Wicked fans ‘disappointed’ over dog chosen to play Toto

It's been a little over a week now since the eagerly anticipated Wicked sequel, aptly titled Wicked: For Good, hit cinemas last month (21 November).

The fandom surrounding the musical-fantasy film franchise is clearly a dedicated one, with many fans similarly just as obsessed with the OG storyline than with the latest adaptations are loosely based on.

In case you need your Oz trivia knowledge refreshing, there were the two Wicked movies, which came out in 2024 and 2025, respectively. These were based on the Tony Award-winning musical, which premiered in 2003 and is also titled Wicked, and loosely adapted from Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel, The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a revisionist prequel to L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its famous 1939 film adaptation.

Yep, Wicked and its characters' roots have quite the lore indeed.

And it's not just the characters of leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, who play Elphaba and Glinda the Good Witch respectively, as there's also a bunch of chatter online surrounding Dorothy's four-legged friend, Toto.

In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, take centre stage but it's clear that the pair take much more of a backseat role in the Wicked films as we only end up seeing them from further away in a handful of screens - and in them, Dorothy's full face is never shown.

The character was played by English actress, choreographer, and dancer Bethany Weaver.

Toto is played by a Border Terrier in the latest Wicked movie (Instagram/@bethanyweavesx)

However, from the little that we did see of Dorothy and her pet pup, it's clear that he's not the same breed as the original Toto from the 1939 throwback flick.

That's because the original Toto was played by a Cairn Terrier, whereas the dog starring in the 2025 blockbuster was none other than a Border Terrier.

After clocking the marked difference, one social media user penned: "I really liked Wicked: For Good but… not making Toto the iconic cairn terrier he’s supposed to be was something I can’t forgive."

A second questioned: "Why didn’t they use an actual cairn terrier to play Toto in Wicked: For Good??"

The original Toto in the 1939 film was played by a black Cairn Terrier (Warner Bros.)

"Most insane recast in Wizard of Oz to Wicked is making Toto a border terrier instead of a cairn," slammed a third, while a fourth chimed in: "This is such a nitpick, but I wish he were played by a Cairn Terrier since that's the breed he was in both the novel and 1939 film."

"I agree with you!" piped up a fifth. "They should have kept the same breed. This dog looks like a border terrier."

A sixth lamented: "Kinda sad to see Toto is brindle, cause I rarely see black cairn terriers. I just recently lost my sweet cairn and was sort of looking forward to seeing a familiar face in the new movie."

"So it’s meant to be a cairn terrier but as a BT owner I can confirm it’s a border!!" commented another.

And a final social media user echoed: "Yeah, would love to see a cute little black cairn terrier just like the OG Toto."