“The Wizard of Oz” premiered in 1939 and has had a resurgence in popularity thanks to its Las Vegas Sphere showings.

Judy Garland’s daughter Lorna Luft explains why *The Wizard of Oz *continues to captivate audiences

"The Wizard of Oz" premiered in 1939 and has had a resurgence in popularity thanks to its Las Vegas Sphere showings.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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June 10, 2026 12:23 p.m. ET

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Lorna Luft; Judy Garland. Credit:

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty; Silver Screen Collection/Getty

- Lorna Luft, Judy Garland's daughter, explains the impact *that The Wizard of Oz* has had almost 90 years after its 1939 premiere.

- "I can't tell you how many hundreds of thousands of people have told me about what it meant to their family," she said.

- The fan can see *The Wizard of Oz *screening at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Lorna Luft is thrilled that *The Wizard of Oz** *still resonates almost 90 years later.

The daughter of Judy Garland, who played Dorothy in the 1939 film, reflected on the movie's impact and how its magic hasn't faded in the decades since. The film has experienced a resurgence in popularity since it began screening at the Las Vegas Sphere last August.

"It's about home. It's about heart. It's about courage, and it's about knowledge," Luft told PEOPLE of the technicolor movie musical.

"All of us in our lives feel that emotion at some point." Another universal takeaway from *The Wizard of Oz *is its message of "good against evil," Luft said. "I think we also go through that in our lives."

Liza Minelli, Judy Garland, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft.

Bettmann Archive/Getty

*The Wizard of Oz *is based on the 1900 book by L. Frank Baum, which was a "huge book" at the time, Luft said, pointing out that it "was really the Harry Potter of its time."

Luft also explained how the movie's transition into technicolor once Dorothy arrives in Oz was "such a huge thing." "They had never seen what we call sepia, but people call it black and white, into color, and into those characters."

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Even though the special effects at the time weren't what they are today, Luft said that the performances captivated audiences, and still do now. "It's the acting ability of every single solitary performance of everyone in that film because you believe it."

Luft also told PEOPLE about her reaction to seeing *The Wizard of Oz *at the Sphere, which projects an edited version of the film on a 160,000-square-foot screen and incorporates special effects such as wind, bubbles, and seats with haptic technology.

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"It was overwhelming for all of us because it's so massive and you are actually in the movie," she admitted. "We came into Vegas, and we saw the Sphere, and we both literally went ..." Luft paused, describing her awe, "[It] took our breath away." She called the scene with the poppies in particular "so beautiful and so magnificent."

Judy Garland in 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Herbert Dorfman/Corbis/Getty

More than anything, Luft is still touched by the impact *The Wizard of Oz *has had on audiences.

"I can't tell you how many hundreds of thousands of people have told me about what it meant to their family."

"*The Wizard of Oz* was always so special," Luft concluded.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Movies”