Tin Woodman
Encyclopedia
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman (the third name appears only in adaptations, the first—and in rare instances, the second—was used by Baum), is a character in the fictional Land of Oz
created by American
author L. Frank Baum
. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
, and reappeared in many other Oz books
. In late 19th century America, men made out of various tin
pieces were used in advertising and political cartoons. Baum, who was editing a magazine on decorating shop windows when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was reportedly inspired to invent the Tin Woodman by a figure he had built out of metal parts for a shop display.
), the Tin Woodman used to make his living chopping down trees in the forests of Oz, as his father had before him. The Wicked Witch of the East
enchanted his axe to prevent him from marrying the girl that he loved. The enchanted axe chopped off his limbs, one by one. Each time he lost a limb, Nick Chopper replaced it with a prosthetic limb made of tin. Finally, nothing was left of him but tin. However, Ku-Klip, the tinsmith
who helped him, neglected to replace his heart. Once Nick Chopper was made entirely of tin, he was no longer able to love the girl he had fallen for.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale
befriends the Tin Woodman after they find him rusted in the forest, as he was caught in rain, and use his oil can to release him. He follows her to the Emerald City
to get a heart from The Wizard of Oz
. They are joined on their adventure by the Scarecrow
and the Cowardly Lion
. The Wizard sends Dorothy and her friends to the Winkie Country
to kill the Wicked Witch of the West
. The Tin Woodman's axe proves useful in this journey, both for chopping wood to create a bridge or raft as needed, and for chopping the heads off animals that threaten the party. When the Flying Monkeys are sent by the Witch of the West against the group, they throw the Tin Woodman from a great height, damaging him badly. However Winkie Tinsmiths are able to repair him after the death of the Witch.
His desire for a heart notably contrasts with the Scarecrow
's desire for brains, reflecting a common debate between the relative importance of the mind and the emotions. This occasions philosophical debate between the two friends as to why their own choices are superior; neither convinces the other, and Dorothy, listening, is unable to decide which one is right. Symbolically, because they remain with Dorothy throughout her quest, she is provided with both and need not select. The Tin Woodman states unequivocally that he has neither heart nor brain, but cares nothing for the loss of his brain. Towards the end of the novel, though, Glinda
praises his brain as not quite that of the Scarecrow's.
The Wizard turns out to be a "humbug" and can only provide a placebo
heart made of velvet
and filled with sawdust
. However, this is enough to please the Tin Woodman, who, with or without a heart, was all along the most tender and emotional of Dorothy's companions (just as the Scarecrow was the wisest and the Cowardly Lion the bravest). When he accidentally crushes an insect, he is grief-stricken and, ironically, claims that he must be careful about such things, while those with hearts do not need such care. This tenderness remains with him throughout the series, as in The Patchwork Girl of Oz
, where he refuses to let a butterfly be maimed for the casting of a spell.
When Dorothy returns home to her farm in Kansas
, the Tin Woodman returns to the Winkie Country to rule as emperor. Later, he has his subjects construct a palace made entirely of tin — from the architecture all the way down to the flowers in the garden.
Baum emphasized that the Tin Woodman remains alive, in contrast to the windup mechanical man Tik-Tok Dorothy meets in a later book. Nick Chopper was not turned into a machine, but rather had his flesh body replaced by a metal one. Far from missing his original existence, the Tin Woodman is proud (perhaps too proud) of his untiring tin body.
A recurring problem for the Tin Woodman in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and afterward was his tendency to rust when exposed to rain, tears, or other moisture. For this reason, in The Marvelous Land of Oz
the character has himself nickel
-plated before helping his friend the Scarecrow fight to regain his throne in the Emerald City
. Even so, the Tin Woodman continues to worry about rusting throughout the Oz series.
This, of course, is inconsistent, in that tin does not rust; only iron does. This may reflect the usage where an object made of iron or steel but coated with tin (in order to prevent rusting) is called a "Tin" object, as a "tin bath", a "tin toy", or a "tin can"; thus, the Tin Woodman might be interpreted (in English, at least) as being made of steel with a tin veneer. One passage in The Road to Oz, by Baum himself, wherein the Woodman attends Ozma's birthday party accompanied by a Winkie band playing a song called "There's No Plate Like Tin," strongly implies that this is the case. Another explanation may be that the Woodman is chiefly made of tin, with iron joints; in some of the illustrations, his joints are a different color from the rest of his body. In Alexander Volkov
's Russian
adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Volkov avoided this problem by the translation of "The Tin Woodman" as the "Iron Woodchopper".
The Tin Woodman appeared in most of the Oz books that followed. He is a major character in the comic page Baum wrote with Walt McDougall in 1904-05, Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz. In Ozma of Oz
, he commands Princess Ozma
's army, and is briefly turned into a tin whistle. In Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
, he serves as defense counsel in the trial of Eureka
. He affects the plot of a book most notably in The Patchwork Girl of Oz
, in which he forbids the young hero from collecting the wing of a butterfly needed for a magical potion because his heart requires him to protect insects from cruelty. Baum also wrote a short book titled The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, part of the Little Wizard Stories of Oz
series for younger readers.
In The Tin Woodman of Oz
, Nick Chopper finally sets out to find his lost love, Nimmie Amee, but discovers that she has already married Chopfyt, a man constructed partly out of his own dismembered and discarded limbs. For the Tin Woodman, this encounter with his former fiancée is almost as jarring as his experiences being transformed into a tin owl, meeting another tin man, Captain Fyter, and conversing with his ill-tempered original head.
Baum's successors in writing the series tended to use the Tin Woodman as a minor character, still ruling the Winkie Country but not governing the stories' outcome. Two exceptions to this pattern are Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
, by Ruth Plumly Thompson
, and Lucky Bucky in Oz
, by John R. Neill
. The biggest exception is in Rachel Cosgrove's The Hidden Valley of Oz
, in which the Tin Woodman leads the forces in the defeat of Terp the Terrible and cuts down the Magic Muffin Tree that gives Terp his great size.
The fact that Nick includes the natural deaths of his parents in the story of how he came to be made of tin has been a major element of debate. In his eponymous novel, he proclaims that no one in Oz ever died as far back as Lurline's enchantment of the country, which occurred long before the arrival of any outsiders such as the Wizard.
, the eponymous protagonist
is a power-armored vigilante
whom the media and police have dubbed The Tin Man for his physical resemblance to the Wizard of Oz character.
The Tin Woodman is a minor character in author Gregory Maguire
's 1995 revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
, its 2003 Broadway musical
adaptation and Maguire's 2005 sequel Son of a Witch
. In the book, Nessarose - the Wicked Witch of the East - is seen enchanting the axe to swing around and chop off Nick Chopper's limbs. She does this for a peasant woman who wishes to stop her servant, probably Nimmie Amee, from marrying Nick Chopper. This seems to be close to the Tin Man's origin in the original books, but from the Witch's perspective.
In the musical adaptation of Wicked
the Tin Man is revealed to be Boq
, a Munchkin whom Nessarose
, the Wicked Witch of the East
, fell in love with when they were at school together. When she discovered his heart belonged to Glinda
, she botched a spell that was meant to make him fall in love with her, but instead shrunk his heart to nothing. To save his life, Elphaba
, the Wicked Witch of the West
, was forced to turn him into tin. Not understanding her reasons, he pursues Elphaba with a single-minded vengeance for his current form. The Tin Man's humble origin in the novel conflicts with him having been the aristocratic Boq.
In Oz Squad
, Nick was shown in a sexual relationship with "Rebecca Eastwitch" in order to get closer to Nimmie Amee and attempt to elope with her.
Economics and history professors have published scholarly studies that indicate the images and characters used by Baum and Denslow closely resembled political images that were well known in the 1890s. They state that Baum and Denslow did not simply invent the Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Yellow Brick Road, Silver Slippers, cyclone, monkeys, Emerald City, little people, Uncle Henry, passenger balloons, witches and the wizard. These were all common themes in the editorial cartoons of the previous decade. The notion of a "Tin Man" has deep roots in European and American history, according to Green (2006), and often appeared in cartoons of the 1880s and 1890s. Baum and Denslow, like most writers and illustrators, used the materials at hand that they knew best. They built a story around them, added Dorothy, and added a series of lessons to the effect that everyone possesses the resources they need (such as brains, a heart and courage) if only they had self-confidence. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a children’s book, of course, but as Baum warned in the preface, it was a "modernized" fairy tale as well.
The Tin Man--the human turned into a machine--was a common feature in political cartoons and in advertisements in the 1890s. Indeed, he had been part of European folk art for 300 years. In political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Tin Woodman is supposedly described as a worker, dehumanized by industrialization. The Tin Woodman little by little lost his natural body and had it replaced by metal; so, he has lost his heart and cannot move without the help of farmers (represented by the Scarecrow); in reality he has a strong sense of cooperation and love, which needs only an infusion of self-confidence to be awakened. (In the 1890s, many argued that to secure a political revolution a coalition of Farmers and Workers was needed.)
The 1890 editorial cartoon to the right shows President Benjamin Harrison
wearing improvised tin armor because he wanted a tariff on tin. Such images support the argument that the figure of a "tin man" was in use as political allegory in the 1890s. The man on the right is politician James G. Blaine
.
The oil needed by the Tin Woodman had a political dimension at the time because Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company stood accused of being a monopoly (and in fact was later found guilty by the Supreme Court). In the 1902 stage adaptation
, which is full of topical references that do not appear either in the novel or in any of the film adaptations (unless they are satirical), the Tin Woodman wonders what he would do if he ran out of oil. "You wouldn't be as badly off as John D. Rockefeller," the Scarecrow responds, "He'd lose six thousand dollars a minute if that happened."
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
created by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. Baum's Tin Woodman first appeared in his classic 1900 book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, and reappeared in many other Oz books
The Oz books
The Oz books form a book series that begins with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , and that relates the fictional history of the Land of Oz. Oz was created by author L. Frank Baum, who went on to write fourteen full-length Oz books, all of which are in the public domain in the United States...
. In late 19th century America, men made out of various tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
pieces were used in advertising and political cartoons. Baum, who was editing a magazine on decorating shop windows when he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was reportedly inspired to invent the Tin Woodman by a figure he had built out of metal parts for a shop display.
The books
In the books, the origins of the character are rather gruesome. Originally an ordinary man by the name of Nick Chopper (the name first appearing in The Marvelous Land of OzThe Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...
), the Tin Woodman used to make his living chopping down trees in the forests of Oz, as his father had before him. The Wicked Witch of the East
Wicked Witch of the East
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....
enchanted his axe to prevent him from marrying the girl that he loved. The enchanted axe chopped off his limbs, one by one. Each time he lost a limb, Nick Chopper replaced it with a prosthetic limb made of tin. Finally, nothing was left of him but tin. However, Ku-Klip, the tinsmith
Tinsmith
A tinsmith, or tinner or tinker or tinplate worker, is a person who makes and repairs things made of light-coloured metal, particularly tinware...
who helped him, neglected to replace his heart. Once Nick Chopper was made entirely of tin, he was no longer able to love the girl he had fallen for.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
befriends the Tin Woodman after they find him rusted in the forest, as he was caught in rain, and use his oil can to release him. He follows her to the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
to get a heart from The Wizard of Oz
Wizard (Oz)
The Wizard of Oz, known during his reign as The Great and Powerful Oz, is the epithet of Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmannuel Ambroise Diggs, a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by American author L...
. They are joined on their adventure by the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
and the Cowardly Lion
Cowardly Lion
The Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
. The Wizard sends Dorothy and her friends to the Winkie Country
Winkie Country
The Winkie Country is a division of the fictional Land of Oz. It is distinguished by the color yellow; this color is worn by most of the local inhabitants and predominates in the surroundings....
to kill the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. The Tin Woodman's axe proves useful in this journey, both for chopping wood to create a bridge or raft as needed, and for chopping the heads off animals that threaten the party. When the Flying Monkeys are sent by the Witch of the West against the group, they throw the Tin Woodman from a great height, damaging him badly. However Winkie Tinsmiths are able to repair him after the death of the Witch.
His desire for a heart notably contrasts with the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
's desire for brains, reflecting a common debate between the relative importance of the mind and the emotions. This occasions philosophical debate between the two friends as to why their own choices are superior; neither convinces the other, and Dorothy, listening, is unable to decide which one is right. Symbolically, because they remain with Dorothy throughout her quest, she is provided with both and need not select. The Tin Woodman states unequivocally that he has neither heart nor brain, but cares nothing for the loss of his brain. Towards the end of the novel, though, Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
praises his brain as not quite that of the Scarecrow's.
The Wizard turns out to be a "humbug" and can only provide a placebo
Placebo
A placebo is a simulated or otherwise medically ineffectual treatment for a disease or other medical condition intended to deceive the recipient...
heart made of velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
and filled with sawdust
Sawdust
Sawdust is a by-product of cutting lumber with a saw, composed of fine particles of wood. It can present a hazard in manufacturing industries, especially in terms of its flammability....
. However, this is enough to please the Tin Woodman, who, with or without a heart, was all along the most tender and emotional of Dorothy's companions (just as the Scarecrow was the wisest and the Cowardly Lion the bravest). When he accidentally crushes an insect, he is grief-stricken and, ironically, claims that he must be careful about such things, while those with hearts do not need such care. This tenderness remains with him throughout the series, as in The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is a children's novel, the seventh set in the Land of Oz. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps , and others. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill...
, where he refuses to let a butterfly be maimed for the casting of a spell.
When Dorothy returns home to her farm in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, the Tin Woodman returns to the Winkie Country to rule as emperor. Later, he has his subjects construct a palace made entirely of tin — from the architecture all the way down to the flowers in the garden.
Baum emphasized that the Tin Woodman remains alive, in contrast to the windup mechanical man Tik-Tok Dorothy meets in a later book. Nick Chopper was not turned into a machine, but rather had his flesh body replaced by a metal one. Far from missing his original existence, the Tin Woodman is proud (perhaps too proud) of his untiring tin body.
A recurring problem for the Tin Woodman in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and afterward was his tendency to rust when exposed to rain, tears, or other moisture. For this reason, in The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz
The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...
the character has himself nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
-plated before helping his friend the Scarecrow fight to regain his throne in the Emerald City
Emerald City
The Emerald City is the fictional capital city of the Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
. Even so, the Tin Woodman continues to worry about rusting throughout the Oz series.
This, of course, is inconsistent, in that tin does not rust; only iron does. This may reflect the usage where an object made of iron or steel but coated with tin (in order to prevent rusting) is called a "Tin" object, as a "tin bath", a "tin toy", or a "tin can"; thus, the Tin Woodman might be interpreted (in English, at least) as being made of steel with a tin veneer. One passage in The Road to Oz, by Baum himself, wherein the Woodman attends Ozma's birthday party accompanied by a Winkie band playing a song called "There's No Plate Like Tin," strongly implies that this is the case. Another explanation may be that the Woodman is chiefly made of tin, with iron joints; in some of the illustrations, his joints are a different color from the rest of his body. In Alexander Volkov
Alexander Volkov
Alexander Volkov may refer to:*Alexander Volkov , Russian mixed martial artist*Alexander Volkov , Israeli pianist and pedagogue, member of the Israel Piano Trio, father of Ilan Volkov....
's Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Volkov avoided this problem by the translation of "The Tin Woodman" as the "Iron Woodchopper".
The Tin Woodman appeared in most of the Oz books that followed. He is a major character in the comic page Baum wrote with Walt McDougall in 1904-05, Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz. In Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz
Ozma of Oz: A Record of Her Adventures with Dorothy Gale of Kansas, the Yellow Hen, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Tiktok, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger; Besides Other Good People too Numerous to Mention Faithfully Recorded Herein published on July 30, 1907, was the third book of L....
, he commands Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma
Princess Ozma is a fictional character in the Land of Oz, created by L. Frank Baum. She appears in every book of the series except the first, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz .She is the rightful ruler of Oz, and L...
's army, and is briefly turned into a tin whistle. In Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz: A Faithful Record of Their Amazing Adventures in an Underground World; and How with the Aid of Their Friends Zeb Hugson, Eureka the Kitten, and Jim the Cab-Horse, They Finally Reached the Wonderful Land of Oz is the fourth book set in the Land of Oz written by L....
, he serves as defense counsel in the trial of Eureka
Eureka (Oz)
Eureka is a white kitten found by Dorothy Gale's Uncle Henry, that he gives to her telling her that the name means "I have found it!" She is introduced in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz....
. He affects the plot of a book most notably in The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum, is a children's novel, the seventh set in the Land of Oz. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps , and others. The book was first published on July 1, 1913, with illustrations by John R. Neill...
, in which he forbids the young hero from collecting the wing of a butterfly needed for a magical potion because his heart requires him to protect insects from cruelty. Baum also wrote a short book titled The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, part of the Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz is a set of six short stories written for young children by L. Frank Baum, the creator of the Oz books. The six tales were published in separate small booklets, "Oz books in miniature," in 1913, and then in a collected edition in 1914 with illustrations by John R. Neill...
series for younger readers.
In The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz
The Tin Woodman of Oz: A Faithful Story of the Astonishing Adventure Undertaken by the Tin Woodman, Assisted by Woot the Wanderer, the Scarecrow of Oz, and Polychrome, the Rainbow's Daughter is the twelfth Land of Oz book written by L. Frank Baum and was originally published on May 13, 1918...
, Nick Chopper finally sets out to find his lost love, Nimmie Amee, but discovers that she has already married Chopfyt, a man constructed partly out of his own dismembered and discarded limbs. For the Tin Woodman, this encounter with his former fiancée is almost as jarring as his experiences being transformed into a tin owl, meeting another tin man, Captain Fyter, and conversing with his ill-tempered original head.
Baum's successors in writing the series tended to use the Tin Woodman as a minor character, still ruling the Winkie Country but not governing the stories' outcome. Two exceptions to this pattern are Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz
Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz is the thirty-third in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the nineteenth and last written by Ruth Plumly Thompson. It was illustrated by John R...
, by Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson was an American writer of children's stories.-Life and work:An avid reader of Baum's books and a lifelong children's writer, Thompson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and began her writing career in 1914 when she took a job with the Philadelphia Public Ledger; she wrote...
, and Lucky Bucky in Oz
Lucky Bucky in Oz
thumb|200px|Cover of Lucky Bucky in Oz.Lucky Bucky in Oz is the thirty-sixth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors, and the third and last written and illustrated solely by John R. Neill. Bucky Jones is aboard a tugboat in New York Harbor when the boiler blows up...
, by John R. Neill
John R. Neill
John Rea Neill was a magazine and children's book illustrator primarily known for illustrating more than forty stories set in the Land of Oz, including L. Frank Baum's, Ruth Plumly Thompson's, and three of his own. His pen-and-ink drawings have become identified almost exclusively with the Oz series...
. The biggest exception is in Rachel Cosgrove's The Hidden Valley of Oz
The Hidden Valley of Oz
The Hidden Valley of Oz is the thirty-ninth in the series of Oz books created by L. Frank Baum and his successors. It was written by Rachel R. Cosgrove and illustrated by Dirk Gringhuis.-Realistic emotions:...
, in which the Tin Woodman leads the forces in the defeat of Terp the Terrible and cuts down the Magic Muffin Tree that gives Terp his great size.
The fact that Nick includes the natural deaths of his parents in the story of how he came to be made of tin has been a major element of debate. In his eponymous novel, he proclaims that no one in Oz ever died as far back as Lurline's enchantment of the country, which occurred long before the arrival of any outsiders such as the Wizard.
The Tin Man in recent fiction
In the 1990 novel The Tin Man, by Dale BrownDale Brown
Dale Brown is an American author and aviator, most famous for his aviation techno-thriller novels, with thirteen New York Times best sellers to his name.Brown was born in Buffalo, New York...
, the eponymous protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
is a power-armored vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
whom the media and police have dubbed The Tin Man for his physical resemblance to the Wizard of Oz character.
The Tin Woodman is a minor character in author Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire
Gregory Maguire is an American writer. He is the author of the novels Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, and many other novels for adults and children...
's 1995 revisionist novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, is a parallel novel published in 1995 written by Gregory Maguire and illustrated by Douglas Smith. It is a revisionist look at the land and characters of Oz from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, its sequels, and the...
, its 2003 Broadway musical
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
adaptation and Maguire's 2005 sequel Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch
Son of a Witch is a fantasy novel written by Gregory Maguire. The book is Maguire’s fifth revisionist story and the second set in the land of Oz originally conceived by L. Frank Baum. It is a sequel to Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West...
. In the book, Nessarose - the Wicked Witch of the East - is seen enchanting the axe to swing around and chop off Nick Chopper's limbs. She does this for a peasant woman who wishes to stop her servant, probably Nimmie Amee, from marrying Nick Chopper. This seems to be close to the Tin Man's origin in the original books, but from the Witch's perspective.
In the musical adaptation of Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
the Tin Man is revealed to be Boq
Boq
Boq is a minor character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. He becomes a more prominent character in Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which purports to show the lives of some of Baum's characters from another perspective, and more...
, a Munchkin whom Nessarose
Nessarose
Nessarose Thropp is the name of the woman who becomes the Wicked Witch of the East in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway adaptation, Wicked...
, the Wicked Witch of the East
Wicked Witch of the East
The Wicked Witch of the East is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum in his Oz series of books....
, fell in love with when they were at school together. When she discovered his heart belonged to Glinda
Glinda
Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, she botched a spell that was meant to make him fall in love with her, but instead shrunk his heart to nothing. To save his life, Elphaba
Elphaba
Elphaba Thropp is a fictional character in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, as well as in the Broadway and West End adaptations, Wicked. In the original L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West is unnamed and little...
, the Wicked Witch of the West
Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is a fictional character and the most significant antagonist in L. Frank Baum's children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
, was forced to turn him into tin. Not understanding her reasons, he pursues Elphaba with a single-minded vengeance for his current form. The Tin Man's humble origin in the novel conflicts with him having been the aristocratic Boq.
In Oz Squad
Oz Squad
Oz Squad is a comic book updating of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz series. Its premise is that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion are now part of "Gale Force" , a Mission Impossible type organization working to protect Oz from all manner of bizarre threats...
, Nick was shown in a sexual relationship with "Rebecca Eastwitch" in order to get closer to Nimmie Amee and attempt to elope with her.
Depictions on stage and screen
- In 1902, Baum helped to adapt The Wizard of Oz into a wildly successful stage extravaganzaThe Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...
. David C. Montgomery played the Tin Woodman, Niccolo Chopper (who played the piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), opposite Fred StoneFred StoneFred Andrew Stone was an American actor. Stone began his career as a performer in circuses and minstrel shows, went on to act on vaudeville, and became a star on Broadway and in feature films, which earned him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Biography:He was particularly famous for appearing...
as the Scarecrow, and the team became headliners. The piccolo would continue to appear in early adaptations, such as the 1910 filmThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel, made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by...
, but was largely forgotten, and the name "Niccolo" never appeared in one of the books. Revisionist books like Oz SquadOz SquadOz Squad is a comic book updating of L. Frank Baum's Land of Oz series. Its premise is that Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion are now part of "Gale Force" , a Mission Impossible type organization working to protect Oz from all manner of bizarre threats...
have referred to him as "Nicholas," a name not found in the books, either.
- In the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of OzThe Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, the Tin Man was played by actor Jack HaleyJack HaleyJohn Joseph "Jack" Haley was an American stage, radio, and film actor best known for his portrayal of the Tin Man and Kansas farmworker Hickory in The Wizard of Oz.-Career:...
. Ray BolgerRay BolgerRaymond Wallace "Ray" Bolger was an American entertainer of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of the Scarecrow and Kansas farmworker Hank in The Wizard of Oz.-Early life:...
was originally cast to play the role, but he wanted to switch with Buddy EbsenBuddy EbsenBuddy Ebsen was an American character actor and dancer. A performer for seven decades, he had starring roles as Jed Clampett in the long-running television series The Beverly Hillbillies and as the title character in the 1970s detective series Barnaby Jones, and played Barnaby Jones in the movie...
, who was playing the Scarecrow. The Tin Man's makeup originally contained aluminum powder which got into Ebsen's lungs, bringing him to the edge of death. He was rushed to a hospital and had to give up the role (ironically, Ebsen would outlive both Haley and Bolger). A safer paste was devised for his replacement. Haley based his breathy speaking style in the movie on the voice he used for telling his son bedtime stories. His portrayal of the character is by far the most famous. There is no explanation in the film of how the Tin Man became the Tin Man. It is subtly implied that he was always made of tin; the only reference to the tinsmith is the Tin Man's remark "The tinsmith forgot to give me a heart". Unlike the costumes of the Scarecrow (in the National Museum of American HistoryNational Museum of American HistoryThe National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
) and Cowardly Lion (two sets in private hands), that of the Tin Man "was largely destroyed".
- Nipsey RussellNipsey RussellJulius "Nipsey" Russell was an American comedian, best known today for his appearances as a guest panelist on game shows from the 1960s through the 1990s, especially Match Game, Password, Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth and Pyramid...
played the "Tinman" in the film adaptation of The WizThe WizThe Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
. In this version, as in the 1939 movie, there is no explanation of how he became tin, just a reference of the "genius who created me". He worked as the carnival barkerBarker (occupation)A barker is a person who attempts to attract patrons to entertainment events, such as a circus or funfair, by exhorting passing public, describing attractions of show and emphasizing variety, novelty, beauty, or some other feature believed to incite listeners to attend entertainment...
and when the park was closed, he was abandoned, rusted and squeezed by his fourth wife, "Teeny" (a heavy tin sculpture of a fat lady). He was saved by Dorothy and the Scarecrow for begin his journey to the Wizard of Oz. Tiger HaynesTiger HaynesTiger Haynes was an American actor and musical performer. .He was born as George Haynes in Frederiksted, St. Croix, and moved to New York when he was a boy...
played the role on Broadway, but as a woodcutter, as in the book.
- Other notable actors who have played the Tin Woodman include Oliver HardyOliver HardyOliver Hardy was an American comic actor famous as one half of Laurel and Hardy, the classic double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted nearly 30 years, from 1927 to 1955.-Early life:...
in a 1925 silent version of The Wizard of Oz directed by and starring Larry SemonLarry SemonLawrence "Larry" Semon was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working with both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they started working together.He is also...
, in which a villainous farmhand briefly fell into a tin pile and emerged as a "Tin Woodsman" [sic]. In subsequent scenes the tin was removed and he became "Knight of the Garter". In the 1960 televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
adaptation of The Land of Oz, he was played by vaudevilleVaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
comedian Gil Lamb, in the 1969 film, The Wonderful Land of OzThe Wonderful Land of OzThe Wonderful Land of Oz is a 1969 film by Barry Mahon, based on the novel The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum. A low budget but faithful adaptation, the film stars Mahon's son, Channy as Tip, Zisca Baum as Mombi, Caroline Berner as General Jinjur, George Wadsworth as Jack Pumpkinhead, Gil...
he was played by Al Joseph, and in the 1985 film Return to OzReturn to OzReturn to Oz is a 1985 film which is an unofficial sequel to Victor Fleming's The Wizard of Oz. The film is based on the second and third Oz books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz...
, he was played by Deep RoyDeep RoyGurdeep Roy , sometimes credited as Roy Deep, Gordeep Roy, or just Deep Roy, is a Kenyan-born English actor, stuntman and puppeteer of Indian descent.-Early life:...
, a little person who was able to fit inside a costume that looked nearly identical to John R. Neill's artwork.
- In the 1961 animated TV series, Tales of the Wizard of OzTales of the Wizard of OzTales of the Wizard of Oz is a 1961 animated television series, produced by Crawley Films for Videocrafts . This is the second animated series produced by the studio, and the first by Rankin/Bass to feature traditional animation.The series features stories derived from characters created in L...
and its sequel, the 1964 NBC animated television specialTelevision specialA television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
Return to Oz, the Tin Man (here named Rusty) was voiced by Larry D. MannLarry D. MannLarry D. Mann is a Canadian actor. Prior to his acting career, he was a disk jockey on CHUM 1050 radio in Toronto in 1949. His best-known Canadian television exposure was in a Bell Canada series of commercials called "The Boss" in which he played the title role for ten years beginning in 1981...
.
- The Muppet GonzoGonzo the GreatGonzo the Great is a puppet character, one of Jim Henson's Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a "Whatever" , he is considered one of The Frackles...
plays a similar role, the Tin Thing, in 20052005 in film- Highest-grossing films :Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top-grossing films that were first released in the United States in 2005...
's The Muppets' Wizard of OzThe Muppets' Wizard of OzThe Muppets' Wizard of Oz is a 2005 musical telefilm directed by Kirk Thatcher and starring Ashanti and The Muppets. The film was produced by Bill Barretta and written by Debra Frank, Steve L. Hayes, Tom Martin, and Adam F...
. In this version, he is the Wicked Witch's research assistant, transformed into a robotRobotA robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
to prevent him wanting a day off to marry CamillaCamilla (muppet)Camilla is the female chicken that is Gonzo's love interest on The Muppet Show. This chicken with hay fever is performed by veteran Muppet performer, Jerry Nelson, and is seen frequently on The Muppet Show, but also makes appearances on the various full-length Muppet movies such as The Muppets Take...
.
- In the 1970s, the Tin Woodman appeared in a series of short animated educational films about heart health from Joleron Productions.
- In 1985, the Tin Woodman appeared in the educational film Act on Arthritis as well as in promotional commercials.
- In 2006, the Tin Man was the protagonist in a pair of televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
commercials for Chef BoyardeeChef BoyardeeChef Boyardee is a brand of canned pasta products sold internationally by ConAgra Foods. Named after its founder, Italian-American immigrant Ettore Boiardi, the company began production in the United States in the 1920s...
brand canned Beef RavioliRavioliRavioli are a traditional type of Italian filled pasta. They are composed of a filling sealed between two layers of thin egg pasta dough and are served either in broth or with a pasta sauce. The word ravioli is reminiscent of the Italian verb riavvolgere , though the two words are not...
, in a costume identical to the design used in the 1939 Oz film. In the commercials, the Tin Man (played by Australian actor David Somerville) is pursued by groups of children due to the fact that an oversized Beef Ravioli can label has been affixed to the back of his cylindrical torso (which he doesn't notice until the midpoint of the first commercial); thus, he appears to be a very large, mobile can of ravioli. In the first ad, the Tin Man escapes from his pursuers only to discover that the building he ducked into is an elementary schoolPrimary educationA primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
cafeteriaCafeteriaA cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
full of hungry children and a teacher. The second ad begins with the Tin Man running through a residential neighborhood, accidentally adding to his pursuers when he stumbles across a backyard birthday party; after fleeing across a golf course (while dodging balls from the driving rangeDriving rangeA driving range is an area where golfers can practice their swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range attached and they are also found as stand-alone facilities, especially...
), he is cornered in another backyard and threatened with a garden hose (playing on the Tin Man's classic weakness of rusting). As the scene shifts to the image of a Beef Ravioli can, sounds of water hitting metal and the Tin Man's cries for help are heard.
- In 2006, the Chicago Under Ground Film Festival premiered Lee Lynch’s feature film titled Transposition of the Great Vessels. Based on the story of his own parents, who moved from Redding to Los Angeles, in hopes of making a better life. His father wanted to work for the forest service, and his mother wanted to be a cook, but their baby was born with a rare heart condition. They were forced to give up those dreams, and make choices that would give them insurance and stability. A naturalist movie interspersed with dream sequences; the “Tin Woodman” makes an appearance while on his deathbed, at UCLA Medical Center.
- At SundanceSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
of 2007, a film premiered by young director Ray TintoriRay TintoriRay Tintori is an American director who has directed short films and music videos for bands MGMT, Chairlift, The Cool Kids, Boy Crisis, and The Killers. Tintori graduated from Wesleyan University in 2006, where he studied film, and from LaGuardia High School in Manhattan in 2001, where he was a...
entitled Death to the Tinman. It is a somewhat modernized retelling that takes place at sometime in the 1900s, in the town Verton, rather than Oz. However, the book of the same name, which tells the origins of the character, is cited by opening intertitles as the source. Although the basic premise is nearly identical, much of the details and all names and locations have been changed. This is partially due to the film's satirical look at criminal reenactments, as it states at the beginning that names "have been changed to protect the innocent." Perhaps the most interesting change that story makes, though, is the origin of the curse upon the Tinman's Axe, which is changed from being the Witch to being a curse from God. This film won a short filmmaking award at Sundance.
- A 2007 CG animated short film called "After Oz", produced by the film students at Vancouver Film School, centered on a stylized version of the Tin Man, after he has received his heart from Oz. The movie shows him moving through a colorful Oz city with his brand-new mechanical heart, before meeting a reddish female Tin Woman (or robot?) to whom he gives the heart. She proceeds to cruelly play with the heart.
- An internet-collaboration, CG animated feature based on Baum's book The Tin Woodman of Oz was produced by A:M Films, and completed in 2009.
- In 2010, Whitestone Motion Pictures produced a 23-minute live-action short film, Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man. The film is based on the book The Tin Woodman of Oz, where Woot the Wanderer visits the Tin Man and asks how he came to be made of tin. In the film, the Tin Man appears to be more steam- or coal-powered. His chest cavity is covered by a door which reads "Pedudoe Tin Co." but this is a reference to the workings of the film company, and not a reference to any Oz book or material. The movie was made available for free viewing online and free downloading of its soundtrack.
Modern works
- The song "Country Robot/A Letter to Dorothy" by The Incredible Moses LeroyThe Incredible Moses LeroyThe Incredible Moses Leroy, the alter ego of ex-substitute teacher Ron Fountenberry, is an indie artist. The name is a juxtaposition of "The Incredible", a reference to a comic book, and his great-grandfather Moses Leroy. His song "Fuzzy" was featured in This Film is Not Yet Rated, and on an...
is written from the Tin Man's perspective; it includes the lyrics "You gave me oil, I was a rusty load/ You even helped me find my heart." - In the song "Tin ManTin Man (song)"Tin Man" is the title of a 1974 song by the pop-rock band America. It was written by band member Dewey Bunnell and produced by the noted record producer George Martin, who also plays the piano part on the recorded version...
" by the band AmericaAmerica (band)America is an English-American folk rock band that originally included members Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek. The three members were barely out of their teens when they became a musical sensation during 1972, scoring #1 hits and winning a Grammy for best new musical artist...
, the lyrics state that "Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man, that he didn't, didn't already have." The rest of the song has nothing to do with the Tin Man or Oz. - Country artist Kenny Chesney recorded the song "Tin Man" for his album "All I Need to Know". The first verse and refrain state:
- Saw a man in the movies that didn't have a heart
- How I wish I could give him mine
- Then I wouldn't have to feel it breaking all apart
- And this emptiness inside would suit me fine
- It's times like these
- I wish I were the tin man
- You could hurt me all you wanted
- I'd never even know
- Well...I'd give anything just to be the tin man
- And I wouldn't have a heart and I wouldn't need a soul
- In the comic book series "Oz: The Manga", the Tin Man is depicted as a large, golemesque tin creation. His personality and backstory are the same as in the original books, however.
- Not one but two Tin Woodmen appear in the comic book The Oz/Wonderland Chronicles #1.
- In the VeggieTalesVeggieTalesVeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
episode The Wonderful Wizard of Ha'sThe Wonderful Wizard of Ha'sThe Wonderful Wizard of Ha's is the 33rd episode in the VeggieTales series, and was released on DVD on October 6, 2007 in Christian Bookstores and on October 9, 2007 in other stores. It is based on the parable from the Bible, The Prodigal Son, and a parody of The Wizard of Oz film adaptation...
, the Tin Man and his Kansas counterpart from the 1939 film were played by Larry the Cucumber. - In the 2007 Sci-FiSyfySyfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
miniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Tin ManTin Man (TV miniseries)Tin Man is a 2007 four and a half hour miniseries co-produced by RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi Channel original pictures that was broadcast in the United States on the Sci Fi Channel in three parts. The first part aired on December 2, and the remaining two parts airing on the following nights...
, a "Tin Man" is a term used for the law enforcers of Central City in the Outer Zone (O.Z.) One of the story's protagonists, Wyatt Cain (played by Neal McDonoughNeal McDonoughNeal P. McDonough is an American film, television and voice actor.-Career:In 1991, McDonough won the Best Actor Dramalogue for "Away Alone". McDonough has made many television and film appearances since then, including Band of Brothers, Boomtown, Star Trek: First Contact, Minority Report and The...
in the title role), is a Tin Man whose past left him hardened and distant from others. In addition, he is first found by Dorothy imprisoned in an iron suit that replays a non-stop loop of the capture of his wife and child. - Fatale, the cyborg narrator of the superhero novel 'Soon I will Be Invincible', compares herself to the Tin Man several times in the story.
- Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the New Morgue), a song by heavy metal band W.A.S.P. about a crooked record company executive, includes the lines "I'm the tin man, I've never had a heart; I'm the tin man, But I'll make you a star".
- The Avett BrothersThe Avett BrothersThe Avett Brothers is a folk rock band from Mount Pleasant, North Carolina. The band is made up of two brothers, Scott Avett and Seth Avett, who play the banjo and guitar respectively, and Bob Crawford who plays the stand-up bass. Joe Kwon, cello, and Jacob Edwards, drums, are touring members of...
2009 Album I and Love and YouI and Love and YouI and Love and You has received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 73 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."...
features a song called "Tin Man". - Verses of the Future Islands 2010 post-pop, synth-ballad Tin Man contain numerous metaphorical, Tin-Man related references. The song also features a powerful and climactic end chorus consisting solely of the repeated line - "I am the Tin Man".
- In 2010, Whitestone Motion Pictures released the short steampunkSteampunkSteampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
film, Heartless: The Story of the Tin Man that retells the story of the tin woodsman's origins.
Sources of the Tin Man image
In the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book of 1900, the Tin Woodman is depicted as a formerly human worker who has been stripped of his humanity (his heart especially) and dehumanized by industrialization. The Tin Woodman little by little lost his natural body and had it replaced by metal; so he has lost his heart and cannot move without the help of farmers (represented by the Scarecrow); in reality he has a strong sense of cooperation and love, which needs only an infusion of self-confidence to be awakened. In the 1890s many argued that to secure a political revolution a coalition of Farmers and Workers was needed.Economics and history professors have published scholarly studies that indicate the images and characters used by Baum and Denslow closely resembled political images that were well known in the 1890s. They state that Baum and Denslow did not simply invent the Lion, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Yellow Brick Road, Silver Slippers, cyclone, monkeys, Emerald City, little people, Uncle Henry, passenger balloons, witches and the wizard. These were all common themes in the editorial cartoons of the previous decade. The notion of a "Tin Man" has deep roots in European and American history, according to Green (2006), and often appeared in cartoons of the 1880s and 1890s. Baum and Denslow, like most writers and illustrators, used the materials at hand that they knew best. They built a story around them, added Dorothy, and added a series of lessons to the effect that everyone possesses the resources they need (such as brains, a heart and courage) if only they had self-confidence. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was a children’s book, of course, but as Baum warned in the preface, it was a "modernized" fairy tale as well.
The Tin Man--the human turned into a machine--was a common feature in political cartoons and in advertisements in the 1890s. Indeed, he had been part of European folk art for 300 years. In political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Tin Woodman is supposedly described as a worker, dehumanized by industrialization. The Tin Woodman little by little lost his natural body and had it replaced by metal; so, he has lost his heart and cannot move without the help of farmers (represented by the Scarecrow); in reality he has a strong sense of cooperation and love, which needs only an infusion of self-confidence to be awakened. (In the 1890s, many argued that to secure a political revolution a coalition of Farmers and Workers was needed.)
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd President of the United States . Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there...
wearing improvised tin armor because he wanted a tariff on tin. Such images support the argument that the figure of a "tin man" was in use as political allegory in the 1890s. The man on the right is politician James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
.
The oil needed by the Tin Woodman had a political dimension at the time because Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company stood accused of being a monopoly (and in fact was later found guilty by the Supreme Court). In the 1902 stage adaptation
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...
, which is full of topical references that do not appear either in the novel or in any of the film adaptations (unless they are satirical), the Tin Woodman wonders what he would do if he ran out of oil. "You wouldn't be as badly off as John D. Rockefeller," the Scarecrow responds, "He'd lose six thousand dollars a minute if that happened."