He is the first ally to meet Dorothy Gale. Due to his lack of a brain, the Scarecrow seeks a brain from the Wizard.
If I Only Had a Brain - Extended Version (Wizard of Oz)
History[]
Origin[]
Somewhere in the middle of the Munchkin Country of Oz, the Scarecrow was introduced as being placed high up on a wooden pole in the cornfields of the Munchkin farming community. He is described as having an overstuffed sack filled with straw for a head with a mouth, nose, ears and eyes painted on with blue paint, (one of his eyes is said to be larger than the other) and has two big blue buttons for pupils. On his stuffed body, the Scarecrow wears worn-out and faded hand-me down Munchkin clothing of blue, with an old wrinkled and pointed hat that stands a foot above his head. Around his waist is an old leather belt and on his stuffed feet are old and scuffed farm-boots of navy blue. Because he is wearing Munchkin clothing the original Scarecrow is actually quite short in height like the majority of the Munchkin race in Oz. In the very first Oz illustrations by W. W. Denslow, he is only as tall as Dorothy who is a mere child said to be no older than twelve. So, the Scarecrow would only stand about four or five feet high.
Meeting Dorothy[]
While looking earnestly into the queer, painted face of the Scarecrow, Dorothy was surprised to see one of the eyes slowly wink at her. She thought she must have been mistaken at first, for none of the scarecrows in Kansas ever wink; but presently he nodded its head to her in a friendly way.
When he met Dorothy, at first, he did not understand why the little girl wanted to leave the magical Land of Oz and go back to Kansas as the majority of Oz is such a beautiful place when Dorothy described Kansas to be colorless and dull. It is then when Dorothy tried to explain to her new stuffed friend that he can't understand because he has no brains. Therefore, he simply cannot grasp the concept of the way people who are made of flesh and blood think, and the desire of returning to where one belongs no matter how beautiful or appealing any other place may be, for home is where the heart is. Thus, concluding that there is "No Place Like Home".
Trivia[]
- The fact that the Scarecrow hates fire is understandable, since his body contains flammable materials.
- The late Jack Haley was originally cast as the Scarecrow, but the late Buddy Ebsen had to drop out as the Tin Woodsman and the role of the Scarecrow was given to the late Ray Bolger while Haley was cast as the Tin Woodsman.
- His voice actor, Bill Fagerbakke, also voiced Patrick Star from the show, SpongeBob SquarePants, Frosty the Snowman from The Legend of Frosty the Snowman, as well as the voice of Grimace from McDonald's since 2003.
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