my moral standing is lying down

Sadly, the ending isn't entirely his fault. The book ended rather abruptly, too (though certainly not as...simply). I got to watch both versions over the last few days and, mysteriously, actually liked the dub better. The best theory I've heard is that, because the original story was in English, it made more sense to my ears to hear it that way. O_o; There are other things, but definitely go see it both ways--there are excellent points in both. And read the book for much more development and weirdness, especially for the scarecrow and Witch of the Wastes. :D