10 Amazing Practical Movie Effects Shots Everybody Assumed Were CGI

You won't find many more iconic movie scenes than the heart-stopping moment in The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy (Judy Garland) enters the Land of Oz for the first time, and her sepia-toned world suddenly transitions to colour.

As Dorothy opens the door from the farmhouse, the colourful Oz can be envisioned beyond the door frame, an effect which audiences would understandably assume was painstakingly painted frame-by-frame in post-production.

Though the original plan was indeed to hand-tint every frame of the scene sepia where necessary, this was ultimately considered too expensive and time-consuming, so the studio settled upon a quicker, cheaper, and altogether smarter solution.

Instead, the farmhouse interior set was painted sepia, and when Dorothy opens the door, she's played by a stand-in for Judy Garland, who is also painted sepia to match.

As the door opens and we dolly forward into Oz, Garland then walks into frame in her iconic blue-white dress. To the unassuming viewer it looks like it had to have been pulled off in post, but alas, it was 100% captured on the day.