Ruby Slippers, Emerald City, Tornadoes, Yellow Brick Road, Poppy Fields, Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Dorothy, Munchkins, Flying Monkeys.... Good Witch, Evil Witch, Lions and Tigers and Bears OH MY! And Toto too!! Oh the possibilities!
I'm sure this has been posed before, but there are already so many components in this game that could work.

The Wizard of Oz has a complicated copyright status (original book is in the public domain, other books are a mix slowly coming into public domain, but the movie is copyright until 2035). A lot of what people recognise is from the movie not the book (e.g. the ruby slippers - in the book they're silver not ruby) so I imagine it would be challenging to do this with only public domain content.

Copyrighted material would be too spendy. 

This could be done using the book as material to avoid the copyright issue; especially since the book gives more of a backstory to the characters.  (That backstory could easily lend itself to be set up in segments like the fairytales in the game.)  That being said, the book is much darker than the movie and has a lot more violence.  The movie focuses on the nicer parts and uses song to keep the mood light.  The worst thing in the movie is probably the poppy field putting them to sleep.  The book, however, talks about the scarecrow breaking the necks of the birds the witch sends after them and that sort of thing.  In the movie, it's all a dream...so even the darker parts with the flying monkeys and such are excused as the stuff dreams are made of.  In the book, it's all real, so Dorothy actually lives through the darkness of it all.

I suppose the darkness of it could work if added to the Halloween seasonal (since we already have scarecrows there), but October is already crowded with all the pinks and ghosts and zombies.  Maybe the story could be released in August or September and lead in to the autumn / Halloween stuff?  Then, again, perhaps Mike can think of a better way to work it into the game (whether by focusing on the lighter side or turning the darkness into a strength).

Ultimately, I'd love to see the magic and whimsy brought back to FL.  If something like "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" can be incorrporated to do that, then I'm all for it. :)

Wizard of Oz has an iron-clad copyright until 2035. It won't be public domain until then, and that is only if the author's descendants don't renew the copyright again. In other words, it is way off limits.

As Claire said above, Barbara, the movie is what is copyrighted.  The original book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" by L. Frank Baum is public domain and has been for around 75 years.

The family renewal of the copyright took place many years ago and ran out in 1956.  Here's an excerpt from Wiki:

"When L. Frank Baum began publishing the Oz books, the copyright law in effect was the Copyright Act of 1831, which provided a 28-year term with a possible fourteen more years upon renewal of the copyright. However, the Copyright Act of 1909 retroactively affected Baum's books, allowing a 28-year renewal for fifty-six total years of copyright protection. The L. Frank Baum Trust renewed the copyright on all of Baum's Oz novels.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900, and was the first to enter the public domain in 1956. This allowed Reilly & Lee, the publisher of all the other Oz books (as well as Baum's other books) to issue their own edition of The Wizard of Oz, which had previously been published by George M. Hill Company and later by the Bobbs Merill Company after Hill went bankrupt.."

The thing which is copyright until 2035 is the movie (excerpt also from Wiki):

"The 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz is the most well-known adaptation of The Wizard of Oz; in many respects, its popularity surpassed the original book. Its copyright was renewed in 1967,[3] so it will remain copyrighted for a 95-year term, entering the public domain in 2035."

Source:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_status_of_The_Wizard_of_Oz_and_related_works_in_the_United_States#1939_film

There are also several other sites which say the same, if you check Google. :)

A lot of people don't understand copyrights, so it's good you shared about WoO having that until 2035.  It's safe to say that the copyright will be renewed because money.  LOL

No thanks