Judy Garland’s Daughter Lorna Reflects on Why ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Still Resonates Today

Lorna Luft has reflected on "The Wizard of Oz" as the beloved film turns 87, sharing why her mother Judy Garland's iconic role as Dorothy still resonates with audiences around the world.

As "The Wizard of Oz" marks 87 years since it first enchanted audiences, Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft is reflecting on the iconic film's enduring magic — and why it still feels as relevant as ever.

"It's about home. It's about heart. It's about courage, and it's about knowledge," Luft, 73, said of the film on what would have been her mother's 104th birthday. "All of us in our lives feel that emotion at some point."

Decades after its release — and after Garland's passing — Luft says she continues to hear from fans across the globe who carry lasting memories tied to the classic. "I can't tell you how many hundreds of thousands of people have told me about what it meant to their family," she shared.

Garland, of course, starred as Dorothy Gale in the 1939 fantasy film, a role that would become her breakthrough. The story has recently been given new life through an immersive experience at Sphere in Las Vegas, which opened last August and uses cutting-edge technology to place audiences directly inside the Land of Oz.

For Luft, the film's staying power comes down to something far deeper than spectacle. Speaking to PEOPLE, she pointed to its universal themes as the key to its longevity.

"The message of the movie is also good against evil, so I think we also go through that in our lives," she said, noting the story's origins in L. Frank Baum's beloved source novel. "You've got to remember, 'The Wizard of Oz' was a huge book. It was really the Harry Potter of its time."

The film was also technically groundbreaking, famously transitioning Dorothy's muted, sepia-toned Kansas into the vivid, sweeping color of Oz. "It was such a huge thing," Luft said. "They had never seen what we call sepia, but people call it black and white, into color, and into those characters."

But beyond its visual innovation or literary pedigree, Luft believes it's the performances that have truly stood the test of time:

"It's the acting ability of every single solitary performance of everyone in that film because you believe it. You believe my mom, and you believe Ray Bolger [The Scarecrow], and you believe Jack Haley, [The Tin Man] and you believe Bert Lahr [The Cowardly Lion], and you believe Frank Morgan [The Wizard], and you certainly believe Margaret Hamilton [The Wicked Witch of the West], and you certainly believe Billie Burke [Glinda the Good Witch of the North]."

Today, younger generations are discovering its charm for the first time, ensuring Dorothy's story shows no signs of fading. Garland's legacy lives on not only through the film, but through her children, all of whom followed her into the entertainment world.

Luft and her sister Liza Minnelli, 80, have each built remarkable careers as singers and actresses across stage and screen. Their younger brother, Joey Luft, has carved out his own path behind the camera, with a background in both photography and sound.