The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

By: L. Frank Baum

Narrated by: Anne Hathaway

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Female, 2013

One of the best-known stories in American culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has stirred the imagination of young and old alike for over 100 years. Academy Award-winning actress Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married, Alice in Wonderland, The Dark Knight Rises) lends her voice to this uniquely American fairy tale.

Follow the adventures of young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto as they get swept away into the magical land of Oz , where they encounter characters and places you may remember from the movie - and several more that never made it to the big screen - on an unforgettable journey to the Emerald City.

“It’s such a wonderful book and I was so happy to be a part of bringing it to life”, Ms. Hathaway said. “There are a lot of great voices in it. The more fun you have with it, the sillier and the more free you get with it, the better it is because it’s a story that can handle it. It’s amazing to be able to discover something new about something you feel you know so well.”

Explore more titles performed by some of the most celebrated actors in the business in Audible’s Star-Powered Listens collection.Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Anne Hathaway is nothing short of masterful in her narration of Baum’s beloved classic.... As narrator, she is lithe yet precise; her voice sounds lilting or emphatic, as the story details require. In character, she is spectacular. Each character is filled with personality - a light-voiced Witch of the North; a brusque soldier at Oz’s palace; a monotone, robot-like Oz; and a usually cheerful and genuine Dorothy. The variety enriches the listening experience. Yes, one may know the story well, but Hathaway makes this recording a definitive one.” (AudioFile)

Odd narration choices dim experience for adults

The story remains enchanting.

This would be a lovely audiobook for young children.

That said, from an adult perspective, Ms. Hathaway overacts and takes away from the overall experience. A lot of her character choices are very extreme or just plain odd, as though she strained to come up with something unique and new. A child will likely find the different characters fun, this audiobook really is incredibly colorful, there are no default characters. But as an adult, I found that a lot of her choices make no sense (the wizard, above all) and was a little annoyed by some of the more grating ones, like the over-affected stage English of the queen mouse, for example, the valley girl stork, or the Marge Simpson scare crow. In essence, the magic she captures in her narration is the magical range of Anne Hathaway, not that of the Wonderful Wizard.

Other reviewers rave about this version though, so I recommend listening to a sample before you buy.

Very Different from the movie

Love this way better than the movie. My 11 year old son and 9 year old daughter were riveted on our road trip. Even hubby said he liked it better than the movie. Anne Hathaway deserves a major award for her ability to beautifully tell the story and fittingly change the voice of each character. Thank you Anne!!

What the

Maybe Ive been tainted for ever the movie of the same name is one of my favorites so I thought I'd love this ,the story is very well told Ann dose a spectacular job but the story it's self is to bizarre ,I don't know if you haven't seen the movie maybe it would be some sort of entertainment but I prefer the celluloid in this case sorry puritans.

Surprisingly wonderful.

What did you love best about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz?

Anne Hathaway's narration was a delightful performance of a classic tale that most of us know - it made it feel new.

What other book might you compare The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to and why?

Classics of the same nature, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland comes to mind.

Which character – as performed by Anne Hathaway – was your favorite?

The small, bit characters; she performed these with as much heart and enthusiasm as the main characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was completely surprised by the voices - who knew Anne Hathaway had so much vocal variation? The difference in all of the voices made the characters so believable.

Any additional comments?

A delightful performance, and highly recommended.

What a treat!

Would you listen to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz again? Why?

Yes - the narration was wonderful and the story is so much better than the movie version.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I like Dorothy - she's messy and means well.

What does Anne Hathaway bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Anne Hathaway's narration pleasantly surprised me. Her performance is one of the best I've heard on audio and I hope she narrates other books in the future. Really pleased with her maturity and approach on this.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. In fact, we did listen to it straight through during a long road trip.