Video Review: The Patchwork Girl Of Oz

An independent computer animated movie that came out a while ago was The Patchwork Girl Of Oz from Thundertoad Animation. This is a direct adaptation of L. Frank Baum's seventh Oz book, that was also turned into a 1914 silent film.

The story tells of the crooked-but honest magician Dr. Pipt accidently turns his wife and his friend Nunkie into statues with a magic potion. Nunkie's nephew, Ojo the Unlucky, sets out to find ingredients to the Potion of Life to cure them. He travels with Pipt's living glass cat named Bungle, and a Patchwork Girl called Scraps also brought to life by Dr. Pipt. They befriend the enigmatic Woozy creature, and runs into Shaggy Man and Scarecrow who take them to the Emerald City. Princess Ozma has them seek out the other elements for the potion, and Dorothy joins them. After averting a war between the Horners and Hoppers, they collect the rest of the items and restore Pipt's wife and Nunkie.

The animation in this is pretty basic, even more than Hash Inc.'s CGI version of Tin Woodman Of Oz. However, it's still a faithful telling of the original story, and worth a looksy by Oz-files, or anyone interested in the further Oz books. The movie now is available on DVD, which has several deleted scenes and unused audio excerpts.