Monday, December 25, 2023

Fairy Tale Spotlight: Dr. Pipt [Oz Character]

Dr. Pipt, otherwise known as the Crooked Magician, is a reoccurring character in the Oz series. Originally portrayed as somewhat villainous, he's never really done much of anything that bad other than perform magic for his own benefit.

Dr. Pipt is very much a crooked man. He is tall and gangly, and his limbs seem to be somewhat disjointed. He tends to stay at home, working on his magic, while his wife Margolotte takes care of the house for him. All in all, they seem to be a happy couple.

The thing that gets Dr. Pipt into trouble is that he practices magic during the nearly 100 years where magic was made illegal by Ozma. Probably the most famous creation made by him was the famous Powder of Life which was also featured in the movie "Return to Oz." The creation of this power was a bit ridiculous. It involves stirring four pots simultaneously for something like ten years, which only produces a small number of grains. He does this by tying large spoons to his legs, using them both to help with the stirring. Being crooked has its advantages.

The Powder of Life can make anything that is not alive live. You just have to say the magic words: "Weaugh, Teaugh, Peaugh."

This powder was used to bring a number of things to life such as Jack Pumpkinhead, the Wooden Sawhorse, the Flying Gump, Scraps the Patchwork Girl, and also Bungle the Glass Cat. Dr. Pipt's magical invention is directly and indirectly responsible for all of these characters existing.

Even though all these marvelous character came from the actions of Dr. Pipt, Ozma chose to forbid him from practicing magic ever again. This was rather devastating to him, since magic was his most favorite hobby. Most of his creations were just intended to make life at home more comfortable for him and his wife. All the outside effects were unintended.

Dr. Pipt was one of the decent magic users that got squashed by the no magic laws. He obeyed the law for a long time, but it ended up making him feel bored and unfulfilled as a person. As it turned out, he did eventually go back to doing his magic but in secret. This was later revealed in "The Living House of Oz" which dealt with these controversial laws.

As it stands now, Dr. Pipt is allowed to legally pursue his magical hobby as long as he reports on it. I was happy to hear that, but I am sad he had to go through what he did to get there. Even though he used his magic selfishly, a lot of good came from it in Oz.

This blog was written on December 22, 2023.

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6 comments:

  1. Pipt is the nail that stands up getting hammered down... only to pop up again. In our real world, there are things it is best most people go along with. Allowing exceptions gives troublemakers their inch to take a mile. There are the true eccentrics who are stifled, however, and their genius is denied to flourish... unless they break the stifling rules.

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    1. I really just liked how free he was trying to be. I can hardly see a person creating things for his own amusement to be villainous.

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  2. Interesting that The Powder of Life was the result of Pipt not playing by the rules. At least now he can practice magic legally. It's often the renegades who march to their own drum that change the world.

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    1. Yeah, and I am sure Oz will benefit from it too!

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  3. Some of the things he brought to life could be quite miserable in that state. Those who practice magic should concern themselves with the consequences. Otherwise, they might cause a lot of needless suffering.

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