Via Starwars.com:

DOROTHY LEAVES HOME FOR AN ADVENTURE, ENCOUNTERING STRANGE BEINGS AND MAKING NEW FRIENDS. SOUND FAMILIAR?

Released in 1939, The Wizard of Oz is the classic tale of a Kansas farm girl named Dorothy who, by way of a hurricane, is thrust into a world unlike any she’d ever seen. She is forced to go on a quest with unlikely allies to find a wizard and then defeat a monstrous witch if she ever wants to get home. It’s based on a series of books that began in 1900 and endure in popularity and the pop culture consciousness, every bit as much as Star Wars does.

When Roger Ebert first reviewed Star Wars in 1977, he included a reference to The Wizard Oz that might seem obvious now, but in 1977 he might have been the first critic to begin connecting the dots. “Star Wars is a fairy tale,” he wrote, “a fantasy, a legend, finding its roots in some of our most popular fictions. The golden robot, lion-faced space pilot, and insecure little computer on wheels must have been suggested by the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.”

Indeed we can see these influences almost instantly. Luke Skywalker is very much our Dorothy, and the yellow-brick road is the road to Alderaan. Threepio’s fussing and sometimes angry demeanor, not to mention his look, make him a perfect stand-in for the Tin-Man. Han Solo and Chewbacca share the role of the Cowardly Lion, not quite having the courage to stand up and do the right thing until the last minute. Even Chewbacca’s costume and sounds echo a lion, doubly so when he’s shaking his head profusely, refusing to go back into the trash compactor.

Unlike Dorothy, though, Luke can find his way to defeat the evil, but is left without a home to go to. He can only move forward with his life, finding a new acceptance with new friends.

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