The Sword and Laser discussion

I know it's not an original thought to note the similar themes between HMC and The Wizard of Oz (or The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), however, from reading around, I have been struck by how different people see different overlaps.

What do people here consider to be the aspects of HMC that are most closely inspired by T(W)WOO?

Obv, be careful of spoilers...

Well,I listening to the narrator, Jenny Sterlin of the recorded book

I haven’t read the Oz books, so I’m only familiar with the various film adaptations, so grain of salt... I didn’t really clock (heh, Tik-Tok Man shout-out) very many thematic similarities. Characters, sure, but not themes.

Thinking-out-loud time:

The Witch of the Waste is basically the Witch of the West, but her motivation is completely different (mistaken identity versus murrrderrr), and there is a talking scarecrow, but again his function in the story is different. Does the dog-man count as an analogue to Toto?

Jones pulls from lots of existing stories. There are numerous King Arthur references (Pendragon, Percival, etc.), and Lord of the Rings (Rivendell), and Shakespeare, not to mention various poems. (I returned my library book, so I can’t look up the one poet she kept referencing.)

Someone should do a Venn diagram of the overlapping stories she borrows from. https://www.meta-chart.com/venn#/your...

I think some of the similarities come from basic writing tropes. The first one that comes to mind is the Five Man Band. That happens a lot in fiction, from Oz to X-Men to Ghostbusters.

Dorothy
Scarecrow
Tin Man
Lion
Toto

Cyclops
Marvel Girl
Beast
Angel
Iceman

Venkman
Ray
Egon
Winston
Janine

Sophie
Howl
Calcifer
Michael
Dog-man (Percival)

My reading was:
(view spoiler)[

Dorothy = Sophie (obv.).
Scarecrow = Percival/Suliman/Justin (looking for his "brain").
Tin Man = Howl (wants his heart back).
Lion = Calcifer? (seems far more afraid of the world than his powers would suggest).
Toto = although Dog-man is the obvious choice, he's not really the faithful companion that Toto was (in the movie it more obviously Keen).
Mrs Penstemmon = Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
The Witch of the Waste = The Witch of the West.

Naturally, Howl is also the obvious choice for Oz, being the visitor from the "real" world who assumes a position of power, although in this case he is actually a wizard.

Of course, there are aspects of the book that don't stand up to comparison; I'm not sure you can find a greater contrast than between Kansas and Wales...
(hide spoiler)]

Also valid, although since they live in a fairytale world that operates by fairytale rules (“eldest daughters are doomed to spinsterhood”), it’s more like Dorothy already living in Oz.

I just had a little cognitive dissonance on the themes aspect. I don’t see much congruence there. But then I haven’t read Baum’s books, so I’m only going by movie/TV interpretations.

To me ; HMC is more like in the world of Hogwart . It is just like the The Ten Thousand Doors of January
Book by Alix E. Harrow.
And I finished HMC # 1 . Now I am on the Castle in the Air HMC 2.

Yes it was suprising that Howl is a portal fantasy.

It would be fairer to say that Harry pPotter owes a debt to English fantasy and faerie tales as well as Enid Blyton.