Cowardly Lion (Novels)

"For my life is simply unbearable, without a bit of courage..."

― The Cowardly Lion (1900)

Cowardly Lion asleep in the field of Deadly Poppies. Charles Santore.

"...and there at the very end of the field, was the poor Lion, lying fast asleep among the beautiful scarlet Poppies. The flowers had been too strong for the huge beast and he had given up at last, and fallen only a short distance from the end of the poppy bed, where the sweet grass spread in beautiful green fields before them. "We can do nothing for him," said the Tin Woodman sadly; "for he is much too heavy to lift. We must leave him here to sleep on forever, and perhaps he will dream that he has found courage at last."

―The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)

The Lion Without Courage...

"Oh, you outta be ashamed of yourself, frightening him like that when he came to you for help! "

―Dorothy Gale defending the Cowardly Lion (1939)

Dorothy Gale & Cowardly Lion from *Return to Oz* (1985)

The cowardly Lion is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum, author and inventor of the Oz legacy. And is introduced in Baum's first Oz book of 1900 titled 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', in the sixth chapter of the book titled The Cowardly Lion. He is a huge friendly beast who can talk and is from the enchanted jungles and forests in the magical Land of Oz. He also is the third and final character to join Dorothy Gale on her epic journey down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to see the great and powerful Wizard, in hopes he grants her wish. When he encounters Dorothy, she is also accompanied by a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman and her little pet dog named Toto, all of whom became loyal comrades and good friends. Thus, having many amazing, and bizzare adventures throughout all of Oz.

Later on in the Oz series which serve as offical sequel books to Baum's original story, the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger would become best of friends, just like the Tin Woodman and Scarecrow would. Who even after Dorothy's departure back to Kansas, remained very close comrades. The two beast would be inseparable, much like Dorothy would be inseparable with her best friend other than Toto, the lovely Princess Ozma of Oz when she eventually returned to that magical land.

Baums' Description

"...suddenly somewhere deep within the forest, a startling roar, was heard. The next moment a great Lion bounded into the road. With one blow of his paw he sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman with his sharp claws. But, to the Lion's surprise, he could make no impression on the tin, although the Woodman fell over in the road and lay still. Little Toto, now that he had an enemy to face, ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast had opened his mouth to bite the dog, when Dorothy, fearing Toto would be killed, and heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose as hard as she could, while she cried out: "Don't you dare bite Toto! You ought to be ashamed of yourself, a big beast like you, to bite a poor little dog!"

―The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)

Baum describes the Cowardly Lion as being grandiose, handsome and nearly as big as a horse in size. He is a rather cuddly animal despite being so large, and also is a gentle giant at heart. He is said to have golden colored eyes that sparkle like fools gold and are full of wit and intelligence. He is warm, plush and soft, having a fluffy, bushy and curly mane and often is adorned with a brightly colored bow on the top of his head and at the very end of his long tail, usually of green or red silk.

The Cowardly Lion can sing songs, in a "deep bass voice." (Glinda of Oz)

The Cowardly Lion is loved by all in the land of Oz, his best animal friend is another talking beast named The Hungry Tiger. When the two are not in the jungles or forests of Oz, dominating the Animal Kingdom, both the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger can be found sitting on soft cushions beside Princess Ozma. They accompany the child Queen as she sits upon her Royal Throne in her home which is the Royal Palace of Oz, that stands in the very center of the Emerald City of Oz.

Since all lions in general are stereotypically known to be fierce, ferocious and expected to be "The Kings of all Beasts," by nature, the Cowardly Lion believes that his insecurities make him inadequate to other lions and beast. He simply does not understand that courage means acting in the face of fear and facing ones fears head on, which he does frequently throughout the Oz stories. Only during the after effects of the Wizard's gift, when he is under the influence of an unknown green liquid substance that the Wizard orders him to drink out of a small bowl, (perhaps gin) is he not filled with fear anymore. (In the iconic 1939 film by MGM he is given a gold metal that reads 'COURAGE' across it.)

Cowardly Lions drinks up all his Courage!

The gift given by the Wizard is a subconsciously physiological thought in the Cowardly Lions' mind as it is clear throughout his journey that he always had courage within himself that he was just unaware of, saving Dorothy and his friends from many near death experiences in Oz. Such as the flesh eating wild beast called Kalidahs, whom the group of travelers encountered while on they're way to the Emerald City.

The Cowardly Lion strongly argues that the courage from the Wizard is only temporary, although he continues to do brave deeds while openly and embarrassedly fearful from time to time.

Oz History: How The Lion Found Courage!

"If I we're King of the Forest... not Queen, not Duke, not Prince!"

―The Cowardly Lion. (1939)

File:Cats cowardly book.jpg

The Cowardly Lion 1900.

The Cowardly Lion was born in the wilderness in the land of Oz. He was also born without any courage. (Or so he thinks)

The other animals expected him to be brave, so he bluffed and became a bit of a bully. He met Dorothy Gale, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and Toto in the forest while they were journeying to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz and decided to accompany them to ask the Wizard for some courage. After several adventures, the humbug Wizard gave the Lion a large bowl of green liquid courage which he drank, making him full of courage.

While accompanying Dorothy to find Glinda, the party traveled through a dark forest in the Quadling Country which was home to hundreds of beasts. These animals were being terrorized by a spider-like monster the size of an elephant. The Cowardly Lion agreed to fight this monster, but found it asleep and snapped its thin neck. The grateful animals made him their king, and after fulfilling his duty to Dorothy, he returned to rule over them. (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

The Cowardly Lion is King of the Jungle.

After Princess Ozma ascended to the throne, the Cowardly Lion traveled back to the Emerald City with his friend the Hungry Tiger to meet their new ruler. When they learned of her plan to journey to the Land of Ev and rescue the Royal Family from the Nome King, they asked to join the party and were given the honor of pulling Ozma's chariot.

In the land of Ev, the Cowardly Lion was reunited with Dorothy, who joined their party. On their way to the Nome Kingdom the Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger bravely carried most of the party under the deadly hammer of the iron giant. The mission ended successfuly and the Ozites eventually returned to the Land of Oz. (Ozma of Oz)

The two beasts are Ozma's chief guardians, and they keep guard in her Royal Throne Room. However, because everyone loves Ozma, there has never been a disturbance and there is nothing for the guardians to do. ("The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger")

Appearances

Toto gets jealous for Dorothy hugging Cowardly Lion.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (First appearance)
Ozma of Oz
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz
The Road to Oz
The Emerald City of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz
Tik-Tok of Oz
Little Wizard Stories of Oz

"The Cowardly Lion and the Hungry Tiger"

Character Adaptations

In the Magic Land stories of Alexander Volkov and his followers, the Cowardly Lion is re-named the Courageous Lion. March Laumer, an adaptor of Volkov, follows this in his own Oz novels; and in his short story "The Cowardly Lion Changes His Name," Laumer dubs the Lion "Rex the X."

Volkov's books make several mentions of the Lion's wife and children.

The Wicked Years

Brrr was the name of the Cowardly Lion in Gregory Maguire's A Lion Among Men.

Other Adaptations

In the Oz Squad, years after his adventures in Oz, the Lion accompanied Dorothy back to America along with the Tin Woodman and the Scarecrow. There, the four of them formed the Oz Squad, a team of quasi-superheroes who protect America from Ozian threats.

In Emerald City Confidential, he became an evil businessman who, while maintaining a good reputation amongst the citizens of Oz, secretly was responsible for a number of crimes.

In Family of Oz (2011), by James C. Wallace II, the Cowardly Lion holds court in the great northern forests of Gillikin Country and makes a "Leap of Faith" in the climactic battle against Cobbler the Dog (a mechanical dog made by the Wogglebug as a pet for Tik-Tok), who was possesed by the Evil remnants of the Wicked Witch of the East. He also has a gate leading into the northern part of Emerald City named for him called the Lion's Gate.

Depictions on Stage and Screen

The Wizard of Oz 1939

Actor Burt Lahr was a known Comedian and stared in many Hollywood films before Oz.

Character-cowardlylion — Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 film.

Bert Lahr is justifiably famous for his portrayal of the iconic Lion in the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. Lahr's other role was Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's farm worker, Zeke. He helps Hickory (Tin Man's alter ego) lower a bed into its place on a wagon at the farm while Hunk (Scarecrow's alter ego) repairs the wagon with them. He then moves the hogs into the pig pen and pours feed into their trough and later rescues Dorothy when she falls off the railing that encircles the pen. Zeke wears his hat throughout the entire film because he does not struggle to pry open the cellar when the tornado approaches the farm. Hunk (Scarecrow's alter ego) closes and locks the cellar with him when Dorothy arrives at the farmhouse. Zeke and Professor Marvel (The Wizard's alter ego) are the only men wearing hats when Dorothy awakens from being unconscious.

THE WIZ 1978

In this version, the Lion is portrayed as a sensitive and poetic beast.

1136953413 s-wiz 0041-1 — Ted Ross as the Cowardly Lion

In this all African-American Oz film. Ted Ross portrayed the role twice on stage and in the film, he won a Tony award for the role in 1975.

Return to Oz

In Disney's 1985 cult classic film Return to Oz, the Cowardly Lion is not a main character in this version. But he does have more than one cameo appearances during a few scenes throughout the movie. Specifically during the end.

The Lion of Oz

Based off of the Book written by Roger Baum, the Lion of Oz is a cartoon movie which tells the orgins of the Lion, how he came to Oz, and how he become known as a Cowardly beast.

The Muppet's Wizard of Oz

Fozzie-Bear-Cowardly-Lion — Fozzie Bear as the Cowardly Lion

In the mad for TV Muppet film, Fozzie the Muppet portrayed the Cowardly Lion, who dreams of being a famous Comedian.

Tin Man 2009

Set in present day, in the Syfy mini series, Lions have mutated into half human/animal creatures who are blessed with Psychic abilites since the first Lion in Oz got his Courage over one hundred years ago from a now long dead Wizard.

Raw is a member of a telepathic race of genetic hybrids called Viewers, which are enslaved by Azkadellia. He joins D.G., Glitch, and Wyatt Cain in their quest to stop Azkadelia. He is sensitive and easily frightened, but also compassionate and uses his abilities to help. (Tin Man)

Oz the Great and Powerful

In Disney's 2013 prequel movie to the 1939 musical, in Oz the Great and Powerful the Cowardly Lion makes a brief cameo appearance in the forest.

De Musical The Wiz

The Cowardly Lion was portrayed by Jeroen Phaff.

The Wicked Years In Gregory Maguire's Oz series book #3 (A Lion Amoung Men) shows the life and times of the Cowardly Lion. And shows all of the land of Oz through his point of view.

Legends of Oz-Dorothy's Return 2014

In the CGI animated Oz movie, the Cowardly Lion is vouced by the actor James Beluchi.

Gallery

Credits

The Wizard of Oz (1903): Arthur Hill
The Fairylouge and Radio Plays (1908): Joseph Shrode
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914): Fred Woodward
Wizard of Oz (1925); Spencer Bell as Snowball (credited as G.Howe Black)
The Wizard of Oz (1939): Bert Lahr
Journey Back to Oz (1974): Milton Berle (voice)
The Wiz (Broadway show, 1975): Ted Ross
The Wiz (film, 1978): Ted Ross
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005): Fozzie Bear
The Wonderful Wizard of Ha's (VeggieTales) (2007): Pa Grape as The Hungry Lion
De musical The Wiz (2007): Jeroen Phaff as Laffe Leeuw
Tin Man (2007): Raoul Trujillo as Raw
Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012): Barry Ratcliffe as Bryan Jennings
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014): Jim Belushi (voice)