The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

De: L. Frank Baum

Narrado por: 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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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.

Anne Hathaway's Narration Glaringly Inconsistent

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to be better than the print version?

Not this particular audio edition...I love the melodic and resonant quality of Anne Hathaway's voice in general, so I had high expectations for her narration of this classic. Unfortunately, it seemed that either not much though went into her "voice" for many of the characters, or she relied too much on the movie version to dictate where she went with each character. There were all-too-evident glimpses of Bert Lahr's cowardly lion, Billie Burke's Glinda, and Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West; at other times, she slipped in and out of "character," most notably while narrating lines as the queen of the field mice. Her narration of this character ranged from rapid, ultra-high pitched mousey squeal to haughty, nouveau riche Chipette. There were also a few instances where her voice just didn't seem to fit the character, most notably the stork who rescues the scarecrow from the river, which I can only describe as somewhere between eighties valley girl and Saturday Night Live recurring character!

Who was your favorite character and why?

That's a tough one, since there were so much inconsistency. I think I like Dorothy's portrayal the best because Anne didn't try too hard, i.e., she didn't attempt to make her sound especially young or give her a 1930's movie star lilt in imitation of Judy Garland's portrayal on the big screen.

What three words best describe Anne Hathaway’s voice?

melodic and resonant (natural qualities) but inconsistent (as a narrator)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

not really, since I was very familiar with the story

Any additional comments?

If you like Anne Hathaway, you will probably enjoy this audio presentation despite her obvious limitations as a narrator. Narrating an audiobook is a labor intensive endeavor, and not everyone who can read and speak fluently, or who has acting credentials, can do it well. Anne's performance, while not terrible, was adequate at best.

Fantastic!

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

Anne Hathaway was surprising. I never expected her to bring so much life to the different characters with all her voices. And talk about a shock when I learned of all the ways the book differs from the movie! This was done so well and was truly entertaining.

Amazing Narration!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to be better than the print version?

Yes. Each one case its merits. In this case Anne's performance is the game changer.

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

I am not a fantasy/fiction reader. However I value this book on the subtle moral values it pushes to children. In a day and age where parents do not devote much quality time, children are nannied, exposed to various hedonistic influences the need for quality and wholesome content cannot be overelaborated.

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

Voice Acting. You can imagine the world but it is entirely different to behold a class act. Her reading style is highly topical and engaging.

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

None. But the book is a classic and needs no introduction. It is a allegory and hence makes you reflect at times. It is fun overall but not extreme.

Any additional comments?

Anne you need to read much more as from a social cause perspective. Engaging voice acting which the whole family enjoys is a great way to connect and fans.

SO RELAXING AND CALM

I listen to it every night usually starting at chapter three cause that's where the action start- I mean~ I ain't telling ya when the action starts, anyway! I do that and by chapter 7, I'm always asleep! and it's not just the book but the author too! she puts so much stuff in the book with the tone of her voice! anyway! I hope you like this book as well and give it the good rating it deserves

Thoroughly enjoyed

Where does The Wonderful Wizard of Oz rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

As a classic this story ranks up towards the top. I really enjoyed the spirit Ms. Hathaway brought the reading.

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

I find that I get more out of listening to books than reading them. It allows my mind to think about what is happening while it was being read. Plus this was a great road trip book.

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

I would have loved to listen to this book all at once. Unfortunately the drive wasn't long enough.

Any additional comments?

I would recommend this to any listening with young children.