Switch Protagonist = Story Concept

How many different ways can The Wizard of Oz be told?

So there’s this:

And this:

And this:

And now this:

‘Aladdin’ Scribe John August to Write ‘Toto’ Musical For Warner Animation

That means The Wizard of Oz is being told from the perspective of these Protagonist figures:

• Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz)
• Wicked Witch (Wicked)
• Professor Marvel (Oz the Great and Powerful)
• Toto (Toto)

Over the years, I have extolled the value of the switch Protagonist exercise as a way to develop each of your story’s characters as if they were the central character in the narrative. After all, each character experiences life as if they were the Protagonist in their story.

However, the exercise is also a great way to generate a new project off a preexisting story. The upside as far as Hollywood is concerned is that the project is dealing with pre-branded content which makes it easier to market the movie. It’s similar (The Wizard of Oz!), but different (From Toto’s POV!).

This approach is quite literally a thing. Thus, as you generate story concepts, you do not have to begin from scratch. Rather, you can look at successful movies and brainstorm an angle based on switching Protagonists. Like this:

The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Scarecrow…

The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Tin Man…

The Wizard of Oz told from the perspective of the Cowardly Lion…

You know someone is going to write that script.

Maybe that someone is…

You!