| Released | May 20, 2005 |
| Running time | 100 minutes (DVD), 87 minutes (TV) |
| Director | Kirk Thatcher |
| Written by | Debra Frank, Steve L. Hayes (story and teleplay) / Adam Goldberg and Tom Martin (teleplay only) / L. Frank Baum (original story) |
| Original music by | Michael Giacchino (score and songs) / Adam Cohen and Jeannie Lurie (songs only) |
| Studio | Touchstone Television / Muppets Holding Company / The Jim Henson Company / Fox Television Studios |
| MPAA Rating | TV-PG |
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, an original made-for-television movie, aired as a special Friday night edition of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney.
Adapted from L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this latest retelling of the classic story follows Dorothy Gale (Ashanti) as she journeys through an Oz populated by Muppets to find the Wizard and become a star.
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The film marked the first major project after the acquisition of the Muppets property by The Walt Disney Company, which The Jim Henson Company is still consulting under.
Since April 2004, the Muppets had been re-introduced to the public by way of low-key marketing and guest appearances on such shows as Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Good Morning America and Saturday Night Live in hopes for a successful turn in the ratings by the time the new telefilm hit the air.
The movie was promoted with special Wizard of Oz commercials that spoofed popular ABC shows at the time.
Further, print ads in various magazines, as well as guest appearances of various Muppets on America's Funniest Home Videos, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Tony Danza Show, Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly helped to get the word out.
In addition, Ashanti unveiled six windows at Macy's on March 20, 2005, for promotional purposes. The windows depicted scenes from the movie in conjunction with the Macy's Flower Show. The Macy's flagship store offered Muppets' Wizard of Oz plush and a T-shirt depicting the main cast during the promotional period.
The movie had its world premiere screening on April 27, 2005, at the Tribeca Film Festival, introduced by Kermit the Frog and Robert De Niro.
This film departs from the original Oz novel in a number of noticeable ways: Dorothy's family owns a diner instead of a farm; Toto is a prawn; the Tin Woodman is a robot. Many of the characters' personalities and backgrounds are given a show-biz makeover. For instance, this version's Dorothy dreams of being a famous singer, and at first she plans to ask the Wizard to give her fame rather than a way back to Kansas.
However, in several respects the plot follows the novel more closely than does the classic 1939 movie. For example, the Good Witch of the North (who greets Dorothy when she arrives in Oz) and Glinda (who shows her how to get home) are separate characters; the magic shoes are silver instead of ruby; when Dorothy defeats the Wicked Witch of the West, she gains control of the Flying Monkeys; and the Wizard meets with each of Dorothy's friends separately in a different guise.
Another note is that the Flying Monkeys are a biker gang, a trait that is reminiscent of The Wiz.
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is not the only adaptation of the Oz mythos within a Muppet production, however. The Muppets Go to the Movies featured a sketch incorporating a medley of "If I Only Had a Heart" and "We're Off to See the Wizard", with Miss Piggy portraying the version of Dorothy played by Judy Garland, alongside the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Thing. Additionally, Fozzie Bear portrayed the Tin Man in an episode of The Muppet Show.
World Premiere: April 27, 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Broadcast Premiere: May 20, 2005 at 8/7c on ABC in the US, and on CTV and CBC in Canada.
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