10 Harsh Realities That Completely Ruin Classic Film Happy Endings

5. The Wizard Of Oz €“- Dorothy Gets Sectioned

The Happy Ending

Ding dong the witches are dead, and the lion, tinman and scarecrow have all been successfully duped by the old Wizard conman into believing they had what they always wanted, through his misdirecting gifts of a medal, a clockwork heart and a diploma.

Dorothy discovers that her shoes are magic, and goes home to find out her house was never blown away and her aunt isn't actually dying, and Toto is somehow free of the threat of euthanasia. She values life and family, and learns the value of life and her home, despite being ignored and told to stay out of the way.

The Harsh Reality

There's no way that Dorothy goes back to her life of neglected servitude on the farm without a backlash of her time in Oz. The fairly reductive message of the film suggests that one should give up on every dream and appreciate the value of home and family (no matter how awful everyone treats you) - it's basically like a reverse Harry Potter, where Harry gets a taste of the wizarding world, and uses the life lessons to appreciate living in the cupboard under the stairs with the Dursleys.

It might be a story of enforced acquiescence, but you don't get the feeling Dorothy would have changed for the long-term. The minute anyone fails to give Dorothy the attention she craves (that's the whole overriding theme at the start) she'll start spouting stories of how she saved Oz and Winkies and Munchkins, which will be ignored out of fear and ignorance, thus exacerbating the situation and making her shout her claims louder.

The inevitable conclusion would be a diagnosis of mental illness, brought on by the severe head trauma that knocked her out, and a life in a nice padded cell.