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| “ | Just try! I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too! HAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA! | „ |
| ~ The Wicked Witch of the West's most famous and iconic quote, while threatening Dorothy Gale and Toto. |
| “ | AHHHHH! YOU CURSED BRAT, LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE! I’M MELTING, MELTING! Ohhh, what a world, what a world! Who would've thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?! AAHH, LOOK OUT! LOOK OUT! I’M GOING! Ohhh... Ohhhhhhhhh... | „ |
| ~ The Wicked Witch of the West's villainous breakdown, second most famous quote, and last words as she melts to death in front of Dorothy, Toto, the Scarecrow, the Lion, the Tin Man and the Winkie Guards. |
The Wicked Witch of the West is the main antagonist of the 1939 Metro Goldwyn Mayer musical film The Wizard of Oz.
A fearsome and notoriously cruel figure, she is a power-hungry evil witch who intends to steal Dorothy Gale's ruby slippers in order to use its magic to take over Oz. In turn she became the archenemy of Dorothy and is also a sworn foe to her friends: the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion.
She was portrayed by the late Margaret Hamilton, who also played Miss Almira Gulch in the same film.
Biography[]
The Wicked Witch of the West is the tyrannical ruler of the Winkie Country, which is the western quadrant of the fantasy world, Oz. She is also Oz's version of Miss Almira Gulch, Dorothy Gale's grumpy neighbor.
A tornado takes Dorothy's farmhouse to the Land of Oz, where it lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, the tyrannical ruler of Munchkinland in the eastern quadrant of Oz. After being welcomed to Oz by Glinda the Good Witch of the North and thanked for the death of the Witch of the East by the munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the West teleports to Munckinland and demands who killed her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East. When attempting to obtain the ruby slippers that belong to the Witch of the East, the shoes disappear and appear on Dorothy's feet. The Wicked Witch of the West swears vengeance on Dorothy and disappears in fire and smoke.
The Witch then begins stalking Dorothy and her friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion who are on their way to see the Wizard of Oz to ask him for a return home, brains, heart, and courage respectively. After meeting the Tin Man, the Witch threatens the Scarecrow and Tin Man with being used as a mattress stuffer and a beehive respectively, before throwing a fireball at the Scarecrow and disappearing in a cloud of red smoke.
The Witch spies on Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion and uses her magic to make sleep-inducing poppies, making Dorothy and the Lion fall asleep. Glinda later wakes them using a magic blizzard. After discovering this, the Witch flies to the Emerald City and uses the black smoke from her broomstick to spell out the sentence, "Surrender Dorothy". The Wizard of Oz tells Dorothy and her companions that he will help them if they bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West.
Dorothy and her friends make their way to the Witch's castle through the haunted forest. After discovering them on their way to her castle, the Witch sends her army of Flying Monkeys to kidnap Dorothy and her dog Toto. The Witch tells Dorothy to give her the ruby slippers or else Toto will drown. Dorothy agrees but the shoes burn the Witch's hands with a blast of yellow sparks when she attempts to take them. The Witch tells Dorothy that the shoes will never come off her feet as long as she is alive. She turns an hourglass over which is supposed to be a timer for how long Dorothy has got to be alive.
The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion save Dorothy and are pursued by the Witch and her Winkie Guards. After the Witch and the guards corner them, the Witch sets the Scarecrow on fire with her broom after setting her broom on fire with a torch. Dorothy throws water on the Scarecrow to put out the fire, hitting the Witch accidentally, melting and killing her.
Powers and Abilities[]
The Wicked Witch using her crystal ball to poison Dorothy
- Teleportation: The Witch can disappear and reappear in a puff of smoke and/flame.
- Pyrokinesis: The Witch has the ability to create and manipulate fire at will. She uses the ability to conjure flaming balls of fire in her hands and launch them at those who oppose her.
- Flight: The Witch apparently has the ability to levitate herself above the ground and fly in the air. Though she was shown to prefer to use her magic broom, which leaves a trail of black smoke behind her when she flies it.
- Divination: The Witch the ability too see into Dorothy's location using her crystal ball.
- Spell Casting: Through her crystal ball, the Witch cursed and poisoned a field of poppies near the Emerald City to stop Dorothy and her friends.
- Telekinesis: As a Witch, she can move objects with her mind. She was able to shut and lock the doors of her castle with a only gesture of her hand.
Other Media[]
Sesame Street[]
The Wicked Witch and Oscar the Grouch.
The Wicked Witch of the West appears in episode 0847 of Sesame Street, where she is again portrayed by Margaret Hamilton, which will be her last. The episode was met with controversy and negativity as many parents had written letters to complain that the witch is too scary for their children. As such, the episode where the Witch appeared in was pulled from airing. It remained like that for 40 years until the episode resurfaced online in 2022 by an unknown person.
In the episode, the Witch flies over Sesame Street and loses her broom, causing it to fall into the hands of Sesame Street resident David. Appearing in Sesame Street, she realizes that she herself in no longer in the land of Oz. When she saw that David has her broom, she demanded that he give it back. However, David refuses to give it back to the Witch, due to her nasty attitude, unless she shows some respect. Losing patience, the Wicked Witch of the West attempts to wrest her broom away from David, but ends up getting a supernatural shock, as she had forgotten that she can't touch her broom when someone else is holding it. After warning David that she will be back, the Witch disappears in a cloud of smoke.
In Hooper's Store, David recounts of his encounter with the Witch to Maria and some children, but Maria didn't believe him until the Witch herself reappears. She again demanded her broom back but David firmly insists that she has to give him some respect. When Maria asks David to serve her and the children some water, the Witch proceeded to magically make it rain inside the store before again disappearing in a puff of smoke. When Big Bird came by, David warns him of the Witch, but like Maria, Big Bird didn't believe him as he thought that David is just using his imagination, but the latter reveals to him of what she did. When he advices Big Bird that he should go back to his nest if he wants to avoid the Witch, the bird bravely refused to do so, as he insisted that he is a very brave bird, and he resolves to help his friends if the witch ever bothers them again.
As he is looking for something that he could use to fight off the Witch, such as a stick, Big Bird, upon seeing the Witch's broom in David's hand, immediately takes it and the Witch once again reappeared. When Big Bird saw her, he thinks that she is a customer, but a fearful David reveals that it is the Witch herself. Now knowing that it is really her, Big Bird threatens her to stop bothering David. Seeing that the bird is now in possession of her broom, the Witch acknowledges that he now has it as well as calling him her "feathered friend". She demanded that he give her her broom back, but Big Bird firmly refused.
When the Witch tries to grab it from him, she ends up getting a shock again, which left her pain. Now furious, the Witch warns David, who gets the broom back from Big Bird, that Hooper's Store will be more than what she had finished and threatens to turn him into a basketball. Turning to Big Bird, she magically makes a feathered duster appear in her hand, waves it at him in a threatening manner, and threatened to turn him into a feathered duster before again disappearing in a puff of smoke. Despite the threat the Witch gave him, Big Bird still remained fearless and he bravely swore to stay and help David protect Hooper's store.
Later, after stopping by the trashcan of Oscar the Grouch, she began recounting of all the events that has so far transpired, to which she enjoys, but she'll state to herself that her attempts didn't work. As she continues scheming on how she could get her broom back, Oscar, who overheard everything, immediately appears from his trashcan and tells her that she is the most beautiful person he has ever seen, causing the Witch to bark back and Oscar immediately goes back inside his can while he declares his love for her. Flattened by this, she suddenly gets the idea to disguise herself so that no one would recognize her. Now resorting to deception, she uses her magic to turn herself into an elderly woman wearing normal clothes. Now in disguise, she goes back to Hooper's Store, which is now under guard by Big Bird, who armed himself with a baseball bat and a hockey stick. The witch's disguise easily fools Big Bird, who allows her to enter the store.
Once inside, she was greeted by David, who didn't recognize her. After the Witch took a seat, both David and Maria began telling her of the Witch and on show she had zapped and threatened people, though the two had no idea that the woman they are talking to is the Witch herself. When David reveals the broom, she asks if she could hold it to which David allows. However, when she asks him to put it down on the counter, David immediately knew something is suspicious. Despite this, he, still wanting some respect, suggested that she ask nicely if she wants to hold the broom. After some stammering, the Witch, in her disguise, finally asked in a nice way as well as saying "please". Finally satisfied, David puts the broom down, allowing the Witch to reclaim it. Once the broom is back in her possession, she reveals herself. When David asks her on what she is gonna do now that she got her broom back, the Witch declares that she is gonna fly back to the land of Oz and never see Sesame Street again before going out of the store.
As the Witch prepares to leave, Maria remarks on how glad she herself is as the Witch is finally leaving, but Big Bird, who had warmed up to the Witch, is saddened to see her go, because everything became interesting and exciting to him during the Witch's stay. Hearing this, she tells him that while it was exciting for him it wasn't for her as all she wanted is to return home. She then takes off on her broom as Big Bird waves her good-bye and he, David, and Maria watched as the Witch flies away. While in the sky, she carelessly navigates without hands, causing her to lose her broom again, much to her frustration. The broom ultimately falls back into David's possession.
Crying, the latter, knowing that the Witch will come back, began lamenting on having to go through it again. While he is being comforted by Maria, the children, and Big Bird, the Wicked Witch of the West (out of sight) announces the sponsors for the episode, which are the letters "I" and "Z" and the number "9".
Paul Lynde Halloween Special[]
In the 1976 Paul Lynde Halloween Special, Margaret Hamilton again reprises her role as the Witch, this time teaming up to torment the hapless Lynde (who himself played a Warlock on Bewitched) with Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo from HR Pufnstuff.
Tom and Jerry[]
The Wicked Witch of the West is the main antagonist of Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz and a posthumous antagonist of Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz.
Lego Dimensions[]
The Wicked Witch of the West appeared as the first boss in Lego Dimensions after Dorothy and her friends were captured by Lord Vortech, who was in need of her Ruby Slippers. When the Wicked Witch of the West saw the three protagonists of the game, she thought Wyldstyle was Dorothy and Batman was her dog. She then sees the keystone and orders her Flying Monkeys to get it for her. After she acquires it, she flies back to her castle. As Batman, Gandolf, and WildStyle makes their way towards her castle, she acquires new powers from the keystone and uses it to create portal everywhere. Once the heroes place cages in front of the portals to capture her, she breaks free. After that, they use the spare pieces of the cages to build a water cannon and use it to squirt her with it. She then disintegrates and falls into a portal summoned by Lord Vortech. Despite having melted, she is later seen in one piece in Vortech's headquarters, implying that she either didn't die and regenerated her body or was revived by someone else.
She also appears in the same game as a playable character, via the 71221 Fun Pack.
Space Jam: A New Legacy[]
The Wicked Witch of the West makes a cameo appearance in the 2021 film Space Jam: A New Legacy, the anticipated sequel to the 1996 Warner Bros. hybrid film Space Jam. She appears alongside other villains from other Warner Bros. properties such as Agent Smith, the 1989 incarnation of Joker, the 2017-19 incarnation of Pennywise the Dancing Clown, and Lord Voldemort as one of the speculators of Al-G Rhythm's basketball game. Much like in The LEGO Batman Movie, the Wicked Witch of the West has been reunited with Agent Smith and Lord Voldemort.
She was portrayed by Mila Kunis.
Quotes[]
Single Quotes[]
| “ | Who killed my sister? Who killed the Witch of the East?! Was it you?! | „ |
| ~ The Wicked Witch asking Dorothy that she didn't know how how her sister died. |
Dialogue[]
| “ | Dorothy: No. No, It was an accident. I didn't mean to kill anybody.
Wicked Witch: Well, my little pretty. I can cause accidents too! |
„ |
Trivia[]
- While filming her scenes as the Wicked Witch, Margaret Hamilton suffered a second-degree burn on her face and a third-degree burn on her hand during a second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland, in which the trap door's drop was delayed to eliminate the brief glimpse of it seen in the final edit. Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident, before returning to the set to complete her work on the film.
- She came in fourth place in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains countdown.
- She's also the highest rated female villain on the list since the top three villains (Hannibal Lecter, Norman Bates and Darth Vader) are all males.
- Her "and your little dog, too" line came in 99th place in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes countdown.
- Margaret Hamilton later became known to a new generation from a series of commercials for Maxwell House Coffee, playing Cora the Storekeeper. Reportedly, during the 1939 filming, the cast had a hard time acting scared of Hamilton, who was widely known as a kind and giving person.
- The Wicked Witch of The West appeared in The LEGO Batman Movie as one of the non-DC villains and a Phantom Zone prisoner.
- She also appeared in The LEGO Movie as one of the master builders along with MetalBeard to enter the Octan Tower and destroy the Kragle, but was captured by Lord Business.
- The late Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, but she had to drop out as she believes that the witch's persona would be too similar to Queen Grimhilde from Walt Disney's first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the role was given to Margaret Hamilton.
- She is mostly the template for most versions of the Wicked Witch of the West, with original book version's appearance being less used.
- The Wicket Witch of the West of Margaret Hamilton caused scary in actor Jeffrey Jones.
