Princess Ozma
|
|
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz universe created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first.
Ozma.gif
Princess Ozma
According to The Tin Woodman of Oz, Princess Ozma appears to be fourteen or fifteen years old, and several years older than Dorothy.
John R. Neill (1877 - 1943), the illustrator of Baum's Oz series, established the characteristic look of Ozma, strongly influenced by Charles Dana Gibson's 'Gibson girl' and by the beauties in the Art Nouveau poster art of Alphonse Mucha. Neill drew many pictures of Ozma between 1904, when she first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz, and his death in 1943, and during those years her image developed and changed. The illustration shown here is from Rinkitink in Oz, 1916 - about halfway through Ozma's gradual transformation from an angelic child to a spitfire glamour-girl.
Ozma was portrayed on film by Emma Ridley in 1985's Return to Oz which was based loosely on the books Ozma of Oz and The Marvelous Land of Oz.
Several fans have pointed out similarities in the appearance of Princess Leia from the Star Wars films to Ozma, in particular Leia's draped white costume and symmetrical hair design reminiscent of the flowers that typically adorn Ozma's crown.
| The world of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Wicked (The books | The musical)
|