Silver Shoes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silver Shoes |
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Illustration by W. W. Denslow in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz of Dorothy holding the Shoes
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| Plot element from the Land of Oz series of prose fiction | |
| First appearance | |
| Created by | L. Frank Baum |
| Genre | Children's books, fantasy |
| In-story information | |
| Type | Magical shoes |
| Function | Able to send the wearer wherever they wish to go |
The Silver Shoes are special magical shoes from L. Frank Baum's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written in 1900. These shoes help the main character, Dorothy Gale, travel back home. They first belonged to the Wicked Witch of the East. But when Dorothy's house landed on the Witch, the shoes became Dorothy's. At the end of the story, Dorothy uses the shoes to go back to her home in Kansas. However, the shoes fall off during her journey and are lost.
Contents
The Silver Shoes in Books
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Book
The first book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), is the only one in the original series where the Silver Shoes are a main part of the story. They belong to the Wicked Witch of the East. After Dorothy's house lands on the Witch, the Good Witch of the North gives the shoes to Dorothy. She tells Dorothy that the shoes have a special magic, but she doesn't know what it is.
Later, when Dorothy is captured by the Wicked Witch of the West, the Witch tries to steal the shoes. She even tricks Dorothy into tripping to get one shoe. But Dorothy melts the Witch with water and gets her shoe back.
Finally, Glinda explains the shoes' power. They can take the person wearing them anywhere they wish to go. The Wicked Witch of the West really wanted these shoes. This shows how powerful they were. Dorothy says goodbye to her friends. Then, she clicks her heels together three times. She tells the shoes to take her home. When Dorothy opens her eyes, she is back in Kansas! The shoes are gone, though. They fell off over the Deadly Desert. Even though they are mentioned in other books, they never appear again in the original series.
The Wizard of the Emerald City Book
In Alexander Melentyevich Volkov's book The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939), the Silver Shoes are called "Serebryaniye bashmachki." They protect Elly, who is like Dorothy in this version. Because of this, Elly always wears them, even when she sleeps. The shoes are not taken from the Witch's body. Instead, Toto brings them from the Witch's cave. The shoes are lost, just like in Baum's book.
Dorothy of Oz Book
In Roger S. Baum's Dorothy of Oz (1989), Glinda finds the Silver Shoes again. She gives them back to Dorothy. The shoes still have enough magic. Dorothy can use them to travel to Oz and then back to Kansas one more time.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West Book
In Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), the Silver Shoes are a gift for Nessarose. She is the Wicked Witch of the East. Her father makes them using special glass beads. These beads make the shoes shiny and colorful. Later, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, enchants them. This helps Nessarose walk better. In the Broadway musical version, Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, enchants the shoes. Her spell makes them glow red and hot. This turns them into the famous ruby slippers.
The Silver Shoes in Movies
The Wizard of Oz (1939 Film)
In the 1939 movie, the shoes have the same purpose as in the book. But the screenwriter, Noel Langley, changed their color to red. They are called the Ruby Slippers. These red shoes also have an extra power. They cannot be taken off the wearer's feet unless that person is dead.
The Wiz (1978 Film)
In The Wiz (1978), the shoes are silver high heels. This movie shows how the shoes are magically protected. When Evillene, the Witch of the West, tries to get them with magic, her fingers bend painfully backward.
The Wizard of Oz (1982 Anime Film)
In the 1982 anime movie, the shoes are again red. They are not called "ruby slippers." They look like heeled shoes with pointed, curled toes. Unlike the book, the shoes are still on Dorothy's feet when she arrives in Kansas.
Return to Oz (1985 Film)
In Return to Oz (1985), the Ruby Slippers are used again. In this movie, they have more power than just travel. They let the Nome King take over Oz. He turns everyone in the Emerald City into stone. Dorothy later uses the shoes to change them back. This extra power is because the slippers replace the Nome King's Magic Belt.
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005 Film)
In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), the Silver Shoes are sparkling, jeweled, glittery Manolo Blahnik high-heels. The Witch of the West tries to cut off Dorothy's feet to get the shoes. Again, the shoes stay on Dorothy's feet when she gets home.
The Silver Shoes in TV Shows
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 Anime TV Series)
In the 1986 anime TV series, the shoes are brown peasant shoes when first seen on the Witch of the East. When the Witch of the North magically puts them on Dorothy's feet, they become white slip-on shoes. When Dorothy has to give one shoe to the Witch of the West, it turns back into a peasant shoe. After the Witch melts, the shoe becomes white again when Dorothy wears it.
The shoes are used twice after they first send Dorothy home. The first time, Dorothy clicks the heels while holding them. She drops them, and she is sent to Oz while the shoes stay in Kansas. Glinda then sends her home. The second time, Dorothy is sleeping. Tik-Tok sends a distress signal. The shoes activate and take Dorothy to the Land of Ev in a beam of light. Her clothes even change during the flight.
The Wizard of Oz (1990 TV Series)
In the 1990 The Wizard of Oz TV series, the Ruby Slippers take Dorothy back to Oz. They have other strong magical powers that Dorothy doesn't fully understand. They often help her in tough situations. They are no longer shown as high heels.
This series also suggests that the Ruby Slippers' magic is linked to their red glow. Their powers work only when a faint red light comes from them. This happens when Dorothy clicks her heels. The magic stops when the shoes stop glowing. The Wicked Witch once stopped their powers. She captured a red Luminary, a creature that controls color in Oz. She forced it to drain the red color from the slippers. But the slippers got their powers back after the Luminary escaped.
The series also shows that the slippers don't have to be on the user's feet to work. Dorothy once held them in her hands and tapped the heels together. This worked because the sandy ground made it hard to click them on her feet.
Also, Truckle, the lead Flying Monkey, once wore the Ruby Slippers. He used their magic for his own plans. Even though he wasn't very smart, the slippers gave him enough power to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West's magic. He even made her his servant for a short time. This shows that anyone can gain great power from the shoes, even without being a skilled magic user. The Cowardly Lion also gets to wear them briefly.
Once Upon a Time (TV Series)
In the Once Upon a Time TV series, the Silver Slippers are first mentioned in the episode "The Doctor." Rumpelstiltskin sends the Mad Hatter to Oz to find the shoes. He wants them to travel to a land without magic to find his son.
In "It's Not Easy Being Green," Zelena, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, visits the Wizard. She wants to find her family. She learns her mother abandoned her. She also learns her half-sister, Regina, became a Queen and was trained by Rumpelstiltskin. The Wizard gives Zelena the shoes. She uses them to travel to the Enchanted Forest. She tries to replace Regina as Rumpelstiltskin's student. When he rejects her, Zelena turns green with envy. She shows off the power of the Silver Slippers to Rumpelstiltskin. This makes him want them later. Zelena uses the Silver Slippers again to return to Oz and take over from the Wizard.
In "Kansas," the Slippers appear again. Zelena, pretending to be the Wizard of Oz, gives Dorothy the Silver Slippers. She wants to send Dorothy back to Kansas. This is to stop Dorothy from becoming a powerful witch. She also wants to stop Dorothy from defeating Zelena as the Witch of the West.
In "Our Decay," an adult Dorothy returns to Oz using the Slippers. She wants to face Zelena and rescue the Scarecrow.
In "Ruby Slippers," the Silver Slippers appear one last time. They allow travel between the Underworld and Oz. This helps Ruby (Red Riding Hood) rescue Dorothy from a sleeping curse Zelena put on her. Zelena, who is trying to change, gives the Slippers to the heroes. This lets Ruby and Snow White go back to Oz.
The Silver Shoes in Other Stories
Fables Comics
The shoes are shown in the DC Comics Vertigo series Fables. Dorothy is shown as a tough assassin. She enjoyed killing after the Wizard hired her to kill the Witch of the West. But she loses the shoes on her way back to Kansas over the Deadly Desert. She tries very hard to get them back. She meets Fabletown spy Cinderella several times. Their fight ends in the mini-series Cinderella: Fables Are Forever. Cinderella realizes the shoes are too big for Dorothy. She takes them and pushes Dorothy out of an airship over the Deadly Desert. Dorothy seems to die, but her body is not seen. Cinderella then tries on the shoes and finds they fit her perfectly.
