Toto (Oz)

Infobox character
colour = gray
name = Toto


caption =
first = "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1900)
last = arguable
alias = none
species = dog
gender = male
age =
born = unknown
death = possibly inapplicable so long as he remains in Oz
occupation = Dorothy Gale's dog
title = First Magistrate of Arfrica (1986-1995)
family = Dorothy
spouse = none
children = none
relatives = Dorothy
residence = Emerald City
creator = L. Frank Baum

Toto is the name of a fictional dog in L. Frank Baum's "Oz" series of children's books, and works derived from them. The name is pronounced with a long "O", a homonym of "toe toe".

The classic books

Toto belongs to Dorothy Gale, the heroine of the first and many subsequent books. In the first book, Toto never spoke, although other animals, native to Oz, did. In subsequent books, other animals gained the ability to speak on reaching Oz or similar lands, but Toto remained speechless. In "Tik-Tok of Oz", continuity is restored: Toto reveals that he is able to talk, just like other animals in the land of Oz, and simply chooses not to. In "The Lost Princess of Oz", he talks a great deal. Other major appearances include "The Road to Oz", "The Emerald City of Oz", "Grampa in Oz" and "The Magical Mimics in Oz", in which he is the first to recognize the Mimics.

In "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", Baum did not specifically state Toto's breed, but describes him as "a little black dog, with long, silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose". However, from the illustrations in the first book many have concluded that Toto is a Cairn Terrier while others believe the dog is a Yorkshire Terrier as this breed was very popular at the time. In subsequent books Toto becomes a Boston Terrier for reasons that are never explained, but then resumes the earlier look in later books.

Modern books

Toto is the title character in two apocryphal Oz books, "Toto in Oz" (1986) by Chris Dulabone and "Toto of Oz" (2006) by Gina Wickwar.

In "Toto in Oz", after receiving taunts from his friends when falling into a flower basket during a celebration of Midsummer Day, decides to see Glinda the Good. On the way, he wanders into the town of Arfrica (a human population, in spite of its name), digs up an ivory scepter he mistakes for a bone, and is proclaimed First Magistrate for a term of nine years. He requires everyone to learn the language of dogs in a series of lessons. When he is about to be forced into a bestial marriage with a human princess, he escapes on a magic carpet, and becomes smitten with a Hawlaiian Scottish terrier named Labyz. Ultimately, he names a Second Magistrate to serve in his place and returns to the Emerald City.

Terry and the MGM film

In the 1939 movie "The Wizard of Oz", Toto was played by a black Cairn Terrier whose real name was Terry. Terry was paid a $125.00 salary each week, which was far more than many of the human actors (the Singer Midgets who played the Munchkins only received $50.00 a week). Also, Terry was stepped on by one of the witch's guards, and a double had to be used because her foot was broken. The popularity of the movie actually changed her name to Toto, because that was the role she was most remembered for. However, The Wizard of Oz wasn't the only film that Terry played a role. She actually starred in 13 [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1206094/ films] . She died at age 10.

Later film versions

In the 1985 movie "Return To Oz", Toto was played by a Border Terrier. In "The Muppets' Wizard of Oz", Toto is played by Pepe the Prawn.

In the 2003 Disney Channel TV movie, The Cheetah Girls, Galleria Garibadi's dog is named Toto after the dog from "The Wizard of Oz".

External links

* [http://www.turnmeondeadman.net/OZ/Toto.html An essay on Toto's significance]
*imdb name|id=1206094|name=Terry

One of Terry's or "ToTo"'s unknown in REAL life secrets where that he was really a she in real life.