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"Toto" in The Wizard of Oz
When the Cairn Terrier who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz was
chosen for the role, he was already a Hollywood veteran, having
appeared in eleven movies between 1934 and 1942. The terrier's name was
Terry, and he was trained by Carl Spitz, a famous animal handler. MGM
offered the shy dog $300 a week to play the role of Toto. But Spitz was
so unsure of Terry's ability to perform that he accepted only $150.
Terry, whose name was eventually changed to Toto, went on to create a
role as memorable as those of the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the
Cowardly Lion.
Toto was originally drawn
into life in 1901 with the publication of L. Frank Baum's The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The first edition of 8aum's book was
playfully illustrated by the artist William W. Denslow. He envisioned
Toto as a Cairn Terrier. The other thirteen volumes, however, were
illustrated by R. A. Neill, who depicted Toto as a French Bulldog. When
the movie version of The Wizard of Oz was in preproduction, MGM
cast a Frenchie named Captain to play Toto. But the Frenchie turned out
to be an uncooperative actor, so the studio went with Denslow's
depiction. Toto the scrappy Little Cairn Terrier became firmly embedded
in our collective consciousness.
In the 1902 musical version of the Wizard of Oz,
two actors played Toto as a spotted calf named Imogene. This was
because, as Baum explained, "We found Toto an impossibility from a
dramatic point of view." He felt that a calf would amuse children as
much as a dog would.
Philosophers, sociologists, and even students of
religion have long argued over the metaphysical interpretation of Toto.
One theory postulates that Toto represents Anubis, the dog-headed
Egyptian god of death. After all, it's Toto's fault that Dorothy
never makes it to the Kansas storm cellar - and to safety. It's also
Toto who exposes the wizard, and it's Toto who keeps Dorothy from
returning home by leaping out of her arms at the worst possible moment.
Thus, it is because Dorothy faces death at every corner that she must
finally draw on her own inner strength - her spirituality, which is
symbolized by her ruby slippers.
In his book The Wizard of Oz, Salman Rushdie
refers to Toto as a "yapping hairpiece of a creature; that meddlesome
rug!"
Dorothy might have had an easier time if it were not
for Toto's shenanigans, but she wouldn't have had nearly as much Fun.
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