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Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz Books by L. Frank Baum . They first appeared in the 1900 novel '' The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz '', in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue. Later books never note anything unusual about Munchkin height but emphasize the color preference.

They are probably better known from their depiction in the 1939 film '' The Wizard Of Oz '', in which they are played by adult proportional midgets and dress in brightly multicolored outfits.


APPEARANCE

The following is an excerpt from chapter two of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', in which Dorothy first meets three Munchkins and the Good Witch Of The North :
:"''...she noticed her coming down toward her a group of the queerest people she had ever seen. They were not as big as the grown folk she had always been used to; but neither were they very small. In fact, they seemed about as tall as Dorothy, who was a well-grown child for her age, although they were, so far as looks go, many years older.''


ORIGIN OF THE TERM

Baum never explained where the term came from, but Baum researcher , looking down from the Town Hall in Munich. Over the years the image was reproduced many times, for instance as a figure on Beer Stein s, and eventually evolved into a child wearing a pointed hood. Baum's family had German origins: Baum could have seen one such reproduction in his childhood, and woven his story around it.


NOTABLE MUNCHKINS


Fictional




THE MUNCHKINS IN POPULAR CULTURE


  • As a result of the popularity of the 1939 film, The Wizard Of Oz , the term "munchkin" has entered the English language as a reference to small children, dwarfs, or anything of diminutive stature. For example, the Boston-based coffee and doughnut chain Dunkin Donuts has registered MUNCHKINS as a trademark for small round treats made from doughnut dough. They come in a variety of flavors and are bought in boxes of 20, 50, or 100.


  • Regarding the 1939 wizard of oz film, there's an urban rumor of a suicidal munchkin actor who hanged himself during the filming of the we're off to see the wizard song with the Tin man, which suggests that his actual suicide can be seen in the background of a shot. The rumor is as false as it sounds, with the munchkin actors not yet on set, and the shadowy figure actually a Crane .


  • Much of the cast of ''The Wizard of Oz'' stayed at the Culver Hotel during filming of the movie in 1939 . The mostly fictional hijinks of that period, including the hotel's being taken over by the " Munchkins ," were featured in the 1981 movie '' Under The Rainbow ''.