Munchkins

Munchkins
	;
Notable Members	Boq, Nick Chopper, Jinjur, etc.
First Appearance	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Original Publisher	George M. Hill Company
Created by	L. Frank Baum

Origin[]

A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) where they welcome Dorothy Gale to their city in Oz.

The Munchkins are described as being the same height as Dorothy and they wear only shades of blue clothing, as blue is the Munchkins' favorite color. Blue is also the predominating color that officially represents the eastern quadrant in the Land of Oz.

In later books they are mainly depicted to be as tall as anyone else in Oz; one tall Munchkin of note is the Soldier with the Green Whiskers. Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, was also a Munchkin himself, or was at least born in Munchkin Country, as he confirms in Chapter 15 of The Tin Woodman of Oz when he states that he was born in the forests of Munchkin Country which the Yellow Brick Road passes through. He is depicted as the height of an average adult as well.

In the years before the rise of the Wicked Witches, Munchkin Country was ruled by various independent kingdoms; foremost among these was Seebania, which ruled most of the country, but smaller city-states like Keretaria also existed. This changed when the Munchkins were ruled for many years by the tyrannical and cruel Witch known as the Wicked Witch of the East. This Witch conquered Munchkin Country and then she eventually enslaved all of the land's native people to work for her night and day. However, one day, a little girl by the name of Dorothy Gale unexpectedly came to Oz accompanied by her little dog Toto. Both had been swept away in a big Kansas cyclone while aloft in their prairie farmhouse.

When the storm dropped the house it fell out of the sky and crash-landed right on top of the Wicked Witch and accidentally killed her. Resulting in all the Munchkins being liberated and freed from her bondage forever. And as a sincere thank you reward, the Munchkins, and the Good Witch of the North gave Dorothy the Wicked Witch's charmed Silver Shoes.

Dorothy was glad she was of help to these strange little people, but all she really wanted was to go back home to her guardians; Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. The only one who would truly be able to send her back to her homeland was Oz's most dominant ruler known as the great and powerful Wizard who lived as a recluse in Oz's imperial capital aka the Emerald City. Dorothy was advised to follow the Yellow Brick Road that would lead her to this city which stood in the exact center of the land.

When Dorothy set out along this road while passing through the Munchkin Country, she came across an evening party that was being held by the wealthiest Munchkin man in Oz named Boq. Dorothy was invited to attend this event as an honored guest and passed the night there. The next morning Dorothy set out on her journey again and soon met a talking Scarecrow in a nearby cornfield. The Scarecrow told Dorothy he wanted a set of brains to become a great thinker, so the girl invited the stuffed man to join her and her dog on her task to see the Wizard. While on their way she also encouraged a Cowardly Lion and a Tin Woodman to also accompany them in hopes of having their problems and troubles fixed by the Wizard as well. Throughout the group's journey in the Munchkin Country, they encountered and escaped the flesh eating wild beast called Kalidahs, met a female mother Stork, fell victim to the field of deadly Poppies and met the Queen of the Field Mice who lived in a grassy meadow at the Munchkin Country's border.

A long time later, after Dorothy successfully found a way back home, a pretty young Munchkin girl named Jinjur who was a self proclaimed General, came to the Emerald City to conquer it with her all female Army of Revolt and to dispose the Scarecrow King of Oz. Luckily General Jinjur was defeated when the long lost Princess Ozma was found by Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, who put Ozma on the throne as the official ruler with the help of many Ozians.

Public Domain Appearances[]

All published appearances of from before January 1, 1930 are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

Public Domain Literary Appearances[]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
The Magic of Oz (1919)

Public Domain Film Appearances[]

The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)

Public Domain Comic Appearances[]

The Funnies #30-31, 34-37