Watched as part of OzCon 2021 (!!) in an amateur, proof-of-concept restoration by Nate Barlow, which was extremely well-done! This was my first time watching The Magic Cloak of Oz — or any of the Oz Film Manufacturing Company productions, for that matter — and although it’s clear that this film in particular is a bit of an incomplete patchwork job in its current state, I was very pleasantly surprised! I was expecting a well-meaning but primitive jumble like the 1910 Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but Magic Cloak is far more competent, with less sketchy animal costumes, to boot — although with the more animal characters that join the cast (there’s a lot), the more iffy the costumes get. The film does take a lot on its plate, with a plot that’s probably way too busy for a short feature, but it’s ultimately forgivable because it’s just so much fun — and because of the fact that there’s still pieces missing of the film. This restoration re-inserts a brief and recently rediscovered sequence featuring the Aunt growing wings, which was maybe one of my favorite moments, and lends hope to what The Magic Cloak might be if it can ever be totally revived. Of course, complete rediscovery and restoration won’t remedy every issue the film has, but it’s a testament to its creativity and faithfulness to the spirit of Oz that it persists in being a wonderful treat, anyway!
