Toto, played by Terry the dog, in the original 1939 film
Move over Dorothy. Go away Wicked Witch of the West. It’s Toto’s time.
Yes, it turns out that Warner Bros. is developing a remake of Wizard of Oz – from the dog’s perspective.
It may seem like yet another cash-in on the beloved 1939 film. This time, it’s going to be a cartoon.
Toto, a children’s book by writer Michael Morpurgo, is being adapted by Gnomeo and Juliet’s Mark Burton.
How will Toto be different to the original Wizard of Oz?
The animated film will tell E Frank Baum’s classic tale through Oz, but it will be a little different.
Toto will talk in this version, and will have a larger role.
If you remember the original, Toto began the story by biting the mean neighbor.
Joining Dorothy and the rest of the adventurers down the yellow brick road, Toto also a place in the final scenes.
(Spoilers for a film that’s nearly 70 years old)
He unveils the Wizard as a scam artist, pulling back the curtain and revealing him as a fraud.
Other films in the works
Warner Animation Group is also currently developing a new Cat in the Hat animated film.
This is not the only film in the works that will take inspiration from Wizard of Oz.
Actor Renée Zellweger is portraying Judy Garland in an upcoming biopic.
Set in 1968, Judy tells the story of the singer and performer a year before her untimely death. During this winter, she performed a series of concerts in London at the Talk of the Town nightclub.
The film’s synopsis describes Garland during this time as ‘exhausted; haunted by memories of a childhood lost to Hollywood and gripped by a desire to be back home with her kids’. She also falls in love with Mickey Deans, her fifth and final husband.
Judy is set for release later this year.
