Run, Toto, Run! Hallmark Success

Toto ran out of Hallmark during Premiere weekend July 10 - 11. The number one selling limited ornament of the weekend was a three way tie between Lady Cardinal, O Christmas Chipmunks (Disney's Chip N Dale), and Run, Toto, Run! Wonderful news that Toto is so popular. Of all the ornaments made since 1994, Run,Toto, Run is one of my all time favorites.

Sunrise Greetings

Lou Berrillo sent me a photo of the new Wicked Witch Halloween sound card from Sunrise Greetings (who is owned by Hallmark) Sunrise Greeting cards can be found at Barnes and Noble. There is also a Cowardly Lion Birthday Card sans sound.

August Updates

Japanese clothing company Uniqlo has several Oz shirts. There appears to be one shop in the United States in New York City. However, I don't know at this time if they are selling the Oz line.

Enlarge photo to see detail on Uniqlo shirts

Jim Whitcomb found this adorable shirt on eBay. I don't know where it can be found yet, but the usual suspects are Kohls and Target.

I'm sorry I don't have a larger photo at this time because the new Dorothy/Scarecrow figurine from Lenox is just beautiful!!!! Shown below is the Tin Man ornament. Both are new for 2009.
You can pre-order both pieces from Karen Owens

Radko Muffy Vanderbear Wizard of Paws ornament Should retail in the $40 - $45 range

Cute glass ornament found by Jim Whitcomb on eBay. Hopefully it can be found in stores.

Mattel Wicked Witch of the East Barbie is now shipping! She 'plays' Ding Dong the Witch is Dead and she's packaged in a beautiful 70th anniversary box with the Gale farmhouse in the background. This doll has been misrepresented on Toys R' Us's website as an exclusive. IT IS NOT A TRU EXCLUSIVE. Something you may want to consider when purchasing. You can order here or anywhere else that carries The Wizard of Oz Barbies

A separate Wizard of Oz Sing- A -Long disc will be sold in the UK.

Warner Brothers Home Video recently announced a Wizard of Oz one disc. It has the same cover as the two disc so check your packaging carefully when you purchase.

San Francisco Music Box - Glinda with wand waterglobe and Wicked Witch with broom waterglobe have been cancelled. The Wizard of Oz animated box is delayed until next year.

Fairies of Oz by Jasmine Becket-Griffith Tin Girl is now shipping.

Wizard of Oz 70th Annivesary Wall Decor Art Collection First piece in the series, Dorothy, is now shipping

Stone Arch Books just released their Wizard of Oz graphic novel.

Hallmark Cards has a new Halloween card this year. It's purple with the Wicked Witch and Nikko with Dorothy in the crystal ball. Should be in the Across the Miles section and it's $1.99. Last year's Wicked Witch Halloween card and the Wicked Witch card with sound from the past two years are also still available.

There's Oz news just about every day right now. Check back for frequent updates!

Thanks to Jim Whitcomb, Karen Owens, and Lou Berrillo for the constant updates!

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!!

Hallmark 2008

Photos Courtesy of Marc (KCC Pursuit)

Oztravaganza!!!

2008 is turning out to be quite a year and we're only two months in!! Karen Owens recently updated her site with an exciting variety of new items. Photos are posted below of the highlights. Please see the links that follow to see the rest of the lines and for ordering info. Please click on the photos to enlarge.



Poster cards

Sababa Toys Uno & Scrabble games!!!!!

Games, puzzles, posters, and poster cards

http://www.wizardofozland.com/index.php

Kurt Adler

Mini nutcracker set, plush dolls, teddy bears, book ornament, and Steinbach nutcracker.

http://www.wizardofozland.com/adler.php

http://www.wizardofozland.com/ornaments.php

Jun Planning

These Pullip dolls have been forthcoming for about two years now and I've been hesitant to post until I have more concrete info. I still don't have a definite release date, but the dolls have been displayed at doll shows during late 2007/early 2008.

New greeting cards for Easter from Hallmark. There's three altogether and I wanted to wait to post all three cards but the third card continues to elude me and Easter fast approaches. The Glinda card is very pretty with glittery accents. I apologize for the darkness of the photos.

A frequent visitor to the International Wizard of Oz Club posted about a new comic series based on the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Be sure to scroll down for Oz artist Eric Shanower's comments.

http://ozclubforums.yuku.com/topic/2232/t/New-Shanower-Oz-for-2008.html

Coming late August Mary Engelbreit illustrates The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Some of you may be familiar with her charming artwork. No photo available yet.

The past few years have been incredible for Oz collectibles and I expect things to get even better and more exciting as we follow the yellow brick road to MGM's Wizard of Oz 70th anniversary next year.