Toto (Oz)

{{Short description|Fictional dog in the Oz series}} {{Italic disambiguation}} {{Infobox character | name = Toto | series = Oz | image = The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 013.png | image_size = 150px | caption = Illustration by [[W. W. Denslow]] | first = ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' (1900) | last = | species = [[Dog]] | gender = Male | occupation = | family = | relatives = | creator = {{ubl|[[L. Frank Baum]]|W. W. Denslow}} | portrayer = [[Terry (dog)|Terry]] (''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'') | voice = [[Chris Cox (voice actor)|Chris Cox]] (''[[Lost in Oz]]'') }} '''Toto''' is a [[list of fictional dogs|fictional dog]] in [[L. Frank Baum]]'s [[List of Oz books|''Oz'' series]] of children's books, and works derived from them. He was originally a small [[terrier]] drawn by [[W. W. Denslow]] for the first edition of ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' (1900). He reappears in later Oz books and in numerous adaptations, such as ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' (1939) and ''[[The Wiz (film)|The Wiz]]'' (1978).{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==In literature== [[File:The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 007.png|thumb|right|upright|Illustration by [[W. W. Denslow]]]]

===Classic ''Oz'' books=== Toto belongs to [[Dorothy Gale]], the heroine of the first and many subsequent books. In the first book, he never spoke, although other animals, native to Oz, did. In subsequent books, other animals gained the ability to speak upon reaching Oz or similar lands, but he remained speechless.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} In ''[[Tik-Tok of Oz]]'', [[Continuity (fiction)|continuity]] is restored: he reveals that he is able to talk, just like other animals in the [[Land of Oz]], and simply chooses not to. {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} In ''[[The Lost Princess of Oz]]'', he often talks continuously.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} Other major appearances include ''[[The Road to Oz]]'', ''[[The Emerald City of Oz]]'', ''[[Grampa in Oz]]'' and ''[[The Magical Mimics in Oz]]'', in which he is the first to recognize the Mimics. {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

In ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'', Baum did not specifically state Toto's breed, but wrote "he was a little black dog with long silky hair and small black eyes that twinkled merrily on either side of his funny, wee nose." {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} However, from the illustrations in the first book many have concluded that he is a [[Cairn Terrier]] while others believe he is a [[Yorkshire Terrier]] as this breed was very popular at the time and it fits the illustration quite well.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}In subsequent books he becomes a [[Boston Terrier]] for reasons that are never explained, but then resumes the earlier look in later books.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

Toto plays a central role in several critical points: he runs away at the beginning and end of the book and Dorothy changes plans to catch him; he pulls away the curtain to reveal the Wizard is a fake. {{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} Scholar Keri Weil analyzes the role:<blockquote> Toto is the driving force behind Frank Baum’s narrative because it is Dorothy’s love for the dog that leads her to run away and escape the dreary moral landscape of Kansas and its arbiter, Miss Gulch. “It was Toto who made Dorothy laugh and saved her from growing as grey as her surroundings,” wrote Baum in the original version of the story.<ref>Keri Weil, ''Thinking Animals: Why Animal Studies Now?'' (Columbia University Press, 2012) p. 146.</ref> </blockquote>

===Derivative works=== In [[Gregory Maguire]]'s 1995 novel ''[[Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West]]'', Toto is a minor character who is only described as being vile and annoying.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}} In the novel's [[Wicked (musical)|musical theatre adaptation]], he is only mentioned briefly when Glinda mistakenly calls him "Dodo".{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

[[Michael Morpurgo]] published ''Toto: The Wizard of Oz as told by the dog'' in 2020.{{Citation needed|date=April 2024}}

==In other media== ===''The Wizard of Oz'' (1939)=== [[File:The Wizard of Oz Judy Garland Terry 1939.jpg|thumb|[[Terry (dog)|Terry]] as Toto with [[Judy Garland]] in ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' (1939)]] In the 1939 movie ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'', Toto was played by a female [[brindle]] [[Cairn Terrier]] named [[Terry (dog)|Terry]]. She was paid a $125 salary each week, which was more than some of the human actors (the [[Singer Midgets]] who played the [[Munchkin]]s reportedly received $50 to $100 a week).<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNeill |first=Amy |title=The actors who played the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz were paid less than Toto |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/movies/the-actors-who-played-the-munchkins-in-the-wizard-of-oz-were-paid-less-than-toto |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=National Post |date=August 30, 2016 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Toto - HF.jpg|thumb|left|Terry/Toto's memorial at the [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]]]] During production, Terry's foot was broken when one of the [[Winkie Country|Winkie]] guards accidentally stepped on it. A second dog had to be used while she healed. Due to the popularity of the movie, and because that role was the one she was most remembered for, her owner and trainer changed her official name to Toto. She actually appeared in 13 films.<ref>{{IMDb name|1206094|Terry}}</ref> She died at age 11. [[Willard Carroll]] wrote her "autobiography," ''I, Toto'' (2001).

When Terry died in 1945, [[Carl Spitz]] buried her on his ranch in [[Studio City, California]]. However, the construction of the [[Ventura Freeway]] in 1958 destroyed her grave. On June 18, 2011, a permanent memorial for her was dedicated at the [[Hollywood Forever Cemetery]] in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/toto-finds-a-home-at-hollywood-forever/|title=HOLLYWOODLAND|access-date=2011-06-24|archive-date=2011-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823131107/http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-news/toto-finds-a-home-at-hollywood-forever/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Other interpretations=== {{More citations needed|section|date=December 2024}} * In Disney's 1985 film ''[[Return to Oz]]'', Toto was played by a female [[Border Terrier]] named Tansy. * The [[The Wiz (film)|1978 film adaptation]] of ''[[The Wiz]]'' featured a dark gray [[Schnauzer]] as Toto. * Toto appears in ''[[The Wizard of Oz (TV series)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' cartoon with his vocal effects provided by [[Frank Welker]]. * In [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s telefilm ''[[The Muppets' Wizard of Oz]]'', he is played by [[Pepe the King Prawn]]. * In the 1996 animated series ''[[The Oz Kids]]'', Dot and Neddie have a puppy named Toto 2 who is named after him. One of the episodes says it is a female. * In the ''[[VeggieTales]]'' episode "The Wonderful Wizard of Has", he is replaced by a pig named "Tutu". * In the [[Syfy|Sci-Fi Channel]] miniseries ''[[Tin Man (TV miniseries)|Tin Man]]'', he is portrayed as a shape-shifting human. He was originally the tutor of DG and her sister, and his name of "Toto" came from DG's childhood inability to say "Tutor". He was played by Blu Mankuma. * Toto also appears in the film ''[[Inkheart (film)|Inkheart]]''. In it, Silvertongues have the ability to bring a character from book to life by saying the words loud and clear. Meggy accidentally brings Toto out of the book ''[[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]]'' and he becomes her companion (until he's sent back into it at the end). He helps defeat the evil shadow monster as well. * In the [[List of Disney Channel original films|Disney Channel Original Movie]] ''[[The Cheetah Girls (film)|The Cheetah Girls]]'' the main character has a dog named Toto. This name is given to him most likely because one of the characters is named Dorothea (Dorothy). However, this dog is a [[Bichon Frise]] instead of a black [[Cairn Terrier]]. * Toto appeared in ''[[Dorothy and the Witches of Oz]]''. He lived with Dorothy even when she was invited to New York City to get her books published. * Toto appeared in ''[[Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return]]''. * Toto is a German Shepherd in [[NBC]]'s television series ''[[Emerald City (TV series)|Emerald City]]''. Initially a police dog that was in the police car Dorothy retreated to during the initial tornado that sent her to Oz, he is subsequently "adopted" by her in her journey through Oz. His name in Kansas is unknown, but he is named by Dorothy after the Munja'kin word for "dog". * Toto appears in the 2015 animated series ''[[Lost in Oz]]'', voiced by [[Chris Cox (voice actor)|Chris Cox]]. * Toto appears in the 2017 animated series ''[[Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz]]''. * Toto appears in ''[[The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part]]''. Alongside Dorothy and her friends, Toto found himself somehow transported from the Land of Oz to Harmony Town in the Systar System. * On July 12, 2018, it was announced that [[Warner Animation Group]] would produce an animated film adaptation of the children's book ''[[Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mia |last=Galuppo |title=Animated 'Oz' Movie in the Works From Warner Bros., 'Madagascar' Writer (Exclusive) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/animated-wizard-oz-retelling-totos-perspective-works-1126636 |date=July 12, 2018 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |publisher=Valence Media |access-date=September 25, 2019}}</ref> The film was originally scheduled to be theatrically released on February 2, 2024 in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/12/blue-beetle-last-train-to-new-york-toto-warner-bros-dates-movie-release-dates-1234893356/|title=Warner Bros. Dates ''Blue Beetle'', ''Last Train To New York'' & ''Toto'' For 2023 & Beyond|date=December 16, 2021|first=Anthony|last=D'Alessandro|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|access-date=December 17, 2021}}</ref> On April 5, 2023, it was taken off the release schedule with ''[[The Alto Knights]]'' taking over its original release date,<ref>{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2023-04-05 |title=''Aquaman 2'' Shifts Five Days Earlier, Warner Bros Dates ''The Wise Guys'', ''Minecraft'' |url=https://deadline.com/2023/04/aquaman-2-minecraft-wise-guys-color-purple-release-dates-1235318958/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405210709/https://deadline.com/2023/04/aquaman-2-minecraft-wise-guys-color-purple-release-dates-1235318958/ |archive-date=April 5, 2023 |access-date=2023-04-05 |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]}}</ref> which also moved off that date by October 2023.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Murphy |first=J. Kim |date=October 27, 2023|title=''Aquaman 2'' Bumped Two Days, Robert De Niro's ''Wise Guys'' Renamed ''Alto Knights'' in Move to November 2024 |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/aquaman-2-two-day-delay-robert-de-niro-wise-guys-alto-knights-1235770189/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027171639/https://variety.com/2023/film/news/aquaman-2-two-day-delay-robert-de-niro-wise-guys-alto-knights-1235770189/ |archive-date=October 27, 2023 |access-date=December 21, 2024 |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> * Although not a direct adaptation to the literature itself, the 2013 [[Super Sentai]] series, ''[[Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger]]'' features the [[List of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger characters#Deboth Army|Deboth Army]]'s members being themed after the characters in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz''. Ferocious Knight [[List of Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger characters#|D]] is designed with the motif of Toto. * In the [[Alphablocks]] special The Wizard of Az, O has the role of Toto as “O-O”. * Toto appears in the [[Wicked (film franchise)|two-part film adaptation]] of the ''Wicked'' musical, making a brief cameo early in the [[Wicked (2024 film)|first film]] and having a bigger role in the sequel, ''[[Wicked: For Good]]''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/super-bowl-movie-trailers-2024-preview-1235815081/ | title='Deadpool 3', 'Twisters', 'Quiet Place: Day One', 'Inside Out 2' Among Potential Super Bowl Movie Spots | date=February 5, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Bergeson |first1=Samantha |date=2025-06-04 |title='Wicked: For Good' Trailer: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Get Ready to Meet Dorothy |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/trailers/wicked-for-good-trailer-ariana-grande-cynthia-erivo-1235129392/|access-date=2025-06-05 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}</ref>

==Influence== The inspiration for the name Toto is the small town of [[Toto, Indiana]], near the Baum family cottage at [[Bass Lake, Indiana|Bass Lake]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Potempa |first=Philip |title=Here are some fun facts about northwest Indiana |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-ent-nwi-facts-0501-20200415-7oevrn353be4boyogj2g5vezia-story.html |access-date=2021-06-29 |website=chicagotribune.com |date=April 15, 2020 |archive-date=June 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629205610/https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-ent-nwi-facts-0501-20200415-7oevrn353be4boyogj2g5vezia-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Toto has been widely recognized as one of the most famous of all dogs in movies and television. For example ''Time'' magazine in 2015 includes Toto in "The Most Famous Dogs in Movies and Television".<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Photo |first=TIME |date=2015-08-12 |title=The Most Famous Dogs in Movies and Television |url=https://time.com/3994033/most-famous-dogs-movies-television/ |access-date=2025-03-28 |magazine=TIME |language=en}}</ref> Also in England, Neil Oliver. writes in ''The Sunday Times'' that 2020 has been. ”A tornado of anxieties...Like Toto, the little dog in The Wizard of Oz, we find ourselves far from home. I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more. Also like Toto, no one understands our small voices. In this incomprehensible new place, we are to be silent while others speak." The last point emphasizes how important it is to be a quiet observer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oliver |first=Neil |date=2020-06-27 |title=Neil Oliver: Yellow brick road is smoother when we travel it all together |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/neil-oliver-yellow-brick-road-is-smoother-when-we-travel-it-all-together-q6w8b0z80?region=global |access-date=2025-03-28 |website=www.thetimes.com |language=en}}</ref>

Members of the American [[rock music|rock]] band [[Toto (band)|Toto]] have said the band was named after the dog.<ref name="apmc">{{cite news |first=Mary |last=Campbell |agency=Associated Press |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |title=Toto's biggest hit |page=29 (top right) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=sk80AAAAIBAJ&pg=5396,5147770&dq=toto+99+hydra&hl=en |date=July 11, 1982 |access-date=November 30, 2016 |quote=Paich says, 'Jeff remembered the name of the dog in ''The Wizard of Oz''. We were going to put it on the demonstration records and change it later. We just never found another name.'}}</ref> Though it was perhaps the original source for the name appearing on their demo tapes, they chose their name based upon the meaning of the Latin word ''toto'' ("all-encompassing").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Metzer |first=Greg |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Is57BwAAQBAJ&q=toto |title=Rock Band Name Origins: The Stories of 240 Groups and Performers |date=2008-06-04 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-3818-1 |pages=300 |language=en}}</ref>

TOTO is a [[backronym]] for '[[TOtable Tornado Observatory]]', adapted from the name of Dorothy's dog from ''The Wizard of Oz''.<ref>{{cite web |title=TOTO: TOtable Tornado Observatory (Online Tornado FAQ) |url=https://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/toto.htm |website=www.spc.noaa.gov |access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref> It is an ''[[in situ]]'' instrument for recording data from tornadoes.

==See also== * [[Oz Park]], Chicago, US * [[List of fictional dogs]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category|Toto (Oz)}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629022942/http://turnmeondeadman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=77 The essay "Symbolism of Toto"] * [http://www.cairnterriermovies.com A site listing plots and films of Terry, aka Toto, and Cairn movies] * [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Toto-Canine-Movie-Star-Memorial-Marker/122059101185330 The Hollywood Forever Memorial online home]

[[Category:Dogs in literature]] [[Category:Oz (franchise) characters]] [[Category:Oz (franchise) animals]] [[Category:Sidekicks in literature]] [[Category:Fictional characters from Kansas]] [[Category:Fictional talking animals]] [[Category:Literary characters introduced in 1900]] [[Category:Male characters in literature]] [[Category:Fictional dogs]]