"The Wizard of Oz" - Starring Toto Quiz

Answer: Boston Bulldog

The then-contemporary editions of the book showed Toto as a Boston bulldog, but it was decided to revert to the type of dog depicted in the original illustrations.

Even though Toto is always referred to as a male during the movie, the part was actually played by a female Cairn named Terry, whose name was changed to Toto after the filming of "The Wizard of Oz". She was born in 1932 and she was adopted by her trainer Carl Spitz in 1933. He offered her for the part when the studio asked him to help find a dog that looked like the picture in the book. Terry had already made her made her film debut in the Shirley Temple film "Bright Eyes" (1934). Terry/Toto made a total of 13 films before retiring in 1942 (and dying of old age in 1944), but Toto was the only part for which she received a screen credit. She deserved it!

Answer: sitting on a piece of farm machinery, staring intently offstage at his handler

We see Toto sitting behind Dorothy's right shoulder as she sings, but his focus is clearly not on her! For a dog who has a (supposedly) deeply loving relationship with his owner, Toto spends an inordinate amount of time during the movie staring offstage waiting to be told he can jump down and get some action back into his life. Once you start looking for it, it becomes almost impossible to even see what the others are doing on screen! This scene also gives us our first glimpse of Toto's paw-shaking skills. Watch and count how often he offers his paw during the movie.

Answer: Toto didn't know he was doing anything wrong.

Panicking at the thought that her dog might be taken from her, Dorothy pleads for her aunt's support, saying, "Please Aunt Em, Toto didn't mean to. He didn't know he was doing anything wrong. I'm the one that ought to be punished. I let him go in her garden." When it becomes obvious that she will be forced to hand over her dog, Dorothy does call Miss Gulch "a mean old witch", but she never accuses the woman of teasing her dog.

The possibility that bones are buried in Miss Gulch's garden is never mentioned, but her cat is.

In the opening scene of the film we hear Dorothy passionately deny that Toto chases Miss Gulch's cat everyday, only to concede that he does do it once or twice a week.

Answer: He escapes by jumping out of the basket on her bicycle as she rides off.

Miss Gulch puts the basket on a bicycle, not in a car. There is no need for an accident to allow Toto's escape. Toto objects strongly to being captured and his escape is accompanied by triumphant music, as we see him leap from the basket on Miss Gulch's bicycle and dash for home. Later in the film we see him escape from the Wicked Witch by leaping out of a basket and scurrying away to freedom. Having lived with one of these stubborn and speedy little terriers, I sympathise with the characters in the movie who had to try to catch him.

Answer: stand up and wag his tail enthusiastically

This is one of those moments in the film that I may never have noticed had I not owned a Cairn, but once you start watching the canine superstar closely, this moment is absolute gold! Unfazed by hurtling through a twister and into a new dimension (although his hair does look a little ruffled when he and Dorothy emerge from the house), Toto is clearly all set to be a part of anything that might be about to happen. Dorothy and Toto both back away as Glinda's bubble approaches, but within seconds he is looking at Glinda with interest and wagging his tail enthusiastically in response to her question.

Answer: running alongside Dorothy

Toto is a leader rather than a follower, so he is running right alongside Dorothy. Dorothy carries him as she takes her very first few steps along the Yellow Brick Road, but once she puts him down he takes the rest of the journey on foot. He seeks protection in Dorothy's arms during a couple of frightening encounters on the Yellow Brick Road, but each time we see Dorothy and her friends actually proceeding along the road, Toto is frolicking at their feet.

Answer: Scarecrow

Dorothy and Toto arrive at a four-way intersection in the Yellow Brick Road, and Dorothy wonders aloud about which way they should go. From behind her she hears someone make a suggestion, but can't work out where the voice comes from. Toto barks in the direction of the Scarecrow. Dorothy replies, "Don't be silly Toto, scarecrows don't talk", but Toto has successfully focused Dorothy's attention in the direction of Scarecrow.

She looks at him closely enough to notice that he, unlike the scarecrows in Kansas, can move.

Although Toto is present when Dorothy meets both the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, he doesn't do anything to help make their meetings possible.

Answer: He jumps over the edge of the rising drawbridge to escape from the castle.

Once the Wicked Witch has Dorothy and Toto in her castle, she puts the dog inside a basket, setting up the possibility of another great basket escape. (Incidentally, we can also clearly see that the canine actor is a female, a fact which is well-concealed throughout the bulk of the film.) Although the witch threatens to drown Toto in the river, she quickly becomes caught up in her pontification about the best way to kill Dorothy. Seizing the moment, Toto makes his dash for freedom.

He scampers down the stairs and up to the edge of the rising drawbridge. We watch him pause for a moment, then make his heroic leap, much to Dorothy's delight. During filming, Terry/Toto was actually injured when stepped on by one of the guards, and had to be replaced by a body double for several weeks before returning for the filming of the Munchkinland scenes.

Answer: He barks to get their attention, leads the way up a flight of stairs and digs at the door to the room in which she is trapped.

In order to reach the witch's castle, our heroes have to climb a rock face, and, you guessed it, Toto is leading them all the way, barking impatiently. The Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion wrestle with three guards and secure their uniforms, which they then use as camouflage to get into the castle.

Although the struggle is hidden from our view, the triumphant way in which Toto holds a tassel from a guard's uniform suggests that he played his part. Once inside the castle, the Tin Man asks the others, "Where do we go now?" Toto has the answer. Following the grand old tradition of heroic cinematic dogs, he barks to get their attention and then leads the way to the room where Dorothy is hidden. Dorothy is, of course, delighted to see all of her friends, but Toto is the first one she greets. Toto is actually busy sniffing an abandoned guard uniform, but Scarecrow swiftly picks him up and returns the dog to the arms of his mistress.

Answer: Toto jumps out of her arms to chase a cat.

Toto, Dorothy and the Wizard have all made it into the hot air balloon and are ready to leave Oz, but there's a hitch. During the opening scenes of the film we heard about Toto's penchant for chasing cats, and the Siamese cat being held by one of the admiring citizens of Oz is just more temptation that Toto can resist. He leaps out of Dorothy's arms to pursue the cat and Dorothy jumps out of the balloon to follow him. The Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion, who had been helping to hold the balloon down to earth, also run after Toto. Before we know it, the Wizard is sailing off into the sky on his own. Don't worry folks, Toto and his mistress do make it home to Kansas eventually.

Next time you watch this classic movie, keep your eyes on the real star, and you will be amazed to see how different the movie looks!