Secret of the Flying Monkeys

The ever-supportive Fuse #8 blog alerted me to Brooklyn comedy writer Dan McCoy's tongue-in-cheek preview of the Wizard of Oz DVD on his Whither Laffs? blog:

Commentary Nuggets:

• The Flying Monkey effects were created by taking real monkeys, and forcing them to swallow whole snow owls. . . .
• If you watch carefully, you’ll notice this continuity gaffe: at different times during the movie, Dorothy’s hair appears to be three different lengths. This is because Judy Garland is a witch, and was born without a soul. . . .
  

Deleted Scenes:

• The alternate ending where Dorothy stayed in Oz rather than returning to dustbowl Kansas--the studio feared that it would make children unsatisfied with their hard life of bitter struggle, and teach them that it’s okay to reach for their dreams.

Folks on Oz discussion lists know I've been grousing for years about how much the MGM script undercuts Dorothy's ambitions: "if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!"

Only one problem in McCoy's entry: He makes the common error of transposing L. Frank Baum's initial initial into the middle of his name.