The flying monkeys were nearly one hundred percent practical, hand sewn and armored by the creature effects team (and a few stragglers, like the Wardrobe Designer and Production Supervisor) using old Hollywood techniques and cues from Jim Henson. CGI wings were added in post-production to round out their fierce, menacing look.
A Director's Cut of the miniseries was made into a feature film titled Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2011). It is over an hour shorter, and has fifteen minutes of new footage, with ninety percent re-done visual effects.
When Times Square is first seen, if the audience looks closely, a sign for the Broadway musical "Wicked" can be seen in the background. "Wicked," written by Gregory Maguire and Stephen Schwartz, is also based on The Wizard of Oz.
The film contains over fourteen hundred visual effects.
Billy Boyd (Nick Chopper) and Sean Astin (Frack the Muckadoo) appeared in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as Hobbits.