About 124 performers played the Munchkins in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz , mostly little people plus roughly a dozen children used for background.

Quick Scoop

Most film historians and studio-era sources agree that MGM assembled around 124 adult little people to portray the Munchkins on screen. To fill out Munchkinland crowd scenes, the production also hired about 10–12 average- height children as additional “child Munchkins,” bringing the total Munchkin performers somewhat above that core figure.

In pop culture discussions, this is why you’ll often see the answer phrased as “124 Munchkins,” referring specifically to the little-person actors who were cast and costumed as the main Munchkin population in the movie.