Toto, that's not polite! We haven't been asked yet!

Day 01 — Your favorite song
Day 02 — Your favorite movie
Day 03 — Your favorite television program
Day 04 — Your favorite book
Day 05 — Your favorite quote
Day 06 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 — A photo that makes you happy
Day 08 — A photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 — A photo you took
Day 10 — A photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

So this should not come as a surprise to anyone who knows the first thing about me. My favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz. Always has been.  I honestly can't remember ever not loving this film.One of my earliest memories if of watching The Wizard of Oz every single time I went to my grandparent's house. I would lie on my grandmother's bed and for two hours be completely lost in the film. .

 Even today, I never fail to be completely captivated by this film. No matter how many times I've watched it before, I'm always up for watching it yet again. I must have seen it about a thousand times. 

Even though the film is seventy years old, it still feels fresh and new and exciting every time you see it. It's not dated, it hasn't gone out of style, and it never will.  

It's kind of hard for me to be objective about The Wizard of Oz and not base my opinions solely on sentiment. It just has always had the most special place in my heart and no matter how many other films I've fallen in love with, nothing has ever managed to take Oz's place. I think that has a lot to do with the fact that I was pretty much raised on it but there are other things that I've always loved about this film. Namely, Judy Garland.

The second thing people should know about me is that I absolutely adore Judy Garland. I have since I found out who she was when I was in fifth grade. I think that learning about who she was as a person and all her struggles at such a young age sort of helped influence who I am today. I can remember having anti-drug classes in school and not really caring about the science of addiction and all that. Instead, Judy Garland was my motivation to stay away from drugs. She still sort of is- I am especially terrified of sleep aids because of what happened to her. 

And I've always loved her in this film. It's one of my favorite performances by an actress ever. It's just so honest and pure. You believed every word she said. You can feel her desperation and longing when she sings Over the Rainbow. You can see the wonder and amazement in her eyes when she first enters Oz. You feel her heart break when she thinks that she's not going to get home. You forget that she's Judy Garland. She actually makes you believe that she's just a little girl from Kansas that wants to get home to her aunt and uncle. It's one of the most beautiful performances ever captured on film.

I credit George Cukor for the feel of this film. He was initially hired to direct Gone With the Wind around the same time as The Wizard of Oz was scheduled to start shooting. Before reporting to the Gone With the Wind set, he had a few days to drop by the Oz set and was absolutely appalled at what he saw. The studio had attempted to make Judy Garland into a kind of Shirley Temple look alike, with a curly blonde wig and lots of make up. Cukor immediately had Judy's wig and make up removed and had her hair put into pigtails. Before leaving, he told her to remember that she's "Just a little girl from Kansas." 

I've always loved this movie because sometimes I like to feel five years old again. I love the beauty and innocence of it. I think it's nice that you can escape for two hours into a film in today's world where there's not a lot of beauty to be found.