Tribeca Review: It’s Dorothy! Documents 125 Years of Joy

Upon hearing the name “Dorothy” I, like most, immediately think of The Wizard of Oz. I remember watching the film when I was a kid, sitting on the couch with my family. I remember my parents calling it “a classic.” Dorothy Gale has become synonymous with many things over the 125 years since she first appeared in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, from Kansas to ruby red slippers, Judy Garland to a 1950s LGBTQ+ signifier. 

Jeffrey McHale has made a documentary to look at the character of Dorothy Gale in her entirety. Over the last 125 years she has appeared through nearly every medium––more than 40 films, television shows, novels, and plays. It’s Dorothy! tracks Dorothy from Garland through every iteration, through each actor to portray the role, through her growing and changing cultural impact. More than anything, it’s a documentary about joy. 

McHale focuses on the joy and relatability Dorothy has given so many, from those who have watched her to those who have played her. To his credit, he stacks together an all-timer interview roster. He talks to Rufus Wainwright and John Waters, Ashanti and Danielle Hope, even comedians Amber Ruffin and Lena Waithe. McHale brings together this host of subjects without leaning too much into the talking-heads format, instead overlaying the words from these actors, directors, and musicians with images of their productions. Interviews never seem needless or overwrought; these actors love Dorothy and want McHale (and us) to know why. But this wide array of creatives, all of whom have been affected by Dorothy––even if that effect is nostalgic––reminded me why I loved the film when I first saw it. The Wizard of Oz is an adventure, a fairytale, a story about escape and acceptance. And it’s always been a blast. 

The audience receives a full review of how Dorothy has morphed over the decades and been put in both campy and serious situations, an opportunity to understand this character outside of her ruby slippers or trip down the yellow brick road. It recontextualizes Dorothy as an icon of freedom and expression, whether first through Garland and then through what she represented. McHale dedicates time to Dorothy’s impact on the queer community, singling out the phrase “a friend of Dorothy,” and how Garland became a gay icon largely because of her role in The Wizard of Oz. 

I found myself smiling throughout, despite the fact that my connection to Dorothy Gale remains far less than those featured in the doc. McHale never loses that verve and joy; it’s ever-present in It’s Dorothy! Rather than devolve into the many negative possibilities of playing the character, the doc looks at how these actors interpreted her, the way she breathed life into the public and personal aspects of their lives. The director uses a slew of archival footage for the audience to witness the character and her actors’ many transformations. It’s like revisiting every creative piece of Dorothy property in a compressed 97 minutes––enjoyment for enjoyment’s sake. 

In so doing, McHale pushes Dorothy from being a 125-year-old character, bringing her into the present. If one has a connection to The Wizard of Oz, it’ll work even better, but McHale wants his film to be endlessly relatable. In his view, Dorothy isn’t just you or me; she’s everyone.

It’s Dorothy! premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. 

The post Tribeca Review: It’s Dorothy! Documents 125 Years of Joy first appeared on The Film Stage.