The Wizard of Oz: Great Movie, One Major Flaw

I am not sure why I cannot just appreciate something for what it is. Whether it is a song, a book, a movie or television show, I always seem to find something wrong with it. Perhaps the real problem is there is something wrong with me and not the work. But since I have this habit or flaw of finding something to criticize rather than just enjoying a particular piece I thought I would share my major concern about one of the most famous movies of all time, The Wizard of Oz.

My number one issue with this film is how the Wicked Witch of the West dies, or should I say is killed. This is not the Wicked Witch of the East that the house lands on. Oddly enough though, both witches were the school teacher, the one and only Elmira Gulch (Margaret Hamilton). Talk about a name fitting a character. Anyway, I think it is rather believable that a house landing on anyone witch or not, is fairly certain to do them in. I am speaking about the fact that the Wicked Witch of the West is killed, dies or is melted, whichever you prefer, by a bucket of water.

Now it is not merely the fact that water does this witch in. That I suppose can be tolerated. Although being venerable to water leads one to question how she survived all these years in the first place. Did she simply exist without any sustenance being needed? Even blood, perhaps you were thinking she fed on blood, is water based and that wouldn't work, she would have melted from the inside out. I guess that is another question to ponder in itself. My real issue is that this witch who apparently has one weakness in the entire world would just carelessly leave a bucket of water (the weakness) sitting around her pad. What gives? I mean the witch doesn't strike me as some idiot who would not pay attention to detail. She seemed to have her ducks pretty well in a row. You have seen the way those Winkies (I believe they were called the Winkie Guard) marched around and kept to their duties. She was able to turn a field of flowers into a sedative, and she could stinking fly. I can't believe she would just overlook her fatal flaw like this. In fact, I would venture to say she probably did not even have a sink or pipe in the joint. Did you ever see a restroom? No, heck the monkeys wouldn't have needed it as they could have taken care of business on the fly. The Winkies could have been ordered to use the woods and the witch, well she obviously did not spend a lot of time in the mirror and since we have sort of established she was not drinking water why would she have needed it?

I know, I know it was all just a dream but c'mon. I will believe the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Man, and the Scarecrow all remarkably resembling farmhands but for this evil witch to come to her demise due to her own negligence or "minor" oversight just does not work for me. Dracula is not leaving crosses in the dresser drawer, werewolves do not accidentally leave revolvers with silver bullets in their gun cabinets, and Frosty does not make occasional trips to the tanning salon. If there is one, one thing in the world (besides a house falling on you) that is going to do you in I am certain you would make sure to never be in the vicinity of it let alone just leave buckets of it sitting around your crib. Plus, that place was dirty, it wasn't like the Winkies suddenly decided to do some spring cleaning and spruce up the joint.

As an adult I do enjoy The Wizard of Oz, for the most part. It wasn't always so because as a kid that movie scared the hell out of me. Maybe it is just one of my many downsides that I must always look for something to complain about but I don't think I am ever going to get past how that witch dies. Yeah it was a dream, but if that knock on the head was good enough to help Dorothy come up with all those other crazy ideas I think she could have dreamt a more believable downfall for Elmira.