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Wizard of Oz Characters: Top 7

The Wizard of Oz characters first came to life in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 fantasy book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. More than a hundred years later they still have the power to captivate and enchant. Read a countdown of the seven most memorable characters from the land somewhere over the rainbow:

7. The Good Witch of the North

Not all witches are nasty. In Baum’s book, the Good Witch of the North (portrayed by Billie Burke in the famous 1939 film The Wizard of Oz by director Victor Fleming) is a kind old lady who has ruled over the northern Gilikin Country since she rescued its people from her wicked counterpart. She welcomes Dorothy to Oz, tells her of the wizard, and set her on her way along the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.

Although she doesn’t appear again in the story, a kiss she gives Dorothy on the forehead proves to be a protective charm. In later versions of the story, including the 1939 movie, the Good Witch of the North is often combined with the Good Witch of the South, Glinda. She is young and beautiful, and has a much more prominent role.

6. The Munchkins

The Munchkins Lollipop League

The Wizard of Oz Munchkins live in Munchkin Country in the Land of the East. In Baum’s book, they are about the same height as Dorothy and wear tall hats with bells on the brim that tinkle as they walk.

They are timid folk, enslaved by the Wicked Witch of the East who has ruled over them for many years, and are too frightened at first to speak to Dorothy, who they view as a powerful sorceress. In popular culture, the Munchkins are often portrayed as colorful dwarf-like creatures with jolly temperaments.

5. The Cowardly Lion

Unlike Toto, many of the animals that Dorothy encounters in Oz can speak, and the Wizard of Oz Lion (played by Bert Lahr) is no exception. When Dorothy first meets him, he tries to scare her and bite Toto. She accuses him of being a coward, at which point he backs down and admits that she’s right.

The lion is deeply ashamed of his fears and feels like a failure for not living up to the expectation of all lions to be the kings of beasts. But on the way to the Emerald City, and later in the territory of the Wicked Witch of the West, he risks his life time and again to protect his friends. He learns that true courage involves doing the right thing despite your fears, not feeling no fear at all.

4. The Scarecrow

The Scarecrow from Wizard of Oz

When Dorothy first meets the Wizard of Oz Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), he’s hanging on a pole in the Munchkin Country wishing above all else that he had a brain. Dorothy helps thim down from the pole and then suggests he accompany her to Oz so he can ask the wizard for a brain.

Despite the Scarecrow’s claim to be brainless, he proves himself to be wise and insightful, and when the Wizard of Oz leaves to return to earth, he takes over as the ruler of the Emerald City. The Scarecrow is usually depicted wearing a long-sleeved shirt, a pair of brown trousers and a soft pointed hat, with straw sticking out from underneath his clothes.

3. The Tin Man

The Tinman Wizard of Oz

“If I only had a heart!” This is the lament of the Wizard of Oz Tin Man (Jack Haley) in the famous 1939 movie, directed by Victor Fleming.

The Tin Man, called the Tin Woodman in Baum’s book, was originally a woodsman called Nick Chopper. But after the Wicked Witch of the East put a spell on him, he began losing his limbs and replacing them with tin replicas, until eventually there was nothing else left of him.

There's an empty space where the Tin Man's heart used to be, and so he considers himself incapable of love. However, just as in the case of the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, his actions contradict his assessment of his own failings and he proves to be the most tender of Dorothy’s three companions.

2. The Wicked Witch of the West

This is the wickedest of all the Wizard of Oz characters. She is the main threat to Dorothy and to all good folk of Oz.

The Wicked Witch of the East, said to be her sister in many on-screen and on-stage adaptations (though not in the book), is a foe of equal wickedness who has kept the poor Munchkins enslaved for many years. When Dorothy’s house falls out of the cyclone, it lands on her and kills her, ridding Oz of this menace forever and leaving only one wicked witch to contend with.

The Good Witch of the North removes the dead witch’s slippers (which are silver and not ruby in the book, believe it or not!) and gives them to Dorothy, who wears them on her journey to the Emerald City. But when she gets there, the wizard tells her he will give her and her three new friends what they want only if they go to the territory of the Wicked Witch of the West, called Winkie Country, and kill the nasty fiend.

Dorothy and her friends agree and so enter the domain of the witch, who pursues and finally captures them. When she sees the slippers on Dorothy’s feet, she knows their power and is determined to have them. After she uses magic to trip her up and seize one of the slippers, Dorothy loses her temper and empties a bucket of water over her, causing her to melt into nothingness.

In the book, the witch is an old woman with a protruding belly and three pigtails. She wears an eye patch, has telescopic vision, is afraid of the dark and carries an umbrella, no doubt to protect herself from the rain water that is so lethal to her. However, she is commonly depicted to resemble her portrayal by actress Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 movie, in which she has green skin and wears black clothes and a pointed hat.

1. Dorothy Gale

Dorothy from Wizard of Oz

Dorothy (Judy Garland) is an orphaned schoolgirl and the main character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, as well as many of Baum’s other novels about Oz. Before a cyclone whisks her off to the Land of Oz, she lives on a farm in Kansas in the late 19th century with her Aunt Em, Uncle Henry and beloved little dog, Toto.

Throughout her journey, Dorothy proves herself compassionate, courageous, and morally sound. Forthright and determined, she is not afraid to speak her mind. She frequently sticks up to those who try to bully and attack her friends, including her greatest foe, the Wicked Witch of the West. And when she finds out the wizard is a charlatan, she berates him for his deception.

Dorothy’s main motivation, first in travelling to the Emerald City and later in defeating the Wicket Witch of the West, is to get the help of the wizard to return to Kansas. In a land faraway, she learns that you don’t have to travel further than your front door to find your heart’s desire because after all, there’s no place like home.

Dorothy is the most iconic of all the Oz characters. She is usually portrayed in keeping with her appearance in the 1939 movie – as a young girl with her hair in two pigtails, wearing a blue and white checked dress and a pair of red, glittery shoes.

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