Silver Shoes
Silver Shoes | |
---|---|
Children's books, fantasy | |
In-universe information | |
Type | Magical shoes |
Function | Able to send the wearer wherever they wish to go |
The Silver Shoes are the magical shoes that appear in L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as heroine Dorothy Gale's transport home. They are originally owned by the Wicked Witch of the East but passed to Dorothy when her house lands on the Witch. At the end of the story, Dorothy uses the shoes to transport her back to her home in Kansas, but when she arrives at her destination finds the shoes have fallen off en route.
Appearances in books
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) is the only book in the original series to feature the Silver Shoes directly. They are the property of the Wicked Witch of the East until Dorothy's house lands on and kills her. They are then given to Dorothy by the
The Wizard of the Emerald City
In
Dorothy of Oz
In Roger S. Baum's Dorothy of Oz (1989), Glinda recovers the silver shoes and presents them to Dorothy. They have enough power remaining that Dorothy can travel once more to Oz and back to Kansas.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West
In
Appearances in film
Wizard of Oz (1925 film)
The shoes were absent from the
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
In the
The Wiz
In
The Wizard of Oz (1982 film)
In the anime movie, the shoes are once again ruby slippers, though they are never referred to by that name. They are heeled shoes with pointed, slightly curled toes, similar to their appearance in Denslow's illustrations. Unlike the book, the shoes are still on Dorothy's feet when she arrives in Kansas.
Return to Oz
In
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
In
Appearances in television
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986 anime)
When first seen on the feet of the Witch of the East in the
The shoes are used twice after they initially send Dorothy home. The first time, she is holding them in her hands when she clicks the heels and drops them. Consequently, Dorothy is transported to Oz and the shoes are left in Kansas (Glinda sends her home). The second time occurs while Dorothy is sleeping. Tik-Tok is emitting a distress signal and the shoes activate, transporting Dorothy to the Land of Ev in a beam of light. Her clothes are changed in mid flight.
The Wizard of Oz (TV series)
In the 1990 The Wizard of Oz television series, the Ruby Slippers are used to transport Dorothy back to Oz. They are depicted to possess other powerful magical capabilities that Dorothy did not fully understand, and as such, often served as a form of deus ex machina against hopeless situations. They are no longer depicted as high heels.
A unique concept proposed by this series is that the Ruby Slippers' magic is linked to the glow of their red coloration. Their powers only function while a dim glow of red light emanates from them, initiated by Dorothy clicking her heels; and the effects of their magic immediately cease after the shoes cease to glow. Also, the Wicked Witch was once able to annul their abilities entirely, by capturing a red Luminary (teardrop-shaped creatures who control all color in Oz) and forcing him to drain the red color from the slippers themselves. However the slippers regained their powers after the Luminary escaped.
This series also proposes that the slippers do not necessarily have to be on the user's feet for their powers to work, as Dorothy once used them by tapping the heels together when she held the shoes in her hands (since the ground's sandy surface prevented her from clicking the heels together).
Also worth noting in a single episode, is that Truckle, the series' lead Flying Monkey, was once able to wear the Ruby Slippers and thus utilize their powerful magic for his own whims. Even with his generally dim wits and reckless disregard, the slippers gave him sufficient power to overwhelm the Wicked Witch of the West's magical attacks, and temporarily reduce her to his servant. This once again demonstrates that the shoes' users need not be a skilled/knowledgeable spellcaster, in order to gain great power. The Cowardly Lion also gets to wear them briefly.
Charmed In the season five episode where the Halliwell sisters are jovially interfered with by fairy tale creatures due to the Wicked Queen of Snow White. Once Piper vanquishes the Queen, she is sent home from purgatory with Dorothy's slippers. They are depicted as ruby slippers, like the 1939 Film
Once Upon a Time (TV series)
In the Once Upon a Time television series, the Silver Slippers are first alluded to in "The Doctor", when Rumpelstiltskin sends the Mad Hatter to the Land of Oz in order to locate and retrieve the shoes so that he could travel to the Land without Magic in order to locate his lost son Balefire.
In "It's Not Easy Being Green", shortly before "The Doctor", Zelena, the woman who would eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West, goes to the Wizard in order to seek out her family. Upon discovering that she was abandoned by her mother, Cora, and that her half-sister, Regina became Queen and was being trained by Rumpelstiltskin, the Wizard gives Zelena the shoes so that she can travel to the Enchanted Forest to try and replace Regina as Rumpelstiltskin's student. Upon being rejected by him, Zelena turns green with envy. She mocks Rumpelstiltskin with the power of the Silver Slippers, thus causing his later desire to obtain them. Using the Silver Slippers again she returns to Oz and dethrones the Wizard.
In "Kansas" the Slippers appear again, as Zelena, posing as the Wizard of Oz, gives Dorothy the Silver Slippers in order to send her back to Kansas, in the hopes that it would keep Dorothy from becoming a powerful witch herself, and from defeating and replacing Zelena as the Witch of the West.
In "Our Decay", an adult Dorothy has returned to Oz via the Slippers to face down Zelena and rescue the Scarecrow from her.
In "Ruby Slippers", the Silver Slippers appear one last time, enabling travel between the Underworld and Oz so that Ruby (Red Riding Hood) can rescue Dorothy from a sleeping curse Zelena has placed her under. Zelena, who is trying to change her ways gives the Slippers over to the heroes so Ruby and Snow White can make their way back to Oz.
Appearances in other media
Dorothy of Oz
The
Fables
The shoes are shown in the