Why aren’t Dorothy’s shoes red in the movie?

Now showing in Brazilian cinemas, “Wicked” draws attention by bringing back the fascinating story of the universe of “The Wizard of Oz”, portraying the true story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, played by Cynthia Erivo.

In the film, it is possible to remember the character Dorothy’s curious little shoes, which she gets after a house falls on the Wicked Witch of the East. They even play a crucial role in her return home when she clicks her heels together three times.

However, Paul Tazewellresponsible for the costumes for the film “Wicked”, inspired by the same universe, decided to revisit the literary origins of the work to create his version of the shoes — and it was then that he noticed something curious: the author of ‘The Wizard of Oz’, L. Frank Baumoriginally described these shoes as silver boots in the 1900 book.

“They’re not ruby,” Tazewell explained to People. “In the book, they were these weird little silver boots.”

The ruby ​​red design emerged due to the use of cinematographic processes known as technicolor, allowing the visual exploration of colors. This made Gilbert Adrianthe studio’s costume designer, opted for chromatic boldness that deviated from the original description.

With this, as the multifaceted narrative of the world of Oz intertwines various interpretations and versions over the years, Tazewell decided to capture the essence and inspiration of the original work of Baum mixing with the idea seen in the plot from the late 1930s, bringing unique footwear: a silver slipper with arabesques and jewels.

“There’s the idea of ​​Cinderella and the glass slipper, and then it’s like we make shoes a myth and we introduce them into our fantasy fairy tale narrative,” Tazewell explained. “In the book, they were silver shoes, and then they became silver and crystal shoes.”

In the plot of MaguireGlinda enchants the shoes to allow Nessarose to walk and, with the spell, they turn red — the Broadway adaptation follows this magical transformation through the character Elphaba.

Also read: Wicked: The difference between Glinda in the musical and the film