardcore theater fans.

http://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Companion-Musical-Companions-Music/dp/0521862388/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209434760&sr=1-2

A poster on the International Wizard of Oz Club forum (http://ozclubforums.yuku.com/) mentioned a new Wonderful Wizard of Oz book that takes an interesting approach to illustrate the familiar characters and scenes. Graham Rawle uses vintage toys and dolls to retell the Oz story. Magazine clippings will make up the text. I'm looking forward to reading reviews by Oz fans once the book is published.

http://www.amazon.com/Wizard-Oz-Graham-Rawle/dp/1582434557/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1209598847&sr=1-2

The April 25 issue of Entertainment Weekly has a full page Wicked ad listing all of the North American productions.

The ruby slippers with inspirational quotes appear in the June 1 issue of Woman's Day.

Please keep checking back with the Curiozity Corner. The 70th anniversary of MGM's The Wizard of Oz is getting closer and closer. I expect a lot of news regarding that and I've recently stumbled upon Oz collectibles based on a cartoon. I'll post more info as it becomes available to me. Stay tuned!!