Characters from The Wiz

The Wiz is a 1978 movie musical released by Motown Records and Universal Pictures. It is based off the successful 1975 Broadway show of the same name. The film starred actress and singer Diana Ross as Dorothy Gale, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsey Russell as the Tinman, Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion, Lena Horne as Glinda and Richard Pryor as The Wiz. It was neither a commercial or a box office success. Ray Bolger, one of the two main cast member from The Wizard of Oz to survive into the 1980s (though adored the Broadway production) had a low opinion of the film, claiming it lacked the depth that made his film from thirty-nine years earlier a classic, However, it is still viewed by many movie lovers as a classic. It is also considered a cult classic among the African-American community and is one of the most famous all African-American family films ever made.