In 2004, the song was ranked #1 by the American Film Institute on AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs list. Filming started in October 13, 1938 on the MGM Studios lot in Culver City, California, under the direction of Richard Thorpe. The film is also a book and it has become the America's greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale. It is a fantasy for children and is one of the most-read children's books. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has universal appeal. The film also has been considered "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress, which selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1989. In June 2007, the film was listed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
The Wizard of Oz has been successful because it symbolizes some of our most enduring values. One prominent theme revolves around the inadequacy of adults—their inability to live up to expectations and to face down the larger forces in life. Another theme centers on the relationship between power and gender. In this film, there's no male hero. In fact, quite the opposite: Glinda, Dorothy, and the Witch are the three powerful figures, while all the men are weak (including the